Two one-act dramas

Underground art institutions Insurgent Theatre and Alchemist Theatre have teamed up for a double feature that explores the darker side of human emotion. The two shorts, split by an intermission, run no longer than an average feature-length drama. The presentation runs through May 4.

Insurgent opens the program with Cracks in the Floor, a compelling naturalistic drama starring Tim Chrapko and Tracy Doyle as siblings who live above a man running a Christian cult (Jason Hames). Doyle’s performance is inexplicably captivating given the passivity of her character while Chrapko’s best work lies in unspoken movements – in the title moment, for instance, when he peels back the carpeting to reveal light shining through a crack in the apartment floor. In a brilliant and subtle statement about the nature of observation, Cracks in the Floor turns mirrors upon mirrors as the audience watches Chrapko watch those who are watching Hames. The play was developed in Insurgent’s workshop and through intensive one-on-one character development with director Wes Tank. The resulting short is by no means a ground-breaking work, but the process contributed to producing a profoundly moody piece that drifts across the stage with a casually dazzling darkness.

In Alchemist’s psychological thriller 31 – set along US Highway 31 – Kirk Thomsen plays a reluctant forensic pathologist investigating a string of murders with Aaron Kopec as the womanizing police investigator working alongside him. Kopec also designed the set, which is impressively detailed for such a small space. Liz Shipe picks up dual roles as the forensic pathologist’s wife and a waitress at the diner where the two investigators meet. The plot is derivative of Hollywood crime dramas and draws quite close to Christopher Nolan’s indie classic Memento, but the ensemble manages to deliver interesting, clever performances. Shipe and Kopec’s moments together as Investigator and Waitress are some of the most novel in the play. Thomsen’s believable performance tempers the pathologist’s uneasiness with an understated professional detachment. The story of 31 ends with a video segment which fails to tie together an otherwise satisfying first outing for Alchemist Theatre Productions. VS

Cracks In The Floor and 31 run through May 4 at the Alchemist Theatre. For more information, visit Insurgent and/or Alchemist online.