Credeaux Canvas

The naked truth at the Midnight Sun

Published in the Weekly Volcano, March 31, 2016

Christopher Rocco as Winston, Mark Alford as Jamie, and Alayna Chamberland as Amelia. Photo by Michael Christopher, Glamour Cat Photography.

Theater Artists Olympia’s The Credeaux Canvas totally immerses the audience into the lives and the hearts of an East Village artist named Winston (Christopher Rocco); his scheming, outlandish and desperately unhappy roommate, Jamie (Mark Alford), and Jamie’s girlfriend, Amelia (Alayna Chamberland).

Mark Alford as Jamie, Christopher Rocco as Winston, and Amanda Stevens as Tess.

The time is the present; the place is a seedy studio apartment on East 10^th Street in Manhattan. Jamie convinces Winston, a talented but unsuccessful painter, to fake a nude by the newly discovered Fauvist painter Jean-Paul Credeaux, and he convinces Amelia to be his model. He has already told a wealthy art collector, Tess (Amanda Stevens), a friend of his recently deceased father, an art dealer, that he owns a Credeaux nude and is willing to sell it. Jamie and Amelia each reluctantly agree and thus end up alone together, naked and vulnerable, and see into each other’s souls.

This sketchy outline surely must sound improbably, but the playwright has constructed such an intricate plot with such believable characters, that watching the story unfold in the intimate space of the Midnight Sun performance space must feel to each audience member — it certainly did to me — that he or she has climbed the five flights of stairs to their apartment and has privileged access to their private lives.

Jamie, Winston and Amelia

The Credeaux Canvas is a powerful, heart-wrenching drama, but it is not just drama; it is also chock full of outrageous humor. It is also an acting tour de force and a masterpiece of directing for director Christian Carvajal.

Set designer Matt Moeller has constructed a cheap studio apartment that is authentic in appearance with convincingly realistic props provided by properties designer Hally Phillips. The realism of the set combined with and a romantic moonlit scene mastered by lighting designer Vanessa Postil go a long way toward drawing the audience into the story. The moonlight scene also goes a long way toward softening a long and tasteful nude scene, which the playwright must have written into the script for dramatic effect despite the unlikelihood that a painter would work under such dim lighting.

I can’t praise the acting highly enough.

I’ve seen Alford in many shows at TAO and at Harlequin, but never, never, never in such a role as this, in which he convincingly and explosively goes from outlandishly over-the-top playfulness to abject heartbreak.

Rocco I’ve previously seen only in small supporting roles that offered no clue to his great acting ability. In this role he is painfully nervous, introspective and vulnerable. If it was a Hollywood movie he would be a shoo-in for an Academy Award.

Chamberland is equally vulnerable and open hearted in the role of Amelia. She opens her heart through the tiniest of physical movements and facial expressions and has a dazzling smile.

And though she appears in only one scene, Stevens rocks the house as Tess, the pretentious but surprisingly perceptive art collector.

Artist R. Owen Cummings created the face Credeaux nude that is seen only briefly, but which beautifully matches the playwright’s description of it.

This is theater at its very best.

The Credeaux Canvas, Thursday, March 31 at 8 p.m. and Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m. through April 9, The Midnight Sun, 113 N. Columbia St. Tickets: $12-$15, Available at door night of show or online at http://olytheater.com/.

The naked truth at the Midnight Sun

Published in the Weekly Volcano, March 31, 2016

Theater Artists Olympia’s The Credeaux Canvas totally immerses the audience into the lives and the hearts of an East Village artist named Winston (Christopher Rocco); his scheming, outlandish and desperately unhappy roommate, Jamie (Mark Alford), and Jamie’s girlfriend, Amelia (Alayna Chamberland).

The time is the present; the place is a seedy studio apartment on East 10^th Street in Manhattan. Jamie convinces Winston, a talented but unsuccessful painter, to fake a nude by the newly discovered Fauvist painter Jean-Paul Credeaux, and he convinces Amelia to be his model. He has already told a wealthy art collector, Tess (Amanda Stevens), a friend of his recently deceased father, an art dealer, that he owns a Credeaux nude and is willing to sell it. Jamie and Amelia each reluctantly agree and thus end up alone together, naked and vulnerable, and see into each other’s souls.

This sketchy outline surely must sound improbably, but the playwright has constructed such an intricate plot with such believable characters, that watching the story unfold in the intimate space of the Midnight Sun performance space must feel to each audience member — it certainly did to me — that he or she has climbed the five flights of stairs to their apartment and has privileged access to their private lives.

The Credeaux Canvas is a powerful, heart-wrenching drama, but it is not just drama; it is also chock full of outrageous humor. It is also an acting tour de force and a masterpiece of directing for director Christian Carvajal.

Set designer Matt Moeller has constructed a cheap studio apartment that is authentic in appearance with convincingly realistic props provided by properties designer Hally Phillips. The realism of the set combined with and a romantic moonlit scene mastered by lighting designer Vanessa Postil go a long way toward drawing the audience into the story. The moonlight scene also goes a long way toward softening a long and tasteful nude scene, which the playwright must have written into the script for dramatic effect despite the unlikelihood that a painter would work under such dim lighting.

I can’t praise the acting highly enough.

I’ve seen Alford in many shows at TAO and at Harlequin, but never, never, never in such a role as this, in which he convincingly and explosively goes from outlandishly over-the-top playfulness to abject heartbreak.

Rocco I’ve previously seen only in small supporting roles that offered no clue to his great acting ability. In this role he is painfully nervous, introspective and vulnerable. If it was a Hollywood movie he would be a shoo-in for an Academy Award.

Chamberland is equally vulnerable and open hearted in the role of Amelia. She opens her heart through the tiniest of physical movements and facial expressions and has a dazzling smile.

And though she appears in only one scene, Stevens rocks the house as Tess, the pretentious but surprisingly perceptive art collector.

Artist R. Owen Cummings created the face Credeaux nude that is seen only briefly, but which beautifully matches the playwright’s description of it.

This is theater at its very best.

The Credeaux Canvas, Thursday, March 31 at 8 p.m. and Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m. through April 9, The Midnight Sun, 113 N. Columbia St. Tickets: $12-$15, Available at door night of show or online at http://olytheater.com/.