Jobsite Theater's latest production nearly defies description. An "ultraviolet comedy"? A satire?
By MARTY CLEAR
Published August 5, 2004
[Photo: Jobsite Theater]
Katrina Stevenson (as Coral), Ami Sallee Corley (Murphy) and Jason Vaughan Evans (Marcus) star in the Jobsite Theater’s production of Delusion of Darkness.
Even people who know Delusion of Darkness well have trouble talking about it in any kind of traditional way. In fact, to do so would diminish the play's effect.
"I'm trying to avoid telling people exactly what it's about," said Shawn Paonessa, who's directing the Jobsite Theater production of Delusion. "The play is very subjective."
Okay, so it's subjective. But there are characters, and a setting, and things happen, right?
Well, kind of, Paonessa said.
"The story's about Murphy, and he's in a bar called the Inlet of Fog in a city that's full of depravity and smugglers and people hiding from each other."
Oh, and Murphy is a man played by a woman (the script insists on it), and the play takes place on the 66th of June. And we're never supposed to be 100 percent sure that Murphy is really as he seems, or that what Murphy experiences is really happening.
All right then, at least tell us this much: Is this a surrealistic drama? A black comedy? Or what?
"The script calls it "an ultraviolet comedy,' " Paonessa said. "It's really more of a satire. It's a broad, sustained attack on a lot of authorities - religion, government, culture. Intrinsically, the play is an attack on the solace people take in deflecting responsibility to powers beyond themselves."
So the play, apparently, has something approaching a conventional theme.
Playwright Steve Patterson is something of a favorite at Jobsite, which has staged a few of his works, including Waiting on Sean Flynn. But Paonessa said even people who know other Patterson plays won't be prepared for this.
Perhaps the best way to approach Delusion, he said, is through its dedication: "To the late William S. Burroughs."
That explains much. Burroughs, the preternatural novelist, never seemed interested in depicting, or even inhabiting, a sane universe. He was more inclined to present disquieting hallucinatory stimuli, meant to disturb rather than edify.
This play, consciously inspired by Burroughs' Naked Lunch, doesn't require a background in or even affection for the author's work. But Paonessa admits that it's a select audience that will connect to Delusion of Darkness. It's the same subculture that revels in late-night dive bars.
"If you don't like going to the Hub at 2 o'clock in the morning," Paonessa said, "you're not going to like this play."
PREVIEW: Delusion of Darkness runs Friday through Aug. 22 at the Shimberg Playhouse at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday. $15.50 plus service charge. Call 813 229-7827 or go to www.tbpac.org
