Chesapeake

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At first glance it would appear that "Chesapeake," is a one-man show featuring North Carolina company co-founder and artistic director Charlie Flynn-McIver in the demanding role of Kerr, the only character seen on stage.

But, a second thought reveals that this riveting production — in its third incarnation by NCSC — is a collaborative effort by more than half-dozen competent theater professionals.

The term “ensemble” usually refers to a group of actors. In the case of "Chesapeake," the term applies to the technical staff. Company co-founder and producing director Angie Flynn-McIver has assembled an ensemble of technical theater artists who are truly up to the challenge. And a challenge it is.

Charlie McIver is awesome in a complex and multi-layered role, an intense exploration of the life of a Southern, bisexual performance artist who starts this telling of his journey with a trip to a major art gallery with his distant father. And from there it is all up hill.

With the help of NCSC's team of theater technicians, we get a trip that is memorable and rewarding, with no small amount of effort demanded from the attentive audience.

The stage is a stark, uncluttered, basic black performing area adorned only with two large, light-colored blocks that accentuate the starkness and blackness of the story. On the back wall hangs a massive, gilt-framed expanse that later provides stunning projected visuals provided by the skilled technology of Craig Hobbs, a local video artist who was trained by the Disney-founded California Institute of the Arts.

These intermittent and provocative projections enhance the storyline and embellish a strange journey through art and politics and the improbable importance of a dog — a large, black Chesapeake Bay Lab called both Lucky and Rats. The dazzling images would, alone, be impressive, but combined with the sound design and original bass compositions of Mike Ponder, the technical feats equal that of the lone actor on stage.

Not only are the sounds impressive, but the cues for both sound and visuals are impeccable. Barbara Taggart is credited with the soundboard operation. Casey Morris cues the visuals, and both deserve kudos for their technical timing and virtuosity. Lighting by Leigh Spencer Brown is less noticeable, but hardly insignificant. Only Kerr/McIver's ratty rags were no-brainer decisions by Shelley Porter, whose chores as costumer were hardly demanding.

The play is a romp through the woods and into Chesapeake Bay, with senatorial elements of Strom Thurman and Jesse Helms mixed in. It's a portrait of a disturbed and unstable performance artist who does a stunning second-act reincarnation.

by Jim Cavener