Recorded in Front of a Live Studio Audience: R A-Holes - review

[Jane Zussman]

Recorded in Front of a Live Studio Audience: R A-Holes is a unique collaboration between the MSU Department of Theatre, MSU School of Journalism and WKAR Public Media.

It's fun/silly sitcom about a quirky set of college RAs (resident assistants) dealing with each other and a mysterious fart problem — all chopped up and spread out with sometimes repeated scenes. The program says it runs three hours with multiple intermissions, but it was only two and a half. There was one major time-to-go-pee intermission and multiple fun mini-intermissions filled with sitcom trivia questions for the audience led by an enthusiastic hostess, whose name I did not catch. Was she a “Stage Manager” maybe… “Trivia Hostess” was not listed in the program.

We sat right in front of a screen showing what each of the five cameras was shooting. With camera operators somewhat blocking the real-life view, it was a fun alternative to watch the multiple camera views, choose a close up, or wider shot.

Director Ryan Patrick Walsh wrote the script with Sarah Hendrickson. The cast seemed to be having a great deal of fun both on-camera and between takes. Lyric Williams, Noah Savage, Emilia Duffield Chisom Anwunah, Hugh Watters, Nolan Loukes, Cameron Gilbertson, Shelby Parker, Jonathan Urban and Juliana Barnerd all presented stylized and distinct characters on pace and always ready for another take.

I was a little frustrated by the waiting and repeating but it was interesting to see “how the sausage is made” and to realize that this group is creating the raw materials that students in the Multi Camera for the Arts class will edit into a finished sitcom, 30 or 40 minutes long, which will be entered into next year’s student film festival, along with projects from across the country. The plan/hope is that it could be someday viewable on YouTube. And our chuckles and laughter will be a part of the finished product.

R A-Holes continues through March 29. There are only about 60 seats in the studio audience, and it’s almost sold out so get your general admission ticket soon. NOTE that the entrance is on the south side of the building. WKAR Studio A (Communication Arts & Sciences Building) 404 Wilson Rd, East Lansing across from the parking garage. If you enter from the north side of the building you may be lost in the labyrinth as we nearly were. Tickets at:

https://whartoncenter.evenue.net/events/WC-DOT-LIVE

Jane Zussman

G.L.U.T. List

(Greater Lansing Ubiquitous Theatre)

cell 517-930-0932

JSZu...@gmail.com

http://www.greaterlansingtheatre.net 

To review past emails as they were sent, click “About the G.L.U.T.” and choose “email list” from the drop-down menu — also check out the all-theatres calendar.

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