I wasn’t able to attend Philadelphia Dramatist Center’s (PDC) Witching Hour that was held on October 30th but thanks to a spooky turn of events I was able to watch the replay and I bring you my review!
Energy Matters
As we continue to be on Zoom or other online apparatus to stay connected it’s important to have the right energy. Delphine was the host of the Witching Hour. She kept the energy at 100 for the entire time. Have you ever been invited to a themed dinner party and someone doesn’t follow through with the theme? It’s irritating. Delphine came with the heat from the time she appeared. This is important when doing any form of production online.
6 Different Productions
Yes you read that correctly. Each of the plays averaging out to be about 3 characters with one director. That is no easy task to perform them and match the level of intensity for each. Each play was about 10 min or under. I wanted more. I wanted to see more. Each production held my full attention. Going from themes such as death, fear, dreams, and religious rituals gone wrong it was a frightful evening and definitely gave great spins on some iconic plays we have seen and some we haven’t.
To Costume That is the Question
Although the Witching Hour was done the night before Halloween not everyone was in costume. I will say this they didn’t have to I watched it from beginning to end and not one was without amazing acting chops. Whether it was a necessary accent or emotional emphasis, everyone brought their A game.
Few Point of Observations
I enjoyed how the only thing and I mean the only thing that was missing was the traditional ways in which we are used to seeing productions. Every last play could have been done as a table read in that people simply gave you the most generic form of read and moved on. This however wasn’t the case. I don’t know if they simply had time to rehearse or not for this show but you could tell or see that the actors/actresses made it a point to come polished. You got tears, laughter, suspense, and every emotion in between.
Double Up
The second point of observation was that several of the actors/actresses doubled from one production to another but they laid the parts they once played down. They had definition. This matters. Some actors/actresses can’t come out of character or give other acting parts a lazy performance but I am assure you that didn’t happen. This is talent. PDC is full of amazing talent from their actors/actresses, writers and stage managers!
PDC’s Flawless Performance
One of my last observation is that the flow from one production to another was without hiccup. I was impressed. I watched about twice and I came to the same conclusion, the production was well thought out and well put together. Also shout out to the audience for cooperating. This was the best rewatch and a large portion of that has to be attributed to the audience following the Zoom protocols of turning off their videos and muting their line. I’ll provide the link at the end of this review but it gave a clean playback. Note: always follow Zoom etiquette!
I want to take the time to provide you with the break down of each production and full cast:
THE CRUSTACEAN COUNT
by Charlie Allison:
WHEN THE NIGHT WINS
by Alex Wilkie:
If you’re interested in watching for yourself, you can click here and enjoy!
The show runs a little over an hour from start to finish and it runs quick. So if you’re thinking you won’t have time, you will! Although Halloween themed it’s a show you can watch any time of the year!
Upcoming Events
The PDC has their next virtual happy hour on Monday November 23rd. For more information click here!
Thank you to the PDC for this gem and I look forward to more showcases in the future!
Follow PDC on their Facebook page! They also have a YouTube page as well. And as with all great theatre if you would like to donate to them please do so to their PayPal!
