FULLY COMMITTED
FULLY COMMITTED
Reviewed by Jeffrey R Smith of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle
Every profession has its final exam. For law, the final exam is obviously the Bar Exam. For aviation, the final is the Airline Transport Rating check ride with an FAA examiner. For an escort service, it's the U.S. Senate. But for an actor, it has got to be performing FULLY COMMITTED.
Aside from the trapeze, acrobatics and professional wrestling, FULLY COMMITTED has to be the most strenuous show invented. It is one man doing a dozen or so distinctive characters. Think of it: one man memorizing a dozen scripts and developing a dozen characters. Even without the heat of the Klieg Lights, the show will wring more sweat out of an actor than a Pilates Class or an IRS audit.
Dan Saski and Justin Scheuer, of the Ross Valley Players, alternately step up to the plate: both playing the core character Sam, and all the dozen or so ancillary roles, on alternating nights. Argo Thompson directs.
Sam works the reservation line for a hot, trendy, see-and-be-seen, restaurant in New York. If you have ever worked under pressure, for the self-absorbed, the self-important and the self-indulgent, then you can appreciate the nature of Sam's position. Everyone Sam speaks to on the phone considers himself or herself to be priority one: the center of the universe. Sam is centrifuged omni-directionally: trying to be all things and to do all things for all people. Finally Sam finds his grounding point: he is an actor and he gets a callback. Based on just the possibility of an acting job, Sam's self-esteem soars and his whole perception of reality changes. It is interesting to watch Sam ascend the power structure: changing his social and contractual dynamic with the people who have hitherto used and abused him.
FULLY COMMITTED is more than an opportunity to showcase an actor's range and stamina: it is an enjoyable, illuminating comedy in its own right. For tickets to this remarkable one-man show contact the Ross Valley Players at www.rossvalleyplayers.com or call 415-456-9555.
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