Black Box Theatre streams ‘Connections’

Black Box Theatre (BBT) and its resident No Strings Theatre Company are becoming a house of imagination as they present three short plays under the title “Connections” in February.

The menu consists of “The Illuminati in Drama Libre” by Alice Gerstenberg, "A Walk In The Park" by Stanley Dyrector and "A Pair of Lunatics" by W.R. Walkes.

"Connections" will stream Friday-Saturday, Feb. 12-13 and 19-20. The show streams 24 hours beginning at 7 p.m. on all days. To watch on Sunday, sign up for the Saturday show the day before the desired Sunday.

There is no charge. Pre-register by email to nstcbbt@zianet.com with Connections in the subject line and indicating the desired viewing date.

“Connections” is performed and directed by BBT owners Ceil and Peter Herman. The last time they were on stage together was performing "Love Letters" by A.R. Gurney n 2006. Since "Love Letters" was not available for streaming this year, the Hermans created their own entertaining and uplifting February show.

“In some ways, working on ‘Connections’ wasn’t much of a change, since we work together daily,” the Hermans said. “Being up on stage and actually moving around, as opposed to sitting at desks in ‘Love Letters’ was very different. The lack of an audience, other than the video crew, was a real change, however it allowed us to stop and re-do sections, if we messed up. The new twist, compared to other staged readings, was that we didn’t operate from scripts in our hands but rather with the script on a large-screen TV ‘teleprompter.’ The three plays in ‘Connections’ ranged from absurd to realistic, requiring differences in costumes and accents. It was definitely a very strange, but rewarding and fun experience.”

In "The Illuminati in Drama Libre," published in 1921, the characters explore each other and run the gamut of human emotion in a three-minute time span. Two characters, He and She, are dressed absurdly in the most vivid colors. The two make a whirlwind entrance in front of the curtain.

"A Walk In The Park," published in 2018, is described as a romantic short play for seniors. In the play, Jack, an older man walking in the park, sees a woman on a bench who seems to be adjusting to being a senior. She looks familiar. Does he know her? Could it be the girl, Essie, who long, long ago helped him get over another who broke his heart?

in “A Pair of Lunatics,” written in 1889 and first performed at the Drury Lane and Avenue Theatres in London, Dr. Adams hosts a ball at a mental institution. Two of his guests come across each other and each mistakes the other for a patient.

Mario Valencia served as videographer during the production, which runs about 40 minutes total.

The Hermans each received an artist-relief grant from the Doña Ana Arts Council to help with the project.

BBT’s theatre gallery hosts a number of local artists participating in a virtual exhibit themed “Connections” to accompany the production and in honor of February’s For the Love of Art Month. Participating artists are Diana Ayers, Margaret Bernstein, Thalia Cisneros, Rebecca Courtney,

Penny Duncklee, Angelina Gaff, Kris Karpaul, Beth LeBlanc, Jan Minow, Marjorie Moeser, Brenda Nuvue, SABA, Bekah Taulbee and Joshua Taulbee.

Visit http://no-strings.org/.