FreePlay Theater Cooperative understands the way space can impact a performance. In past years, they have put on shows in all kinds of atypical theater venues, from an auditorium in Schwartz to the black box Merrick Theater in the Spingold Theater Center. Their choices have always been successful, adding a new dimension to the way the audience experiences the show. This is why it was surprising that director Amanda Stern '15 chose the Reading Room in the Mandel Center for the Humanities as the location for her production of Bash: Latter-Day Plays this past weekend.

Nestled on the third floor of the building, the almost wedge-shaped room held an audience of about thirty people. However, the seating, arranged in neat rows of five, was not conducive to viewing. During the course of the play, people were leaning left and right to try to see over the tops of heads in vain. Fortunately for those in the back, there wasn't much to see. Lighting for the play consisted only of a lamp that was turned on and off at the click of a switch. Actors entered and exited the room through the main door, just missing collisions with the nearest audience members before and after each of the three scenes.

Despite logistical issues, however, the reading room created an appropriately intimate backdrop for FreePlay's rendition of the three one-act plays written by Neil LaBute that make up Bash. Citing LaBute as one of her favorite playwrights in the program notes, Stern explained that the play "caused LaBute to be disfellowshipped from the Church [of Latter-Day Saints]" for the views it expresses about Mormonism. As a result, he wrote a second edit of his play. Although she chose the original, more controversial version of the play for the FreePlay performance, Stern noted that, in her opinion, "the characters and their stories … in the play are not defined by their Mormonism."

The first act, loosely based on the post-Homeric Greek myth of Iphigenia, is so titled, "iphigenia in orem." Julian Seltzer '15 played a young man in a Vegas hotel room who killed his baby daughter years earlier in order to gain sympathy from his employer after a co-worker implied he was going to be fired. Seltzer's performance had moments of believability, but his style overall might have held stronger on a real stage where it would be less important to maintain a sense of secrecy between audience and performer. His character was the definition of an unreliable narrator, and a scattering of unnatural pauses in his lengthy monologue made it somewhat difficult to follow the already confusing story line.

Corrie Legge '14 and Ben Gold '13 played two Boston College students reflecting on a weekend trip to New York in the second act, "a gaggle of saints." Because of the production's lack of changeable lighting, it was hard to determine whether the characters were supposed to be telling their versions of the story in the same room or not. Each actor sat basically frozen while the other spoke, but Legge seemed out of character when it was not her turn to say a line. Luckily, Gold drew all eyes to him with his outstanding portrayal of the homophobic John who, unbeknownst to his girlfriend, spent a portion of their trip brutally beating a gay man whom he tricked into a sexual encounter in a men's bathroom. Gold's conversational manner contrasted poignantly with his boisterous re-enactment of the restroom violence, illustrating a powerful and horrifying scene with just his speech. Legge, while she played John's girlfriend Sue with a sense of confidence, was overshadowed by Gold's full commitment to his role.

Throughout the third act, "medea redux," Nicole Carlson '14 sat alone at a table, smoking a cigarette, talking into a tape recorder while answering a questionnaire of some sort. Although performed in the same bare-bones setting as the other two scenes, this act was the least confusing. It was also the most engaging, thanks to Carlson's total transformation into her character, a woman who after being involved in a sexual relationship with her junior high school teacher at age 13 became pregnant with his child and later murdered her son to hurt the father. The monologue demonstrated Carlson's range as an actress; even her eyes did not betray her established character.

Although FreePlay Theater Cooperative is known for its use of space on campus, Bash presages that a stronger reputation for the club is about to emerge. With the high level of skill of its actors and strong choice of subject matter, FreePlay should focus on those strengths rather than trying to pick a non-stage location that might unhinge their efforts.