FringeNYC 2013: HALF
A King and Queen declare divorce, launching their servants into a slapstick frenzy as the kingdom busts apart like a firecracker. Two actors play six madcap characters in this irreverent, whirling-dervish farce. Grab hold...and let the Royal Tug-of-War begin!
Official production websiteShow details/ticketing at FringeNYC
Review by Alyssa Simon · August 10, 2013
The start of a marriage can be like a fairytale. Spouses are royalty who rule over the private dominion of their castle or one-bedroom apartment. But Becca Foresman’s HALF, a terrifically absurd and hysterically funny two-person farce acted by Foresman and Adam Zivkovic, shows what happens when Their Majesties divorce, the magic spell breaks and innocents are left to pick up the pieces. No really. It’s very funny.
Foresman plays a simple maidservant, a haughty Queen, a nutty therapist equally full of Yiddish slang and psychobabble and a jarringly loud cuckoo in a clock, while Zivkovic is the equally simple and befuddled valet, arrogant yet insecure king and a flamboyantly manipulative interior decorator. All the characters at one point interact with each other and at the wonderfully dizzying height of the chaos, it seems like they are all on stage at the same time.
In the beginning, the King and Queen are having a marital spat at the royal dining table. The argument escalates to screaming, broken furniture and popped water balloons, which represent food that when bitten into explode all over the actors and stage. In a very clever running joke, balloons are also twisted into crowns and used as noisemakers when let go of to signify a celebration.
The two servants must not only clean up the aftermath, they have to find a way to get the two royals back together, so they won’t be out of a job. Foresman and Zivkovic play the maid and valet not like the traditionally sly and crafty servants in commedia farces, but more like children who are afraid of what will happen to them when Mom and Dad split up.
It is really quite emotionally moving and thoughtful. It also adds depth to their scrambling to clean the room to make things right or sit and think as they try to balance on chairs broken in half. In a theatrically delightful contrast, the therapist and interior decorator are the villainous cynical grown-ups who make a deal with each other to exploit the royals emotional weaknesses to steal their wealth before the lawyers divvy it up.
Director Cara M. Tucker keeps the slapstick pace moving like a cyclone, but not so fast that we miss the subtleties and wordplay of Foresman’s very witty and topical text.
Costume designer Maggie McGrann also adds to the zaniness by dressing the two actors in identical knee-high lace-up sneakers and outfits of bright pink and blue. It is a testimony to Foresman and Zivkovic that they can transform their clown-like apparel into royal garments and then into the trendy wear of sycophants simply through the exacting specificity of their body language and manners. I can’t recommend this show highly enough!
Preview: Interviews with Artists from HALF
We're asking artists from each show to answer questions about themselves and their work to help our readers get a detailed advance picture of the festival:
Theater Beats Movies · Cara M. Tucker (Director)
- What things does live theater allow you to do that you can’t do in movies?
HALF is incredible because it's all about the two magical people onstage. They conjure six characters, an entire world, and one witty, deeply thoughtful story entirely out of themselves. There are some knee-high Converses and balloons too, but it's up to the audience to hear the story and imagine the world for themselves. There's something magical in sticking some human beings in a room, turning off the lights, and asking them to listen and imagine. Film is a wonderful art. It lets you show stories exactly the way you want them to be seen. You can make the magic real in the movie, if you want, with effects and camera angles and closeups. But in theatre, our audience has to agree to believe in our magic for the next hour and a half. Of course two people can be six people. Yes, that cuckoo clock is the most terrifying thing in the world. Everybody in the room is part of making the story, and I don't think I will ever get tired of how challenging, fun, intriguing, human --and in short, cool-- that is. - Are there boundaries as to what kind of theatre you will take part in?
If there are, I haven't found them yet. Every story is worth exploring. - Is there a particular moment in this show that you really love or look forward to? Without giving away surprises, what happens in that moment and why does it jazz you?
HALF is beautifully articulate chaos. Its break-neck pace and its unrelenting humor make it the play that it is. But I always find myself on my edge of the seat when the chaos pauses. HALF is an extremely funny farce about divorce, but it's still a play about that wrenching and difficult end to a relationship. When you least expect it, when you're trying to catch your breath and screw your head back on, suddenly you can feel the wave of a big thought that's been coming for a long time. And it's only getting bigger. There's nothing like it. - Is your directing style more like Hitchcock, Spielberg, Woody Allen, or Ed Wood?
I'm a Hitchcock who hung out with the Marx Brothers too much. Alfred Hitchcock had an amazing talent for making movies that suck an audience in and bring all of their thoughts and emotions out (even if fear is the one we think of most with his work). He's so personal. As a director, that's all I ever want to do-- find ways to tell stories that bring you into them as they bring out your own ideas and reactions. - If you could get advice about directing this show from one director (living or dead), who would it be, and why?
Charlie Chaplin. I was surprised to learn that he wrote, directed, produced, and edited almost all of his acting work. He had such a complete vision, not to mention a driving need for excellence and a brilliance for timing.
Journey to FringeNYC · Christina Henricks (Other)
- What are some of your previous theater credits? (Be specific! Name shows, etc.)
Select stage management: Hamlet, Eden, Woyzeck (ASM), It Takes a Village, and Sunday in the Park with George, all for the Lewis Center for the Arts; I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change for Princeton University Players. At Princeton Summer Theater: She Loves Me, Crimes of the Heart. - If this is your first appearance in FringeNYC -- why did you want to be part of this festival? If you have appeared in FringeNYC before, tell us what show(s) you have done here previously. What about your prior experience led you back to this festival?
I wanted to be a part of FringeNYC because I thought it would be a unique, challenging experience that would make me a better artist. So far, all of that has been true. I'm delighted to have this chance and to work with such a talented team on HALF. - Have you seen a lot of fringe shows in the past, and what have you learned from them to help with this show?
I've seen as many shows as possible. I've learned to be open, bold, and ready to take risks. Audiences and artists alike come to fringe willing to try new things and go on a journey. I'm also learning about the particular process that it takes to make a show come together in this festival. HALF is a show that is perfect for FringeNYC, yet unlike anything audiences have seen before. - What was the most memorable/funny/unusual thing that has happened during the development and rehearsal process for this show?
Every rehearsal is hilarious. The dialogue, the physical comedy, and Adam's and Becca's skills leave me entertained at every moment - it can be a tough task to stay serious and keep us on the clock. - Which cartoon character would most like this show – Bugs Bunny, Marge Simpson, Charlie Brown, or Casper the Friendly Ghost?
All cartoon characters would like this show, and we've looked to various animated characters, like Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove and Scrat from Ice Age, for inspiration for some of our characters. I think Bugs Bunny would connect with the madcap humor and Marge Simpson would appreciate the droll wit on every page.
All About My Show · Adam Zivkovic (Actor)
- Complete this sentence: My show is the only one in FringeNYC that...?
My show is the only one in FringeNYC that will make you reconsider everything you think about Royal life. For the members of this Court, things are hardly what they seem, and the stakes are very high. - Tell us about the character or characters that you portray in this show.
I play three characters in "HALF" - a stern but vulnerable King who is desperate to live up to his title, a charming yet dubious Interior Decorator/Personal Trainer who will do anything to hold onto his new title, and a hardworking but often directionless Valet who loves cookies and Coca-Cola cake. They are all very different people, and it's such a fun challenge working to get that across in performance. - What moment or section in this show do you really love to perform? Without giving away surprises, what happens in that moment and why do you love it?
This is a tough one! One of my favorite scenes involves the King's heart-to-heart talk with the Maid and Valet. Ever the loose cannon, the King walks the line between control and complete abandon as he explains the coming changes in palace life. I love this scene because it shows what type of emotions can be bubbling underneath the King's very carefully chosen words, and it's great fun as an actor to play against yourself in that way. - Which school or system of acting has been most useful to you in your career, and why (examples: The Method, Uta Hagen, Viewpoints, etc.)?
I have found the Adler technique to be most useful to me in my career. I studied at the Stella Adler Studio here in the city and I had wonderful teachers there. Their focus on teaching very practical tools in character building has been very helpful to me and stuck with me over the years, and those tools are especially useful in a project like "HALF". - What's your favorite pastime when you’re not working on a play?
When I'm not working on a play, I love to go cycling by the Hudson River and around the city. I get to exercise outside while exploring the boroughs. I especially love biking across the city's bridges - the views are amazing.
The Five W's · Becca Foresman (Writer)
- Who are your favorite playwrights?
Authors who revere the absurd! I enjoy irreverent, philosophically engaged playwrights who explore verbal and physical comedy with equal intensity. Just a few: Samuel Beckett, Moliere, Marina Carr, John Patrick Shanley, Dario Fo, Tom Stoppard, David Ives, Yasmina Reza, James Thiérrée, Alfred Jarry. - What's your favorite pastime when you’re not working on a play?
Cooking Mexican food (tilapia tacos, spicy rice and beans, guacamole, mango salsa) while listening to the radio (The Moth, AltLatino, This American Life, Radiolab). Riding the East River Ferry in all weather. Watching the dogs in the McCarren park fetch, befriend, defy, tousle, and dig. They're wholly devoted to whatever game they're playing. - Where does this play take place, and how did you choose that location?
HALF unfolds in a royal palace that is at once a feudal court and a modern-day household. In this palace, formality bumps up against the wacky every-day. There are servants, scepters, and ritualized salutations; there is also a psychotherapist who rhapsodizes about Katz's pastrami and a personal fitness instructor who chants about Oprah. - When did you know you wanted to work in the theater, and why?
When I was fifteen or so, I played Henry in the Fantasticks. Every night, I underwent a transformation: bald cap, spirit gum, facial hair, pancake makeup, pumpkin pants. I was unrecognizable. My first entrance was from a trapdoor. The actor playing my sidekick, Mortimer, and I would tromp down to the basement of the theater, coat ourselves in baby powder, burst through the trapdoor, and pat each other down (the baby powder looked like dust) yelling and sneezing and reciting fake Shakespeare. It was magical. I realized then that the language of comedy is like the language of music: it's technically precise, measured, and yet chaotic - immensely empathic and unpredictable. After morphing into Henry every night, I knew I wanted to study and speak that language for a lifetime. - Why did you want to write this show?
I took a clowning class with Christopher Bayes during my first year in New York. The red nose revealed a powerful constellation of ideas and helped me to connect the dots with humor and fearlessness. It changed me profoundly. Riding the coattails of the clown, I began writing HALF after that first workshop. We're arriving at a very rich place in the national dialogue about family and divorce. There's been a wave of playful yet probing narrative about domestic instability, and our shifting definition of what lifelong vows and childbearing entail. Movies and TV shows come to mind—The Kids Are All Right, Modern Family, Louie—and I wanted to participate in the dialogue on a theatrical level. The other truth: I wanted to see whether it was physically possible for two people to inhabit six characters onstage at once. Turns out it is!
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