THEATER REVIEW

Tom Titus

Relationships, moral choices and societal anguish all come in for

their 10 minutes of fame (or infamy) in Orange Coast College’s fall “10

or Less Festival” of one-act plays staged by the school’s Student

Repertory Company.

Eight stories unfold during the two-hour program, half of which

feature the ubiquitous and highly talented Angel Correa, who assumes

several different character disguises. Correa runs the gamut from a

romantic loser to a confused Mexican American to a nerdy dreamer plotting

a pornographic franchise.

In the opener, “Love in Just 10 Minutes,” Correa is paired with Katie

McGuire in a short saga of instant romance and its eventual heartbreak.

Both serve as narrators from their particular viewpoints, and the playlet

-- written and directed by Jason Mutz -- illustrates the pitfalls

inherent in such sudden relationships.

“Downtown” by Jeffrey Hatcher is a quirky comedy with a twist at the

end involving two women and an obviously gay guy, ostensibly writers,

casting aspersions about a restaurant’s successful author clientele right

and left. Miracle Laurie shines in this piece, aided and abetted nicely

by Chris Meditz and Heather Layton.

Correa returns for “Nerd Porn Auteur” by Regan Fox, a one-man piece

imaginatively directed by Angela Lopez. Here, Correa envisions a porno

empire established for losers like himself in a deliciously funny

presentation.

“Little Things” also involves Correa, but was written and directed by

Sean Hesketh, who also takes the second of the play’s two roles. Their

characters are goofy couch potatoes who make mountains out of

philosophical molehills and generally take up space for 10 minutes.

The seedier side of life is examined in “Seraphim,” written and

directed by Lori Heston, who makes a Hitchcockian cameo appearance. The

setting is the street outside a church where a cute young panhandler (Kim

Butcher) hits up the churchgoers for donations to her own cause. Veteran

street person Uzi Ben Avraham offers her a step up in life. This play,

although one of the most ambitious, is rather weak, draining to a climax

rather than ascending as “Downtown” does.

Correa’s final appearance comes in Manuel Paul Lopez’s “Canto,”

another one-man show, this time about a young man of Mexican heritage who

really doesn’t “comprende.” It’s a poignant piece that lacks the

requisite punch.

In “4 a.m.: Open All Night” by Bob Krakower, various denizens of the

night take up space in an all-night diner, where Ryan Gray is looking to

score with fellow patron Heather Layton, if he only can work up the

courage to approach her. Maile Walker as a waitress and Jason Mutz as an

aggravating patron complete the clever scenario. Andrew Vonderschmitt

directs.

The finale is the evening’s most elaborate work, Nancy Beverly’s

“Attack of the Moral Fuzzies,” directed by Sean F. Gray. Here game show

contestant Katie McGuire (who alternates with Lauren Kushin) must make a

series of moral decisions, all of which carry a Catch-22 clause, as host

Frank Miyashiro and OCC’s version of Vanna White, Chanel Panagiotopolous,

turn the emotional screws. Fine performances by Justin Ross, Emily Rued,

Maile Walker, Manuel Cisnerous, Raine Hambly, Rachel Langhans and Jason

Mutz (whose character is billed as “Spineless Idiot”; that’ll look good

on his resume) enrich this rather didactic nightmare.

The “10 or Less Festival” is a valuable instructional tool for OCC’s

budding actors, writers and directors, which also casts an occasional

zinger. The college’s creative talents keep the shows humming.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Thursdays and Saturdays.

FYI

* WHAT: “10 or Less Festival”

* WHERE: Orange Coast College, Drama Lab Studio Theater, 2701 Fairview

Road, Costa Mesa

* WHEN: Closing performances at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 7 p.m.

Sunday

* COST: $6

* PHONE: (714) 432-5640