It’s fitting that the Spark, a queer, teen-operated company running under the guidance of commedia dell’arte champions La Fenice, chose a shiny dystopian work from the master of sci-fi himself to fully introduce themselves to the viewing public. They are the Spark. Of course they’ll enter with Ray Bradbury’s Pillar of Fire.
Bradbury’s novella follows William Lantry as he mysteriously rises from his grave hundreds of years in the future. As Lantry encounters a world without death, fiction, or fear, he’s driven to murderous rage against the sanitized machine of human existence. Former B. Iden Payne winner Sharky Meehan directs a cast full of fellow fresh-faced actors – many of whom have been spotted in local works from Ground Floor Theatre or the Vortex’s Summer Youth Theatre program – through a short hour(ish) of dystopic hellscape.
Anyone familiar with Bradbury’s prose knows he tended toward, well, the flowery side of writing. Why use one word when 12 multisyllabic descriptions in a row could do the same, and with such mind-expanding potency? Even his plays don’t shy away from the meaty monologues, and these actors deliver his lengthy lines in digestible, passionate portions. In particular, Clementine Kennedy’s portrayal of Lantry takes what could be a bloviating, boorish role into an interesting look at a man on the edge. Yes, Kennedy manages to add pathos to walls of text, but it’s the glint of madness reflecting off their eyes that sells the emotion, as the actor illustrates the confusion driving each irrational action.
These young actors deliver Bradbury’s lengthy lines in digestible, passionate portions.
Kennedy’s enthralling performance contrasts with the gloriously benign smiles from the rest of the cast. The first introduction to the society comes from gravediggers, played by Alix Henry and Alden Bruner, acting the epitome of exuberant happy fools. That eerie energy strengthens thanks to the eager, empty-headed golden retriever vibes emanating off the multiple citizens played by Django Somera. As the Librarian, Abby Noble’s perky reminiscence of burning works from Poe and Steinbeck is more terrifying due to this cheerful facade.
Aside from Kennedy’s Lantry, the only characters exuding anything other than lobotomized pleasantness are two of performer Juno McQueen’s roles: the flamboyant incinerator attendant and the Peace Control officer McClure. McQueen imbues both with a slick, sinister layer on top of the amicable front. It makes them more calculated than, say, the other incinerator attendant charmingly played by Avital Cuevas, who maintains chirpy confusion while insisting that “people don’t do that,” even as they are stabbed to death.
The performances are backed by a lush world of unrelenting style. Luka McConnell creates a sound design of constant overstimulation, layered murmurs or children’s laughter filling the space behind the words. If the scene doesn’t have McConnell’s soundscapes, the actors are accompanied by nonstop classical cello courtesy of Will Lambert, who performs live from a small platform near the wings. Extravagant costuming by Alix Henry echoes the blue and silver color scheme in Emil Hall’s crematorium-centered set design. A breaker malfunction kept me from fully experiencing the lighting by Callum Thomas during my Aug. 30 viewing, but I feel it would have continued the sumptuous intensity of every other design element.
The Spark is throwing a lot against the wall here, and most of it sticks. Any undercooked elements still give a fresh zing of potential. Anything that errs toward overkill is easily forgiven through the prism of sheer, optimistic enthusiasm. I’m not here to pooh-pooh artists whose creative energy hasn’t been sucked dry from the unrelenting passage of time and inevitable heartbreak. We’ve got plenty of people for that. So yes, I’ll shout out a weird and wry interpretation of a favorite author’s work. It’s a good chance to catch a glimpse of the future of Austin’s artistic expression.
Ray Bradbury’s Pillar of Fire
The Vortex
Through Sept. 6
This article appears in The 35th Annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival.
