Character Forum
Katie Northlich performs solo show at Juvie Hall
A
talented creator of comic characters, Katie Northlich takes her new
one-woman show beyond just showcasing those characters, adding an extra
layer of humor in the interaction between one of her characters and all
the rest.
As
Rayna Bernham, a zealous Columbia University journalism student,
Northlich frames the rest of the characters as subjects of Rayna’s
interviews in a broadcast journalism thesis being presented as the show.
Within this structure, Northlich reveals facets of Rayna’s character --
switching between Rayna and the other characters -- piece by piece over
the course of this one-hour show, building a pattern of Rayna pushing
her interviewees to change something about their lives, usually by
taking risks they are reluctant to take.
From
this, Northlich pulls unexpected comedy out of the interviewee
characters’ reactions to Rayna -- which are far from compliant. For all
the flaws Northlich puts in the other characters, both male and female,
including a Queens grandmother, a female singer-songwriter of limited
success, a Wall Street hotshot, a butcher, a beat poet, a Minnesota
housewife and a butch female attorney -- none are mere caricatures.
Northlich makes each of them very different people, displaying a clear
skill at crafting multiple personas.
As a
result, “Character Forum: A Thesis” becomes more than just a showcase,
but a comedic work as developed as any comedic play with multiple actors
and a playwright’s script would be.
Katie Northlich performs “Character Forum: A Thesis” on September 7,8
and 9 in the Fashion Play Festival.
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