Clik here to view.
The questions are likely to arise right at the beginning of Star Finch’s new play in three scenes:
Why is the title “Shipping & Handling”?
Why, in the first scene (which is an actors’ post-show after-party), is the acting—as directed by Lisa Marie Rollins and Leigh Rondon-Davis—so cartoony, so over the top?
And what on earth is the solemn, repetitive and very lengthy ritual at the end of the scene all about?
That first scene, in this complex, imaginative play about artificial intelligence as seen through the prism of Black America, more particularly Black female America, is confusing. It’s full of disjointed comments that never come to fruition, punctuated by the sound of sirens, and feels randomly chaotic.
Finch’s structure is intriguing: The Crowded Fire Theater world premiere unfurls backwards, from the after-party to a rambling, non-traditional talkback with the playwright to the final scene, which is the play, called “Indigo,” itself.
In that scene, an AI creator (played by an impressive Cat Brooks) and her spooky-surreal, life-like bot, Indigo (a perfectly cast, mesmerizing Davia Spain), work their way through a new and intense relationship. Although this last scene goes on a bit too long (as does the whole play at two and a half hours with intermission), it’s the most interesting of the three because the interaction between human and robot feels real, even emotionally involving–although, ironically, one of them is artificial.
Most problematic is the middle scene, even though Rolanda D. Bell, as the playwright, is well in control of what turns out to be a very long monologue. It’s a scene that’s relatable—an uncomfortable, awkward character gaining confidence, coming to terms with her own convictions, developing a relationship with us, the audience. The scene is metatheatrical, interactive.
Clik here to view.
But it’s too interactive. In one long segment, the playwright’s assistants pass jars of water to every member of the audience, and we’re asked to gaze at the jar and envision a future of Black female empowerment. But why, exactly? Finch seems to be throwing into the theatrical pot as many ideas as possible that relate to our future. After an interminable pause in the action as the jars are passed around, she asks us if she should be trustful enough to drink the water from those jars.
But as with other aspects of “Shipping & Handling,” that baffling question is not followed through to any conclusion.
Finch’s “Indigo” playwright is here to talk about her play about Black robots and to challenge us directly in various ways. Similarly, presumably, is Finch herself. What might the future look like, to whom might it belong? But she fails to shape her suggestions into a comprehensible whole.
Ultimately the promising chronological structure forms a jumble of ideas and rituals and dramatic experimentation that is elusive, depriving us of insight into some key elements of our human journey.
Crowded Fire Theater’s “Shipping & Handling” runs through Sept. 7 at Magic Theatre, Landmark Building D, Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Blvd., San Francisco. Tickets are $20-$95, with pay-what-you-can options, at crowdedfire.org.
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