Darkness Falls

At my high school, the drama club snuck whiskey into shampoo bottles on UIL trips and drank until morning in Holiday Inns. They weren't like the maligned theater kids you see in the movies; even the cheerleaders aspired to this drama team. They were infamous for honing their acting skills at the Century liquor store and using their head shots for fake IDs. They were naturals, and they brought home regional trophies in every category to prove it. And whether they were concocting a life story to aid in convincing the clerk at the Beer Barn or emoting via a Tennessee Williams play, you had to appreciate the hard work that went into the drama. Even though it didn't seem like it at the time, these kids took their craft pretty seriously. I imagine some of the actors in SceneShop's latest production, In the Dark, occasionally call upon the adolescent bravado required to get them through similar high jinks. The three plays making up the production deal with heady themes and the overall presentation is seriously minimalist, so the focus is squarely on the actors and their words. Catch In the Dark at Stage West, 821 W. Vickery Blvd. in Fort Worth, tonight at 8 p.m. Call 817-784-9378 to make reservations or buy tickets for $12. For fans of the art form that is acting, there's no better show this summer, unless you count the 17-year-olds trying to score a sixer of Miller Lite at the corner store.
Sat., Aug. 2, 8 p.m., 2008