The Black Rep (A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre, Mallinckrodt Center, Washington University) opens its 37th season on September 5, with Ron Conner’s performance of Emergency, a one-man show written by Daniel Beaty and directed by Ron Himes.
Conner, a longtime actor at the Black Rep, will portray over 40 characters in this 80-minute show. Himes says, “Ron [Conner] is a really, really talented young actor. He’s got an incredible capacity for learning lines, which allowed more time to be dedicated to developing the many characters. He’s done a great job delineating the forty-some-odd characters in the play.”
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These characters range from a homeless man to an 11-year-old boy to a religious grandmother, all reacting to the bizarre appearance of a slave ship in the modern-day New York Harbor.
The play has received critical acclaim: in 2007, Beaty won the Obie Award for Excellence in Off-Broadway Theatre for Writing & Performing as well as the AUDELCO Award for Solo Performance in 2007. Emergency has been deemed both funny and smart. Himes says this is because “the writing is good and the characters are interesting and humorous. I think the take on the subject matter adds a lot of humor to the work, as well.”
According to Himes, there are both positives and negatives to running a one-man show. With only one actor to focus on, “you can really facilitate him as he works through the text. You can shape and mold his performance,” Himes says. Of course, the director has had to be careful about overworking his star. Sometimes, Himes says, he needs to realize there comes a time in rehearsal that they’ve reached a point of diminishing returns, and they have to take a break. It’s important to keep Conner happy and healthy because the show rests entirely on the actor’s capable shoulders. With no understudy and over three weeks of rehearsal, the diligent duo is ready to open the curtains and showcase their hard work.
Himes says, “It’s probably going to be one of the finest performances of the 2013/2014 theater season in St. Louis.”
Emergency runs through Sept. 15, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $25 ($10 for the student rush 15 minutes before curtain). Call the Black Rep Box Office at 314-534-3807 to purchase tickets.
