New Works Festival: The Mariner

The first play I saw was the Mariner, which I had heard the song by the Decemberists (though I don't pretend to know it that well), and to be honest it seemed like a total minor league player, but for what it was, I enjoyed it.

One of the first comments I heard was that it was done totally by undergraduates (Which I assumed to be true?) but this intrigued me rather than deterred simply because, I am an undergraduate.

In my opinion, I give the play an "A" for effort, and a "B" for execution. First all I would like to say that I enjoyed it. And I thought the writing and the stage direction, as well as the visual affects were well done. The dialouge had depth, and the black lighting, along with the female "background?" was an interesting take on illustrating what it would be like inside a living creature.

I felt that the issues of the play revolved around heavy internal conflict that all of us deal with on some level or another. Not that any of us want to be pirates, but that each of us struggles with our own personas and who we want to be underneath.

What I disliked about the play was the acting. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't really "in character". The expressions, the emotions, and pretty much the lines in general were delivered well, but this did not feel like it was a couple of pirates arguing inside the belly of wale, it felt like it was a couple of college kids in pirate costumes arguing.

Also I felt that while the issues in the play were real and personal, the father and son connection seemed forced and unnatural to the story. All along, the boy was good, then all of a sudden he is like, "Just kidding, your my dad, I hate you, lets both die!" I just didn't feel that there was enough transition, which was a bummer because up until that point I had enjoyed the play.

So overall, I'd say not a great play, but I enjoyed it and it certainly was a good one!