Bloody Red Heart
Most people would rather soon forget their teenage angst-ridden years but the Odyssey’s student outreach program (THE ODDS) in association with the Theatre Academy of LACC (Los Angeles City College) brings these emotionally turbulent years to the stage in its raw but unflinching portrayal of eight teenage girls and the struggles they work to overcome.
Tom Bryant and Amy Goldwasser’s adaptation of the critically acclaimed book: RED: Teenage Girls in America Write on What Fires up Their Lives Today gives the teen written essays a palpable theatrical turn, incorporating song and dance throughout the eleven monologues and ensemble interludes.
With the exception of director Leslie Ferreira and artistic director Beth Hogan, the production including lights and sound is entirely student run. The cast comprising of eight LACC Theatre Academy ingénues marks an important collaboration for these young women and their community. Few shows speak so directly to the myriad problems facing the modern teenager, let alone the particular issues that girls face in these formative years. Even fewer shows offer the opportunity for an all-female cast, but “Bloody Red Heart” successfully does both—raising awareness through the riveting and emotional real stories written by teen girls.
Questions like, “Are you OK?” “Who am I?” and “Do you ever think that if someone heard your thoughts they would really wonder about your head?” go repeated in a constant refrain of confusion and anger. These lingering questions and snippets of dialogue such as, “I am the victim of a happy childhood,” faintly glow from the walls as if lifted from the journals these writings represent. Eight red chairs line the bare stage. The stories alone fill the stage.
Each actress performs a monologue with Ahsia Taylor, Neva McIntosh and Anika Norrgard delivering two for a total of eleven. The stories are diverse and harrowing in their range of topics including friendship, rebellion, and school but also include poignant subjects like divorce, abandonment, body image and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The show reveals in all of these the universality of these experiences, the frustrations and the fear each teen faces.
Some of the monologues are more moving than others, such as Rene Michelle Aranda’s tearful acceptance of her parents’ divorce, Neva McIntosh’s awkward relationship with her depressed, bisexual former friend in “Lies We Have Told” and Deborah Elizabeth Senior’s emotional ride through child services in “TLC: Three Days.”
There are lighthearted monologues concerning getting to school on time in Ahsia Taylor’s “Stuck in Traffic,” and a drama-filled obsession in Ankia Norrgard’s “Burning in Heaven.”
Boys and sex are not the hot-button issues one might assume from a play about teenage girls, but the provocative piece “Cribs” addresses the hypocrisy of dirty dancing and abstinence with dramatic flair and movement.
The two most memorable monologues are Noa Medford’s “Sleeves” about an overweight girl watching her fit friends trying on clothes in a dressing room and Ahsia Taylor in “New City” concerning the helplessness after Hurricane Katrina.
The cast is remarkably talented and each brings their own personality to their respective roles. Leslie Ferreira uses the space well, especially in the choreographed ensemble scenes.
This is a play geared for teenagers, but a vital conversation for audiences of all ages. The subjects in “Bloody Red Heart” are usually little more than a sound bite in the media, but in the theatrical medium, it addresses the challenges and hopes for teens across the country.
“Bloody Red Heart”
Runs through Nov 21
Thurs & Fri at 8pm
Sat at 2pm & 8pm
Sundays at 2pm
Odyssey Theatre
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
LA, 90025
PH: 310-477-2055 x 2
www.OdysseyTheatre.com
Additional performances @ Los Angeles City College
Thurs, Dec 2 @ 3:30pm
Fri, Dec 3 @ 8pm
Sat, Dec 4 @ 8pm
Caminito Theatre, LACC
855 Vermont Avenue
LA, 90029
PH: 323-953-4000 x 2990
www.theateracademy.lacitycollege.edu
Find the book on www.redthebook.com