Flux Theatre Ensemble

Last Saturday, I checked out Prophecy Productions' show, Business as Usual. I was really looking forward to this play because Jason, Joe, and a lot of other Flux friends had been talking up Corey Ann Haydu as both an actor and a playwright, and this was an opportunity for me to see her work in a lead role. In addition, there seems to be as much cross over between Prophecy and Impetuous as there is Impetuous and Flux, so I was eager to learn more about this company.

So, on a bitter evening to the Access Theatre I trudged, and was treated to a Hollywood-skewering murder mystery; though in this play, the murder is not whodunnit but rather what to do after it's done.

The play, by Mark Souza (a fellow Swim Shorts alumn) deals with how far desperate people will go to feel alive. The two climatic moments of each act are mirror images of the other. In the first act, struggling-actor Steve (Steven Todd Smith) finds his first real dose of human connection through hooker-with-a-heart-of-knives Katherine (Corey Ann Haydu). Through her pre-sex patter, a connection is established that makes Steve aware of how far he's fallen, and that recognition spurs an act of violence that gets him shot.

The second act deals with his agent Alex's allegiances - will Alex (Michael Mraz) side with his bleeding client, or with Katherine? The climax suggests that once you've fallen low enough, the hope of human love, or the recognition of your distance from it, are both enough to kill for.

As an additional treat, I bumped into Lindsay Wolf, a current Flux Sunday participant who is one of the funniest actors I know (her zombie in 12th Night of the Living Dead had an eloquent vocabulary of grunts, moans and sounds there are no words for). And I briefly met one of Prophecy's artistic directors, the very amiable Nathaniel Kressen. After a chat over our upcoming seasons, I dashed off for some holiday parties.

It was great to meet a new company, and to deepen my knowledge of an exciting new(-to-me) actor/playwright.