Six Characters in Search of a Play
“Never let truth get in the way of a good story.” Mark Twain
Texas born Del Shores, new to me, is a film director and producer, television writer and producer, playwright and actor. Shores’ best known play is his fourth, Sordid Lives, which concerned the Texan Ingram family and LGBT themes. The piece debuted in 1996 in Los Angeles, went on to become a film, spawned 12 prequel episodes on a Logo series, and was followed up by A Very Sordid Wedding in 2016. Where have we all been?
Shores’ writing is warm, astute, compassionate, and amusing; his stage presence thoroughly entertaining. Six Characters describes half a dozen “one of a kind people met in real life that haven’t yet made it into other writing.” Shores’ imitates and observes. His daddy, he tells us, was a “boring”, southern Baptist preacher; his mother, a high school drama teacher whose family were confirmed sinners. The first part of the family rolled their eyes, the second encouraged storytelling.
Character #1 is Sarah, “an elderly actress who decided to smoke and drink herself to death before Trump was elected- and did.” They met when Shores cast her in his third play. She walked away with the reviews and an agent. Unfortunately, the next role for which Sarah was asked to audition was “the ugliest woman in the world” which didn’t, as you might imagine, sit well. We hear the story. The actress was a “yellow dog Democrat” i.e. she’d vote for a yellow dog before a Republican. Between Subway sandwiches, smoking, wheezing, and Gallo wine we watch/hear her comment on the candidate. Shores’ own Texas accent becomes extreme.
Character #2 is Marsha, a “monkey-hating lesbian with COPD.” Here, we learn that Shores is (at least in the south), a “Minor Gay Celebrity,” which, in fact, has its perks. For one thing, he’s often recognized. At a Resurrection Church where the performer was hired to do stand-up (?!), wanting to please “I’m so co-dependent, when I die, someone else’s life will flash before my eyes,” Shores agrees to have his photo taken with a monkey that ostensibly loves him on TV. Things go awry. Marsha kind of rescues him. He shows us a photo with the monkey.
Character #3 is Loraine, “a once brilliant drama teacher who’s lost her mind and is now obsessed with porn”= Shores’ mother (photo). “I often describe her as a loving, controlling bitch, but when I came out, she was my very first ally.” The artist describes crazy years during which Loraine hallucinated, often shooting squirrels out the kitchen window with the Ladysmith (gun) “daddy gave her on their 45th anniversary, then frying them up for dinner…Don’t judge me, Loretta Lynn has a possum recipe in her book.” It ends sweetly.
Character #4 is Jimmy, “A homophobic Oklahoma redneck with latent tendencies.” Encountered at a service station, this is the kind of good old boy trucker who barely opens his mouth when he speaks, apparently “scared a cock might fly in…These guys scare the shit out of me- yet I’m very attracted to them.” Interaction is peaceful. Shores demonstrates what Jimmy would be like acknowledging his subjugated tendencies. This includes surprising attraction to “Channing Tater” (Tatum) in the film Magic Mike II.
Character #5 is “a vegetarian-hating waitress with no more fucks to give.” When his aunt Sissie died, Shores traveled back to his small hometown for scattering of the ashes with his aunt’s friend, Kristen. They retreat to a diner where the waitress was “about a size 18, wearing a size 12, decided she didn’t need her eyebrows, and didn’t tease, but rather terrorized her hair.” A discussion about vegetables takes Sally’s (When Harry Met Sally) lunch routine a step further.
Character #6, Aunt Bobbie Sue, is “a loud-mouthed, racist Republican with a heart of gold.” A family reunion conjures the distinctly colorful group. Visiting this aunt meant staying up late, watching forbidden TV and taking puffs of abandoned cigarettes. Curmudgeonly comments about a new daughter-in-law and Texas’ Mexican population, a myna bird who’d shout “God Damn It Felton!” (her husband), and the ability to hug with a Pomeranian in one hand and a smoke in the other paint a picture of the woman who evenly comments, “I hear you’ve decided to be gay.”
Imagine a gay Fannie Flag. Unexpected and enjoyable.
The title is inspired by Luigi Pirandello’s play Six Characters in Search of an Author.
Photos Courtesy of the Film
Six Characters in Search of a Play
Written and Performed by Del Shores
Directed by Emerson Collins
Director of Photography- Jon Lile
Editor- Donna Mathewson
The kind of production you can find outside mainstream on ON BROADWAYHD
