Here’s a one-woman performance piece authored by Canadian playwright, Daniel MacIvor, which has been knocking about since the mid-80s. It’s not difficult to see why, as a dramatic work, See Bob Run is attractive for many smaller production companies: it deploys just one performer, is immediately emotionally and linguistically  accessible, requires no real props, and treads with great poise the line between comedy and tragedy. This is an intensely felt, fast-paced, wordy monologue that would whet the appetite of any attentive, aspiring actress, or director. In Dancing Torero Productions’ current embodiment of the play, running as part of the 2012 Planet Connections Festivity, we can be mighty grateful  that it should have come to the attentions of David Gautschy, who directs, and Allison Plamondon, who plays the eponymous Bob. Together they pull out all the stops and deliver an hour of scintillating theatre.

Our character, Bob (never Roberta!), is a young woman hitchhiking across Canada, heading east – where there’s “a lot of water”. She’s hoping to reconnect there with her estranged father, who was kicked out by her mother years before. Nervous, chatty, somewhat ill at ease, Bob might not be the safest hitchhiking bet you’d stop for. She has a slightly cracked sense of humor and – guarded as she is -her undisciplined conversation quickly strays on to intimate territory, and toward gun play. By turns she’s sharp and confiding, but all her bravado only thinly masks a sense of great trouble, which she won’t be drawn on. It’s this trouble, ultimately, she is running from. Right from the beginning, when Bob stands tall, straddling two chairs, and addresses the audience directly, relating a fairy tale about a lovely young princess, a doting father, and a jealous mother, we may think we know in which direction this story is heading. It’s Plamondon’s vibrant performance which keeps recalling you to the moments unfolding on stage, distracting you from the sense that maybe you know what has prompted her flight. This is a performance of some power and complexity, one that uncovers a magnetic sense of drama and appeal in a character who is herself blind to these qualities.

As you enter the auditorium you will see Plamondon busily moving about the stage, establishing the set. There isn’t that much to do, as everything is minimal and basic, but her frenetic energy subtly broadcasts that she is already in character. On “curtain up” she very much already owns the stage, and has elaborated an emotionally charged environment. She uses the space effectively to conjure domestic settings, car interiors, rock bar venues, and desolate roadside locations. As a presence Plamondon’s Bob is instantly appealing, with a bold, open gaze to the audience – calculating but not dismissive. There is a physically expressive character to her movements, very natural, never clownish, that speak volumes about a brittle sense of self command, a defensiveness that disowns a history as a fat girl who took tap classes. Bob is adept at conjuring the presences of personalities from her past: Tamara, her self-abandoned, damaged best friend; Timmy Prince, her adoring rock-singing boyfriend. Plamondon invests Bob with a lively sense of verbal and physical comedic timing, something which deepens the character’s otherwise glib assessments, shadowing a burgeoning sense of self-mockery, the ghost of a self-awareness. This is a subtle undertaking as Bob, in more important ways, is willfully blind to herself, her history, her goals. She depends desperately on the stories she spins for herself. They’re adopted blinkers she wears in a bid for a sense of self control. But it’s only a matter of time and opportunity before they will slip. This is all electrifyingly clear from Plamondon’s characterization, but her performance will keep you glued to your seat, hanging on every next utterance.

The strengths of performance, and writing, are thrown into relief by the production’s stripped-down, impressively spare set and lighting effects (Donald Eastman, Giovanni Villari). Additional atmosphere is generated with sound and rock music excerpts (Tracey Toth, Daniel Zaitchik) but is deployed frugally, giving prominence to words and actions. The result is a choice piece of theatre which packs quite a punch. Gautschy has delivered a memorable version of a drama piece presently coasting into its quarter century, and Plamondon gives what has to rank as one of the outstanding performances of this year’s festival. See See Bob Run; don’t walk – run.

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See Bob Run

Benefiting: RAINN
Produced by Dancing Torero Productions
Written by Daniel MacIvor
Directed by David Gautschy

$18 General Admission

$9.00 for Film/Music Participants

FREE for Theatre Festivity Participants

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Wednesday 6/6/12 – 5:00pm = Performance #1
Monday 6/11/12 – 4:00pm = Performance #2
Saturday 6/16/12 – 8:00pm = Performance #3
Wednesday 6/20/12 – 4:00pm =Performance #4
1 Hour 8 minutes

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At Bleecker Street Theatre (Downstairs)

45 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012

Conveniently located near:

Bleecker St (4 & 6)

Broadway – Lafayette St (B, D, F, M)

Prince St (N, R)

click here to purchase tickets

Related Posts:

• See Bob Run – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• The Taint Of Equality Or, I Want Your Sex (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• Bubby’s Shadow: Whose Shadow Is It? (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• The American Play (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• Scene/Unseen – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)

See Bob Run

Benefiting: RAINN
Produced by Dancing Torero Productions
Written by Daniel MacIvor
Directed by David Gautschy

“A dark and edgy dramedy about a young woman hitchhiking across the Canadian prairies. Determined to meet her estranged Father at the water, Bob is talkative, paranoid and full of secrets. Told through direct address, monologues to unsuspecting drivers and twisted fairytales. The play is a complex portrait of the many effects of abuse.”

Show Times:

• Wed 6/6/12 – 5:00pm
• Mon 6/11/12 – 4:00pm
• Saturday 6/16/12 – 8:00pm
• Wednesday 6/20/12 – 4:00pm

Answers by Allison Plamondon
(Actor, Producer) 

Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?

Allison:  Daniel MacIvor wrote the play in the 80s so he named it then.

Diánna Martin’s Question
If you were going to invite 5 people (from the past or present) to see your show – who would you invite … and why?

Allison:  Daniel MacIvor (because he wrote it-although don’t tell me when he is there because I will forget all of my lines)
Caroline Gillis (because she originated the role in 1986 and I would love to buy her a beer after the show)
Tim Ryan (head of my theatre program-passed away in 2009. because he would be proud)
John Cameron Mitchell (because Hedwig and the Angry Inch is totally inspiring!)
Robert Downey Jr (because wouldn’t you want him at your show?)

Antonio Minino’s Question
What is the biggest sacrifice you’ve made for your art and was it worth it?
Allison:  Leaving everything I had in Toronto and moving to New York. Was it worth it? You have to ask?

Geoffrey Paddy Johnson’s Question
Was there any unexpected discovery made during the development of this production and can you share it with us?
Allison:  In 2011, we worked on See Bob Run part-time for months and months before doing a workshop presentation in the fall. When we picked it up again (8 months later) it was amazing how quickly everything came back. Phew. So, the unexpected discovery was now that the groundwork was laid, we could take more risks and have more fun with it. Exciting!

Michelle Augello-Page’s Question
What do you hope the audience receives from the experience of seeing this show?
Allison:  I hope the audience walks away saying “eh” at the end of every sentence like a true Canadian.

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Planet Connections runs from May 30 – June 24 at The Bleecker Street Theater located at 45 Bleecker Street, New York, NY. To purchase tickets to this or any of the shows click here.

Related Posts:

• Accidental Incest: Someone For Everyone – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• Bubby’s Shadow: Whose Shadow Is It? (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• The American Play (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• Scene/Unseen – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• Coyote On A Fence – FREE Staged Reading – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)