When a show takes its title from the beginning of the Preamble to the U.S.Constitution, concern for justice is implied. Company One's latest effort, "A More Perfect Union", a theatrical collage by Kirsten Greenidge, approaches the subject obliquely, combining unrelated current situations--including by implication current conflicts--in a poetic fashion. The result is interesting but inconclusive. Injustice is evident, cause is obscure. The author has combined true stories, including the deportation case of a Fenway High math teacher from the Ivory Coast, a report of a Moldovan mother's search for her daughter who's been unwillingly drawn into prostitution, the situation of older children during Katrina evacuations, a CNN reporter jailed during participation in a street protest, and a confrontation between a Black teenager and an angry Hispanic cop, into a journalistic snapshot of the times. Greenidge has not however found a climax to the action and the show ends abstractly with rather preachy sentiments.
The presentation, funded in part by a grant from the Surdna Foundation, is however effective, after an unfocussed opening which attempts to suggest what's to come without definition. About half the performers are students from the Boston Arts Academy, part of Fenway High, so the case of Obain Attouoman, played by Doublas Theodore is of special interest. But his story only becomes clear towards the end of the second half. Likewise the situation of a black prep school student, played by Eladio Banks, stopped for a minor traffic violation at night and hauled off to jail by Raymond Ramirez's angry Hispanic cop. Ramirez is a recent Boston Academy grad. Somehow the energy achieved in the second half of this piece needs to be worked into the first.
Director Juanita A. Rodrigues, a BAA faculty member who's worked with Company One before, has used the energy of her younger cast members in contrast to the efforts of more experienced actors. Theodore's dignified African teacher is nicely balanced by David Curtis, an Our Place Theatre stalwart, as Coop(er) Kelley, an outgoing CNN stringer who refused to pay a fine for demonstrating without a permit and spent time in lockup. Mary Driscoll is compelling as a mother searching for her daughter in a strange land. That unfortunate young woman is done by Magda Spasiano, who runs the Youth Programs at the Strand Theatre. She also play Coop's unforgiving girlfriend. Molly Kimmerling plays sympathetic Iris, who turns out to be the sister of the cop. (Their grandfather was from Argentina.) Other cast members include Amber P. Knight as Mrs. Bea, a stressed out relief worker, Company One's Training Director Summer L. Williams from the Brookline High faculty as Bertha, and a filmed appearance of Rosalind Thomas-Clark, head of theatre at BAA, playing the Banshee, a figure from Iris' Irish grandmother's tales.
Two students playing "students," Tina Do and Damean Hollis, provide kind of a comic chorus with a running commentary of daily life. Tyshaunda Hasberry is twelve year old Evette, separated from her mother in New Orleans and dumped off somewhere. She's also a ghostly figure from Obain's childhood, who haunts his conscience. Taoe Clarke and Michael Cognata play Banks' two friends while Karla Heradia is Aline, another relief worker. The show benefits from the particular input of all these performers, who give it an improvisational air. The result feels very much like a work in progress, which needs editing, rearrangement and still more interweaving to achieve its "union." Just having key characters wind up in the same holding cell doesn't seem quite enough.
The abstract set by Mark Buchanan, who also lit his creation, provides enough interesting levels and areas for the action. Joseph Doullette's video projections try to broaden the action with varying success. Deric Quest's soundscape is relevant but seldom compelling. Jennifer Varekamp, BAA Costumer, has added abstract touches to the contemporary costumes of all cast members, creating a unified impression of style, with the help of Kaya Manselle and Deysi Melgar and a dedicated crew.
Company One, as with Greenidge's IRNE nominated script "103 in the Veil" from last year, again demonstrates their commitment to contemporary theatre, pushing the envelope. The involvement of student actors in a mixed company in a developmental show is also commendable. The process this time could well be as important as the result, though one hopes that this production can be tightened up before their projected trip to the Edinburgh Festival this summer.