“When it’s dark, look for stars.”
“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”
“Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensations, darkness stirs and wakes imagination.”
Some of my favorite quotes about night. Two of those three come from musical theatre, my heart and passion, and while there are no 10-minute musicals in this year’s variations festival, the plays on offer are quite impressive, all swirling in the darkened void of this year’s theme: Night. Presented as the 21st annual, 10-minute play festival in Baltimore by Rapid Lemon Productions (in residence at The Strand Theater) this year’s Variations on Night, directed by Lauren Davis, features six actors performing 12 10-minute one-act plays all from local playwrights. These works are making their world premieres in this festival and it’s an invigorating way to keep the creativity of new works and fresh ideas alive and well in charm city.
The production team, spearheaded by Davis, features Janis Hannon and two extraordinary ASMs— Peter Hannon and Wesley Johnson. Without this trifecta of quick-moving, magic-makers from backstage, you wouldn’t get the perfect pacing that Director Lauren Davis has set down for the evening’s theatrics. When it comes to short-works, evenings of one-acts, play festivals, etc. pacing is crucial. Yes the plays are meant to be easily digestible bites, and in the case of Variations they’re all loosely strung together around a unifying theme, but the movement between each play can make or break the evening and Hannon and her team have really committed to their movements, making for virtually zero ‘down-time’ between each play. Sound Designer Max Garner assists in this illusion of warp-speed movement by programing clever musical selections between each play to prime the audience for the next show simply based on subject matter of the play itself and the overall theme of night.
Lighting Designer Martin Sundiata does some really cool things with special effects (working in tandem with Garner, most notably during Son of My Son’s Son for some of the most authentic storm effects to really add that extra layer of believability to that play.) A lot of the nifty effects are featured in the second half of the evening’s programing, though it’s a coin-toss between Bar Noir, which is the conclusion to the first act, and Meeting at Midnight, which has some really…murky…effects happening therein. Intimacy and Combat Choreographer Mel Gabel also deserves a nod of praise; their work can be witnessed throughout the performance and much like a stage manager, their job is often the work of an unsung hero.
Costumes are the critical component in elevating a workshop or staged reading into a full production (along with the aforementioned design components) and for this production Rowan Gardner is at the helm really brining fire? Being GOAT? (I do not speak GenZ/Alpha despite some of that slang thrown into some of the works.) Point is Gardner’s work rises to the occasion, especially for Bar Noir, Night Crawlers: A Coming-of-Age Story, and Meeting at Midnight. There’s more than just specialty costumes going on during the production, those previously mentioned three might be the most noteworthy because of their outrageous appearances, however Gardner deserves praises for all of it; outfitting six actors for 12 different plays and having what looks like a dozen different wigs for one actress alone, is no small feat. And it deeply enriches the overall viewing experience for the audience.
This years’ Variations, despite the dark potential of the theme, tends to lean heavily on both camp and comedy. This isn’t a bad thing, especially considering the state of the world, and the balance of the running order feels pretty even. If there’s one outlier, it’s the offering that opens the second act, but if 11 out of 12 are tightly in-sync with one another, then as a new-works-play-festival, you’re well ahead of the game. There’s a little something for everyone and Director Lauren Davis has done a superb job with her half-dozen actors, giving them clear differentiating acting styles so that each time they appear in a new work, you get a clear and clean sense that they have immersed themselves in that particular character and narrative.
Light Strikes a Deal by Meri Robie
A cute and quirky way to start off the evening (and a bonus ‘reprise’ recap or coda of this particular tale is featured at the end of the evening, almost like it was intended to be a pause in the original script but the director threw it back to the very end of the show, complete with a humorous recap-style nod to the plays that happened between when this one opened the show and it’s recap closed the show) this play, Light Strikes a Deal, is simple and sweet. It’s a little convoluted at first— the direct relationship between Dark (Isaiah C. Evans) and Light (Devon Michelle Hernandez) because of the easy chemistry between the two characters (and about halfway through it’s revealed that they are in fact siblings) but otherwise it’s pretty straight forward and a brilliant way to anthropomorphize sun and night. Or Light and Dark as the character names suggest. Hernandez, as the effervescent character of Light, is ‘exactly the right amount of excited’ for this role, literally bouncing all her energy everywhere. Evans, playing Dark, is almost identical in his energy but it’s drastically internalized; he’s smooth and suave, way more chill. Playwright Meri Robie highlights the importance of balance— how humans need both light and dark— using a great deal of humor but also some touching sentimentalities to do so. Hernandez’ Light has some serious whiny-FOMO while Evans’ Dark is much more laid-back about his ‘night shift’ as it were.
Night Crawlers: A Coming-of-Age Story by Isaiah C. Evans
According to Reddit this play is bonkers and a little adorable. Ridiculously melodramatic, like a kitschy super-hero tale, Isaiah C. Evans’ play sets the tone for the rest of the madcap chaos that happens with some of the other high-camp plays, making it a rockstar choice for the second show. It also features a tender, heartfelt moment were being a family and correcting previous family mistakes is achievable through change, which creates a nice balance to the otherwise zany nature of this script. Evan’s puts a whole new spin on the puberty/coming-of-age trope by infusing super-hero elements into the plot. And they may be a little buggy in their presentation (shoutout to Rowan Gardner for that bodacious roach-arm) but it’s a very cute and campy way to address this iconic life-lesson. Evans also gives those of us of an age— particularly in this area— a beautiful throwback by mentioning Rainforest Café and enacting the Clap-Light (#IYKYK.) The way he bomb-drops that hilarious twist on the ending— resulting in the arrival of Jess (Devon Michelle Hernandez) is hysterical. The actors in this one— Pablo Akira as Father, Sarah Lynn Taylor as Mother and Anthony Ross Ocampo as Ryan— give you three different flavors of stereotypical family characterization. Akira’s Father tries this masculine 1950’s super-hero patois once his secret is revealed whereas Taylor’s Mother is level-headed, even-keeled and rather ordinary but in a simultaneously nurturing-but-not-condescending fashion. And Ocampo delights the audience with a full-blown freakout that rages through the Ryan-character’s body, showcasing his sublime physicality when it comes to embraces the character. The play is zippy and has heart.
Son of My Son’s Son by Dwight R.B. Cook
This one might win serious play of the evening. While it’s not without its humorous moments, derived entirely from the dialogue exchange between Mrs. Bartlett (ReginaGinaG) and Joshua (Isaiah C. Evans), it has a heavier component than the first two (and the subsequent plays which follow.) If there’s a tweak to be made to Cook’s work, in the vein of creating a more dramatically effected ending, it’s dropping Mrs. Barlett’s final line of “…then I guess you can call me…” (don’t want to give the full line because we don’t want to ruin the ending) and letting it conclude instead with Joshua’s final line. As ReginaGinaG and Evans reach to grasp hands, the ending could be infinitely more powerful and land with a stronger impact if the play concludes on his line rather than hers, implying what she says in the gesture rather than reiterating it in dialogue for the audience. That said, Cook has an exquisite handle on both the chosen vernacular of his play and the natural sound of this dialogue exchange. This play also features Max Garner’s brilliant sound design, which informs a good deal of Evans’ character’s physicality and ReginaGinaG’s character’s emotional verve. ReginaGinaG, playing a character meant to be decades beyond her personal physicality does an outstanding job of keeping with the physical ailments of the character as she gets up and down out of the rocker and adjusts her voice accordingly. Evans lets the nerves that are triggered by the storm rattle through his character fully— impacting his facial expressions, his body language, and his vocal delivery; it’s equally impressive, creating a real sense of the external storm that the audience is experiencing the same time as the characters and the internal storm that Joshua is grappling with as he divulges his reason for appearing on Mrs. Barlett’s porch.
Night Hawks by Jalice Ortiz-Corral
If Son of My Son’s Son wins for ‘most extensive character growth and development’ then Night Hawk wins for biggest ‘shocker-surprise’ at the ending. Talk about masterfully twisting the unexpected on its head, Ortiz-Corral does exactly that! Priming you to think one thing, leading you up to that one thing, and then BAM. Something else. But not in that ‘you cheated, that makes no sense’ kind of way. More in the ‘Oh-my-God! That’s clever and we never saw it coming’ sort of way. You get the idea pretty quickly that we’re dealing with supernatural circumstances in Jalice Ortiz-Corral’s work because Milly (Sarah Lynn Taylor) and Valerie (Devon Michelle Hernandez) are being antsy— well, Valerie is being antsy, Milly’s cooler than an ice cave in January in Antarctica— about being out so close to daybreak. Immediately what springs to mind? You guessed it— Vampires. Enter the ditzy, bouncy, bubbly Waitress (ReginaGinaG, who showcases an immense versatility going from the elderly, stiff great-granny character in the previous play, to the graveyard shift waitress girl who’s clearly had too much coffee.) And the potential of chaos ensues. You get an insane, off-the-charts-level of bubbly effervescence from ReginaGinaG as she skips and giggles her way through the diner. And you get a panic-attack, borderline meltdown from Hernandez’ Valerie as she manically and frantically attempts to make an escape plan. Taylor’s Milly plays it cool, even when she capitulates to the side of cautionary panic and that keeps the ship from capsizing into the kitschy ocean entirely; the writing is sharp, the performances are clean, and it’s got a rolling laugh-out-loud ending.
Who Is She by Kristen Wheeler
Fan of The Twilight Zone? Kristen Wheeler has got you covered. You can’t think about night and not at least have a hint of the inexplicable niggling about at the back of your mind. This one seems overly simple and yet Wheeler’s writing and stage directions have you inching closer to the edge of your seat as the goosebumps creep under your flesh and the little hairs on the back of your neck spring stiff. She crafts a truly revolting, and regrettably all too realistic misogynistic-incel character with Tyler (Anthony Ross Ocampo.) He’s got the machismo presentation, the bombastic temper, and that forced language that makes you feel like he’s a team leader from an incel-forum board. I don’t even know how to talk about Aria (Sarah Lynn Taylor) except that she looks like something that walked out of a film noir…or maybe out of Sin City (again mad props to costumer Rowan Gardner here— for both the look on Aria and the ending…effects on both Aria and Tyler.) The scene is tense; the staging really suits the volatile action. And the ending is straight-up nightmare fuel. This one gives you the heebie-jeebies. Isaiah C. Evans has a cameo-style character— The Sheriff— and he’s convincing in his momentary role in this play. But it’s mostly about Taylor’s stillness…truly making your mind fly apart trying to figure out exactly what’s happening…juxtaposed against Ocampo’s bombastic temper and his frenetic explosions.
Bar Noir by Jonathan Tycko
This one might be my personal favorite (though I’m torn between it and Meeting at Midnight by Janis Hannon) because of how off-the-walls it is. And it’s clever. Deceptively clever. You think you’re getting unrequited love at a bar in the city. And then you think you’re getting film noir with edgy and gutsy intrigue. But then you realize you’re getting both and neither at the same time in a glorious sendup to the artform and its tropes. It’s hysterical and the laughs roll like punches. Director Lauren Davis does her finest work here; making these over-the-top madcap characters exist realistically by making the actors play them hard and with vigor so that the punchlines and chaotic mockeries of these heavily stereotyped archetypes land with uproarious laughter in the audience. Tycko’s plot, progression, and overall character development is insane in a most enjoyable way and the play is the perfect wild ride to conclude the first act of Variations On Night. This play also features a great deal of Garner and Sundiata’s sound and lighting magic, really amping up the comedy of it all. And it’s the only play of the 12 to feature all six actors. You get Frank (Pablo Akira) and Ava (Devon Michelle Hernandez) closing down the bar. Ordinary enough; enter the first trope— the damsel in distress: Veronica (ReginaGinaG) and she’s a fox. Figuratively and literally. And it follows suit with Jack (Isaiah C. Evans) a PI who’s a real night owl. Then Cashman (Anthony Ross Ocampo) the corrupt judge, and finally Spider (Sara Lynn Taylor), legitimately her character’s namesake. The physicality of these six performers is indescribably amazing, each falling into the trope of the character— like Akira never stopping polishing the glass behind the bar while looking at each one of them like they’re all mad. Or Evans who jitters like an overly-caffeinated avian master whose gotten his feathers all flustered. The whole thing is over-the-top camptastic kitsch and it’s arguably the funniest play in the evening.
Intermission by Rapid Lemon Productions
They sell things in the lobby. Take the time to stretch your legs, imbibe and digest, and relieve your bladder.
Fanaan by Tad Cleaves
This is the one that felt a little ‘odd play out’ by comparison to the others. It was difficult to tell what exactly was happening between the character of Jessie (ReginaGinaG) and the character of Bernard (Pablo Akira.) To Akira’s credit, the Irish accent came through beautifully and didn’t impede the dialogue, it’s just the dialogue was a little meandering and the point it was trying to make felt as if it was having trouble landing. It felt a bit muddy as to whether or not Jessie and Bernard were alive and discussing their disappointments with circumstances and situations or if they were the spirits of Jessie and Bernard trapped there rehashing their lives and mistakes and regrets or if they were in some sort of neo-futuristic setting and something else was going on or maybe they were trapped in limbo because he was in hospice on life-support and she’d been in an accident. This was also the only play of the 12 where the physical setting was unclear. It was evident with the other that they were in a bedroom or in a diner or in a bar, this one could have been any place— an attic, a janitor’s closet, a spare room— and the muffled sound effects coming from ‘outside the room’ didn’t provide much clarity, nor did the context clues of the dialogue exchanges. To Akira and ReginaGinaG’s credit, there was clearly some very emotional turmoil going on in this play and they expressed it vivaciously. Then again, maybe Ted Cleaves was trying to make the overall point of what he mentioned in just one line, delivered by Jesse— “Why does everything have to mean something?”
Meeting at Midnight by Janis Hannon
If you’ve ever wondered what the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood looked like circa 1931 on a smoke-break between shots, Janis Hannon has you covered. Actually, what she’s done is witty, clever, has a powerful message carefully buried in humor, and gives you a chance to laugh with the monsters while realizing what scares us hasn’t really changed so much as what’s changed is us and how we’re scared. Meet Marco (Isaiah C. Evans), Dracs (Anthony Ross Ocampo), Maggie (Sarah Lynn Taylor), Baba Yaga (ReginaGinaG), and Frank (Pablo Akira) the members of the Midnight Society (well…they’re no Gary, David, Kristen, Kiki, BettyAnn, and Eric #IYKYK but you get the picture.) At first you think you’re getting a monthly, maybe even a weekly meeting of Monsters who have gathered to air their petty grievances about how humans simply aren’t afraid of monsters anymore. Evans’ entrance is even blurs the lines of the fourth wall a little as he attempts to spook some of those seated closest to the stage, resulting mostly in laughter. And the gripes at first are pretty funny, particularly when Ocampo’s Dracs goes on a rant about how on earth is he the good guy in the scenario of a first-date-night and needing to walk said date to her car because her ex— a real bad guy— is outside somewhere. Dracs literally drinks blood and eats people but his date isn’t afraid of him. Taylor’s Maggie gets a glib line about how all they did was burn witches at the stake and now there’s a waiting line to get into the coven. Costumes and Sound Effects are primed in this particular play. But the really ‘hits-home’ moment of Hannon’s work is when Akira’s Frank starts talking about the label of Monster and how his character got it, prompted by the comment of ‘are you even still a monster if nobody is afraid of you.’ And the much darker, deeper, and powerfully impactful message that Hannon has infused into this work is that Monsters are just another bunch of ‘Othered.’ The falsely accused. The misunderstood. Those forced out of their homes. And why are we so afraid of them. Because they’re different? It’s some seriously intense topical discovery, gently brewed in a cauldron of comedy; really vying for ‘best in show’ up against Bar Noir.
Another Dark Night of the Soul by Clarinda Harriss
This one is a little tongue-in-cheek, a little smack-down the religiosity of the world, and quite funny. Harriss brings to the audience the concept of Dark Night of the Soul (a poem by John of the Cross) but through the eyes of a very irritated St. Teresa (Devon Michelle Hernandez) who should have been credited with its inception. Did I mention that Hernandez’ St. Teresa appears to be doing standup at a nightclub at the top of this play? Eventually St. John (Pablo Akira) gets introduced— because his Dark Night of the Soul app has vanished from his device and it’s a mediation app? So he’s on the phone with Golly (Sarah Lynn Taylor), God’s personal AI. Hands down the performance of the play award goes to Taylor for impeccably mimicking a Siri-style AI bot. Her vocal patois and cadence is frighteningly robotic but with just enough human emotion to make you think AI could become sentient and overthrow the world. The bulk of the play’s humor comes from Golly’s mishaps of answering St. John’s inquires. And the play concludes with a modernized ‘credit where credit is due’ neat little bow-style ending. It’s more of a “watch it to enjoy it” type play than a “explains itself well on paper” play.
Thank Myrnis by Felicia Barr
If you’ve ever been sound asleep, like poor Adam (Anthony Ross Ocampo) only to be woken up by the overly dramatic sighs and noises of your partner, like melodramatic Anne (ReginaGinaG) then you know all too well the resting-rage-face that Ocampo’s character is dealing with right from jump street. Adam just wants to be supportive. But also it’s like midnight or 2:30am (both times get mentioned in the play and that could literally be a typo, a misspeak on the actor’s part, or an intentional it’s so late and the character is so tired they’re no longer making sense) and all you want to do is sleep but your partner is having some sort of existential midlife crisis…which is actually just venting her spleen about her boring life. If you’ve experienced anything like that, Barr’s play is going to land hard and hilarious for you. ReginaGinaG and Ocampo have a great working dynamic in that little on-stage bed and their matching peony-pink silk pajamas. The more riled up ReginaGinaG’s character gets, the more irked Ocampo’s character gets. They feed off of one another in a viciously, hilarious cycle. They both pull facial expressions and body language gestures like nobody’s business in this play and the sudden, splash-surprise ending, which ultimately earns the play its title, is incredibly well received by the audience.
The Switch by Iman Michele Dancy
This one also feels a teeny bit out of sorts but is clear in its writing and has a heavy message to land. I think some of the directorial choices cheapen some of the more intense impacts— like having the bass on stage. (And then not having Isla take it when she leaves at the end…we know she’s a bassist, we know she just played gig, that was implied by the screaming ‘fans’ leaving at the top of the play as well as explained in Isla’s opening monologue. It becomes surplus to requirement if you’re not going to have her take it with her when she makes her dramatic exit.) There’s also a moment where Imogen (Sarah Lynn Taylor) drops a bomb of information on Isla (Devon Michelle Hernandez) and then rushes to comfort her. Given the lashing exchange the pair has just shared prior to the bomb-drop and their overall distanced/estranged dynamic and rocky relationship, the physically rushing to comfort her seems completely off-base for the character (and isn’t followed up with malicious laughter or nefarious intent to make it a mocking moment either.) These directorial choices aside, the narrative is a relatively common one, though it could stand with just a little tweak here and there to really fortify it. A perfect example is when Imogen insists that they switch, that she’ll go on tour with the band, replacing Isla, and Isla can stay home and take care of the situation that’s arisen. But nowhere prior to that (and very much later and very subtly) is it mentioned that Imogen even knows anything about music or playing an instrument. Isla says “This isn’t Freaky Friday” in a deserved rage, and the quick fix there is to say “…This isn’t Freaky Friday and you don’t even play bass!” which could lead to Imogen firing back with the “…I taught you everything you know about music” or “…I didn’t get to pursue that because I was holding down the fort so you could…” or something along those lines, ultimately strengthening their fight and making for a really rewarding, albeit harrowing, conclusion when the end of the play comes. The characters are there, the dialogue is good, if in need of a little tweaking, and the plot-point which is heavily based in reality is raw and worth exploring.
The Nicest Hotel in All of Iceland by Allegra Hatem
If you want madcap uproarious nonsense that will just have you laughing from start to finish— this is the one. Hatem is taking us back to those creatures of the night— and don’t worry, it comes out pretty quickly, just like it does in Night Hawks, that we’re dealing with Vampires— and the audience loves it. Pablo Akira plays the Manager and has a terrifyingly polite smile and simplicity to his portrayal as he encounters the domestic disturbance between Maria (ReginaGinaG) and Andrei (Anthony Ross Ocampo), a married couple apparently on an anniversary vacation. And it’s a good old-fashioned, knock-down, drag-out verbal spar in the lobby of the hotel because the cheapskate husband failed to impress the wife, who’s bar was very, very low to begin with, and yet he sees nothing wrong with trying to do this one nice thing. Hilarity ensues. ReginaGinaG’s character is so over the top in this play you fully expect her to burst a blood vessel right there on stage. Ocampo is matching that energy watt for watt and exploding right back at her. Akira maintains a freakishly neutral calm, just sort of smiling the whole time and it’s both hilarious and unsettling. It’s a wild and laugh-worthy comedic ride for the final play of the project. (Not forgetting that there’s a coda-reprise of Light Strikes a Deal by Meri Robie.)
All in all a wonderful evening of theatre, healthy and liberal doses of laughter and humor, with some things that go bump and boo…in the night. Variations On Night runs through the end of the month and is well worth investigating! Plus if you attend in person, you can submit your vote for next year’s theme (a donation to the jar with one of the three themes is setup in the lobby) and you too could have a say in whether Variations 2026 will be Variations On Silence, Variations On Destiny, or Variations On Resistence.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission
Variations on Night, a Rapid Lemon Productions performance, plays through July 27th 2025 currently in residency at The Strand Theater— 5425 Harford Road in Baltimore, MD 21214. Tickets are available at the door, though advanced reservations are strongly recommended and can be made through the ticketing website online.