This week on lafpi, I’m writing about plays written by women at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
Feeling Feeling was the first play I found when I was searching for women writers on the Hollywood Fringe website, so naturally, I had to see it.
At the bar in the big white tent at Fringe Central, there is a Feeling Feeling cocktail with vodka (lots of vodka), strawberry puree, sprite, and a very important lemon wedge, so I was very happy when I sat down to watch Feeling Feeling.
As we came into the theatre, we crossed the stage where a blonde lady is couch dancing to Beyonce and Cher power ballads. We were definitely in a modern happy space.
The play itself is a dark romantic comedy that traces a couple (Darla and Dave) from Oregon to Los Angeles over four Olympic games. Darla feels too much, so she gets a chip implanted in the back of her neck to make her less dependent on her emotions. Dave goes into therapy to feel more or perhaps feel better. They break up, they get back together, they can’t communicate.
The dilemma of the play is summed up early on by a supporting character who says, dudes need to stop treating chicks like dudes, and chicks need to stop treating dudes like chicks. Yes, there is wisdom in that.
However, this play is not a case study of emotionalism and coupledom polemics. It has fantastic dialogue that sizzles with wit and some great characters that get under your skin.
Feeling Feeling will be playing at the Annex Space at the Fringe Central on Thursday, June 23rd at 8pm and Friday, June 24th at 11:59pm (aka midnight) at 6569 Santa Monica Blvd. You can get tickets from the Fringe website, www.hollywoodfringe.org.
Sarah Doyle has a website at www.sarahjeandoyle.com. She also recently did a podcast here at Los Angeles Female Playwrights, and you can find it at https://lafpi.com/events/podcast-archives/
