The Cast

Will Bouvier

Shayna Ferm*

Julia Garrett

Alex Goldberg

Jonathan Green*

Miranda Jonte

Peter Rodriguez

Ean Sheehy

Ozzie Stewart

Barbara Drum Sullivan

*These actors appear courtesy of Actors' Equity Association

Hi Drama Review
Channel 57 and 109
Reviewer: Christopher Farr
This Isn’t Working
The Belt Theater
Aired: 12/31/04

This Isn’t Working is a group of five short comedies about serious job dissatisfaction by Francesco Marciuliano and directed by Jefferson Jowdy with production design by Carol Hartsell.

The evening opened with a piece entitled Awards Show. A woman accepts an award for business and allows her assistant to make a speech as well. The woman puts in a new word and so does the assistant. They go back and forth, each trying to top the other one with sweetness, etc., until things start getting personal and they go on and on putting each other down, until they truly step over the line. This was one of the highlights of the night - very well-written and funny. Actors Miranda Jonte & Shayna Fern were excellent, with strong support by Julia Garrett , Ean Sheehy & Barbara Drum Sullivan.

I also enjoyed the final piece of the evening entitled Business
Trapped. After a plane crashes onto a deserted Island, it's business as usual. Barbara Drum Sullivan is hilarious and a bit scary as she conducts her business meetings at all costs, - with Will Bouvier, Shayna Ferm, Julia Garrett , Alex Goldberg, and Peter Rodriguez as her staff. Very ridiculous and absolutely hilarious.

Rounding out the evening was Motivational Speaker about a
motivational speaker in hell, the very funny Wrote it as I want to Live it about a writer who loses control which was perhaps the tightest piece of the evening and very enjoyable, and Neanderthals about three people trying to collect Rock specimens as they look back on a poor business model.

In general the pieces were good. The actors were generally on the same level - which is pretty rare for this level of theatre. To me the standouts were Awards Show, and Wrote it as I want to Live It, due to the strong direction/writing within those particular pieces.

The atmosphere was a room in a bar - not good for most plays but great for a cabaret or this kind of theater. The band entitled The King of France absolutely rocked and played throughout, between shows, etc. Reminiscent of They Might Be Giants with perhaps some Robyn Hitchcock mixed in, they really held the evening together. They were so whimsical and fun that I joined the mailing list myself!

All in all this was a good night of theatre.

Back to This Isn't Working main page