Charlie Glowacki
12/9/2009
Monologues From the Edge blew me right out of my seat. Never once during the ninety minute production did my mind wander away from the show. Each monologue had its own message that was different from the others but there was a sense that all of them were connected by a common theme. That theme was hard to catch at first because of how the scenes jumped around so quickly, but by the end of the play I had an understanding of what the purpose was for the cast and crew to put on a show like this. Right off the bat the actors told the audience what they were doing and why they were here today. The actors wanted us to feel something but they did not say what that feeling was supposed to be. By the end of the play I knew what that feeling was supposed to be because I had felt it myself. That feeling is hard to explain for it is only a memory now. I felt anger but then again the most dominating feeling that I had was humor. I left the theatre laughing, but I do not think that is all they were trying to do with the show. There was a much bigger purpose then just making the audience fall out of there seat in laughter. They wanted us to think about and to question established practices. Sometimes I felt really uncomfortable about the topics being discussed but that feeling was never too strong because of the humorous attitude portrayed by the actors.
In the opening monologue, I had an experience that I have never had before while watching a live theatre performance. The actor who did the “inner baby” monologue for some odd reason picked me as her target for some interaction with the audience. The moment she made eye contact with me, I started to feel extremely nervous and then when she started to walk towards me I froze up because I knew she was coming to me. She very slowly walked over to me and as she did so she was talking to me as well. She stopped right in front of my seat and put her hand on my hand, all the while talking to me and the audience. I forget what she was saying because I was in such shock that this was actually happening but what I do remember is that when she held my hand and looked me in the eye I had a strong wave of emotion go through me and the emotion was love. It was not love for the girl holding my hand but love for theatre.
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