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Surprises Fall Throughout 'Oak Tree'

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By KATHY L. GREENBERG

Tribune correspondent

Published: August 31, 2008

Theater is an exercise in manipulation of the senses. The actors and audience are at each other's mercy for what is seen, heard and felt. The question becomes, then: Are these responses grounded in reality or illusion?

The Gorilla Theatre will tackle this philosophical conundrum in its production of Tim Crouch's "An Oak Tree."

It's a tough assignment.

Steve Mountan plays a hypnotist who asks a volunteer to participate in his act. A tragic incident that occurred three months prior connects the two characters and influences their interactions.

Mountan will appear in every performance, but a different actor will portray the volunteer each night. The kicker is that the guest actors have no idea what the play is about until the end of the show.

"In the introduction, Steve says what he's being and gives the other actor his or her dialogue. The hypnotist character is fully developed and blocked, but he has to figure out what path the other actor is going on. Steve's path changes depending on where they go," says Bridget Bean, manager of the Gorilla Theatre.

The play's combination of improvisation and scripting dictates absolute secrecy among the actors and stage crew. Director Ami Sallee Corley even held rehearsals with stand-ins for each of the guest performers.

"You'll get to see 13 of the Bay area's best actors performing without a rehearsal. They don't get to prepare. You'll just see their raw process," Corley says.

A painting at the Tate Modern in London inspired Crouch's unusual script. Michael Craig-Martin's "An Oak Tree" depicts a glass of water sitting on a shelf. Next to the work is a series of questions and answers that reveal the artist's process of transubstantiating the glass of water into an oak tree.

In the play, objects, people and time are transformed to "give meaning they didn't have to start with," Bean says. "For example, a little girl in the story appears as a chair. A piano stool appears as an oak tree. They are transformed by the will of the people onstage and the will of the audience."

Key to fully appreciating the show will be the post-performance question-answer session. The Gorilla will also issue one free ticket per theatergoer to see another actor on a different night. It's a second chance to witness the actors' process and re-experience the play's revelations.

Note: This show contains adult situations and may not be suitable for children.

ON STAGE

An Oak Tree
WHEN: Thursday through Sept. 21, 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Gorilla Theatre, 4419 N. Hubert Ave., Tampa

HOW MUCH: $15 to $25, depending on date of performance; (813) 879-2914; www.gorillatheatre.com

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