By Jess Wind (The Cascade) – Email
Miss Somewhere
Written and directed by Cait Archer (UFV)
Running time: 50 minutes
Showings: Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 3:50 p.m.
Memorable Lines: “It’s not like wanting to wait means I have no sex drive.”
“It’s like being on a diet for your junk.”
“That’s the second worst tasting thing I’ve had in my mouth all week.”
Warning: coarse language, sexual content and mature themes
Miss Somewhere finds three friends struggling through their early twenties with questions of sex, identity and whether to get out of bed in the morning or not. Nicole (played by Danielle Warmenhoven) wants to wait, but can’t deny her desires, Steph (played by Cheyenne Douglas-Ruttan) attempts to hide behind casual sex and Allison (played by Geneva Perkins) can’t seem to shake the memory of her ex. Each character possesses their own unique story arc, but the three come together to swap battle scars.
The strength of this play is in the script. Characters are thoroughly developed and give the audience a chance to care about them. The dialogue allows for light moments and uproarious laughter, but then quickly brings us down to the deep and emotional turmoil being experienced by the characters. Casual conversation and arguments appear to occur organically among the friends and other characters.
Popular music is used to transition between scenes and aid the changing mood in the plot. The set is relatively static, with a bedroom and a cafe providing the two main settings. Anything beyond this is depicted with lighting and music, allowing the focus to be on the shared space between these characters.
Miss Somewhere is a provocative original production that taps in to some of the reality of life as these characters attempt to navigate through mental illness, desire and their own expectations of self.
