Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Warriors' brotherhood center stage

A Disappearing Act not to be missed

Steve Froehlich's performance is spot-on captivating.
Steve Froehlich's performance is spot-on captivating.

Delia Knight’s Disappearing Act centers around Alex, a Marine struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. As he encounters the realities of war, each time he returns on leave, he and his loved ones must try to cope with his changing demeanor.

For InnerMission Productions, director Kym Pappas had done a stupendous job staging this play in thoughtful and compelling ways. From the moment the audience enters the theater, the actors are dotted around the space — some standing, others sitting. The only character onstage is Steve Froehlich, who plays Alex, writing on a legal pad. As the play begins, he places what he has been writing into an envelope. He then moves to a bench center stage, placing the envelope below where he sits.

Sponsored
Sponsored

This is something to take note of, because it will become significant in the end.

The other actors enter the stage space one at a time, each taking a stool on the periphery around Alex. They are like ghosts, floating in to tell their story about him. All the actors do a phenomenal job of portraying characters that are completely believable. As a result, the audience worries for them. That is what truly stellar acting can do: envelope us into a story so that we become emotionally invested.

Disappearing Act

Speaking of emotions, one of the remarkable things Pappas and her actors do is create, in the very small performance space, a sense that emotions are constantly alive and surrounding the audience. For example, when Alex and his sister (played exquisitely by Jamie Channell Guzman) have a charged moment on the bench center stage, their mother is emotionally responding to something else that will come out in the following scene.

Indeed, when checked on during moments when they are not the main focus, all the actors are alive and invested in their personal arc. It’s a beautiful thing to witness.

Froehlich is a dynamic Alex. His haunting, still, forward gaze couples with periodic bursts of explosive anger that are spot-on captivating. If the show must center around one character, thank goodness it is being played by an adept actor like Froehlich.

Kaly McKenna is electric as Alex’s mother, Vivian. She embodies both the enthusiasm and tenderness of a supportive mother while also achieving emotional highs and lows.

Salvador Velasco and Robert Malave play Alex’s Marine buddies Buck and Kick, respectively, and with Froehlich they do a spectacular job communicating the brotherhood of service while also showing the nuances of military life. Their stories are moving and powerful.

Doyle Dorado plays Alex’s love interest, Emma. Despite her natural accent periodically sneaking out, her performance is heart-wrenching. This is InnerMission's first full-season line-up. We should all look forward to seeing what this burgeoning company will offer as it develops and grows. Disappearing Act is not to be missed!

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Second largest yellowfin tuna caught by rod and reel

Excel does it again
Steve Froehlich's performance is spot-on captivating.
Steve Froehlich's performance is spot-on captivating.

Delia Knight’s Disappearing Act centers around Alex, a Marine struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. As he encounters the realities of war, each time he returns on leave, he and his loved ones must try to cope with his changing demeanor.

For InnerMission Productions, director Kym Pappas had done a stupendous job staging this play in thoughtful and compelling ways. From the moment the audience enters the theater, the actors are dotted around the space — some standing, others sitting. The only character onstage is Steve Froehlich, who plays Alex, writing on a legal pad. As the play begins, he places what he has been writing into an envelope. He then moves to a bench center stage, placing the envelope below where he sits.

Sponsored
Sponsored

This is something to take note of, because it will become significant in the end.

The other actors enter the stage space one at a time, each taking a stool on the periphery around Alex. They are like ghosts, floating in to tell their story about him. All the actors do a phenomenal job of portraying characters that are completely believable. As a result, the audience worries for them. That is what truly stellar acting can do: envelope us into a story so that we become emotionally invested.

Disappearing Act

Speaking of emotions, one of the remarkable things Pappas and her actors do is create, in the very small performance space, a sense that emotions are constantly alive and surrounding the audience. For example, when Alex and his sister (played exquisitely by Jamie Channell Guzman) have a charged moment on the bench center stage, their mother is emotionally responding to something else that will come out in the following scene.

Indeed, when checked on during moments when they are not the main focus, all the actors are alive and invested in their personal arc. It’s a beautiful thing to witness.

Froehlich is a dynamic Alex. His haunting, still, forward gaze couples with periodic bursts of explosive anger that are spot-on captivating. If the show must center around one character, thank goodness it is being played by an adept actor like Froehlich.

Kaly McKenna is electric as Alex’s mother, Vivian. She embodies both the enthusiasm and tenderness of a supportive mother while also achieving emotional highs and lows.

Salvador Velasco and Robert Malave play Alex’s Marine buddies Buck and Kick, respectively, and with Froehlich they do a spectacular job communicating the brotherhood of service while also showing the nuances of military life. Their stories are moving and powerful.

Doyle Dorado plays Alex’s love interest, Emma. Despite her natural accent periodically sneaking out, her performance is heart-wrenching. This is InnerMission's first full-season line-up. We should all look forward to seeing what this burgeoning company will offer as it develops and grows. Disappearing Act is not to be missed!

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Thanksgiving Lunch Cruise, The Avengers and Zeros ‘77, Small Business Saturday In Escondido

Events November 28-November 30, 2024
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Downtown thrift shop offers three bands in one show

Come nightfall, Humble Heart hosts The Beat
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader