Haymaker
Created by Trevor Dawkins
Directed by Kurt Chiang
at The Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland (map)
thru June 28 | tickets: $10-$20 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
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A hero’s journey worth taking
The Neo-Futurists presents
Haymaker
Review by Clint May
Watching “Tears of Shanghai”—the ‘movie’ within the play—I found myself drawn back to my first lecture on the concept of the Greek plot device of agon. In its simplest form, it is the struggle that pits the protagonist’s will against some antagonist. Why would The Neo-Futurists’ Haymaker bring up this academic tidbit from those art history lessons long ago? It’s certainly a ubiquitous enough dramatic driver, so why here, why now? Perhaps it has something to do with the Neo-Futurists aesthetic, eschewing illusion in favor of laying bare the support structure of their stories as much as any Gothic cathedral flying buttresses. Here, it is creator Trevor Dawkins’ movie script, written at the tender age of 13. In it, he inadvertently explores the agony and the ecstasy of becoming a hero—or even just a man.
Despite a Tarantino-esque glee for eclectically mashing up movie tropes and tones, it’s actually kind of amazing how coherent a script about kicking Nazi and gangster ass actually is. Overblown as all get out, Dawkins and company are having a great time realizing his childhood vision with Sarah Fornace’s fight choreography providing formidable entertainment all by itself. Hilarity is underscored by punctuated analyses of where Trevor’s ideas about what it means to be a hero were created. We learn the script was written in a fit of youthful angst following a moment of inaction against a bully. It’s a similar experience of creation-as-catharsis that helped drive Matt Stone and Trey Parker to create “South Park”. Trevor’s cast and co-creators are high energy and game for anything, but the injunction that “I wrote this when I was 13!” only goes so far, as they slowly unravel psychological underpinnings, questioning his motives and direction. Why does Dallas Tolentino’s ninja have to remain the unspeaking assassin and thus play into ethnic stereotypes?
Of course, films of the noir variety must have a romantic subplot that rewards the hero with the spunky girl. Brenda Arellano—who may or may not be involved with Trevor in real life, that part’s a little muddy—is the femme fatale Elona. She chafes against how women are objectified by this type of role as a counterpoint to all the testosterone-fueled stereotypes on display. There’s a danger in the message of telling young boys to expect a beautiful woman as de rigueur.
As both a celebration and critique of “nerd” subculture, Haymaker confronts ideas that we form in youth and bring with us into adulthood. A frequently funny veneer laid atop a meditation on masculinity. Trevor at 27 is a well-formed, comely young man with demonstrable athleticism, but I—and many, many others—can speak from experience that leaving behind that inner nerd that only wants to escape to fantasy is no easy feat. Haymaker confronts the demon that wishes to demonize that comes with the more noble aspects of our wish to be a self-aggrandized hero. Its esoteric references may keep this from having the kind of mass appeal of other Neo-Futurists offerings, but its universal message is one that—if you have a love for smart choreography and satire with a heart—makes this a hero’s journey worth taking.
Rating: ★★★
Haymaker continues through June 28th at The Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm. Tickets are $10-$20, and are available by phone (773-878-4557) or online through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at NeoFuturists.org. (Running time: 100 minutes, no intermission)
Photos by Taylor Bailey
artists
cast
Indra Andreshak, Brenda Arellano, Daiva Bhandari, Trevor Dawkins, Kevin Duvall, Sarah Fornace, Mike Hamilton, Andrew Tham, Dallas Tolentino
behind the scenes
Kurt Chiang (director), Kate Hardiman (stage manager), Erik Newman (scenic, props design), Jacob Snodgrass (lighting design), Nick Keenan (sound design), Maggie Fullilove-Nugent (seasonal production manager), Victoria R. Golden (production manager), Andrew Thom (composer, musician), Victoria Johnson (assistant director), Sarah Fornace (head fight director), Danny Cron (production assistant), Taylor Bailey (photos)
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