"Enchanted Island"

Open Stage brought to its production of Enchanted Island what frustrates me about some novels. The problem was not the adaptation of the novel to a play on Youtube. (I've never read it, by the way.) It's that too many characters were talking in the same scene.
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Up to eight characters.

Factor in the picture-in-picture (PIP) display, and my eyes were darting around the screen to match a voice to the respective character in one-of-eight squares.

It took some effort to keep up with the characters, their names, and the acting all at once. To its credit, the production balances out with the conflict introduced right away and the plot resolved within 40 minutes. Moreover, the acting was pretty good.
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• Drew made the most use of gesturing, such as rattling his neck and punctuating his sarcastic comments with his mouth ajar. He was truly annoying.
• ​Jamie displayed the best acting with respect to her nuanced range of expressions.
• Violet had the best camera presence. It didn't look like she was watching the others through a screen.
• ​​Otherwise, it's Grey who had the best acting presence in her silence. What she didn't say in words she said in her facial expressions.
• Eric minced no words. I think his annunciation carried his acting.
• ​​"No, no. I'm not a let down. I'm not a let down." The actress behind Charlotte should consider voice over work, too.
• The baby-faced Sabrina was the perfect pick to cast for her role. That isn't to say she didn't appear to read her lines from time to time.
• And Macy encompassed the personalities of all the characters. I noticed her train of thought provided both narration and several plot points (e.g. setting a trap and facing fears).

The thespians of Enchanted Island are part of Open Stage's Alsedek Theatre School for kids and teens. To support them in the performing arts of Harrisburg, Pa., please make a donation via openstagehbg.com.

A review of Enchanted Island (Open Stage)

"Enchanted Island" (openstagehbg.com)

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Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including one for Enchanted Island by Open Stage Harrisburg, at landturn.com/reviews.

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