Audiences can escape the madding crowds of frenzied festival fans to see this dark and multi-layered comedy at the Players’ Theatre, located at 3480 McTavish on the McGilll University Campus in the heart of downtown from July 8 - 24. Directed by another NDGer Larry Lamont and starring Patricia Mckenzie, George Bekiaris and Tristan D. Lalla, who is also an NDG resident and has been featured in the Monitor before, the new work features the added attraction of live music by electro-acoustic sound designer, Tai Timbers. Mylène Choquette designs with assistance from Phillip Kadowaki and Allie Smith stage manages as well as assists in the direction.

Here’s the premise in a few words. Man 1 and Man 2 are locked in a life long struggle between wants and needs, the desired and the rational, never fully understanding that one without the other means nothing. This battle of ideals comes to a head with the introduction of Sonya, the latest object of interest and the metaphor for all that came before. Not only does she represent the women, but their dreams and identities as well.

Using deceptively simple language, Czuba explores the quagmire where our inner voices run rampant, exposing every fear, base instinct and childish need with sharp and ruthless wit He explains, “Right now, today, how do we connect with each other, and more importantly, with ourselves? We create a persona for each of the roles we play in our daily routine; labels that we inadvertently get caught up in and that confuse us.”

Czuba continues, “We know we are more than our masks and want to connect with our deeper selves and in turn, have more meaningful connections with those around us, yet we don’t seem to be able to do that. We can’t reconcile the contradictory pieces of ourselves that don’t fit in. We struggle with those grey areas of our psyches, are ashamed of them and try to bury those bits, not realizing that we’re hiding that which makes us unique and also unites us; the very qualities that would enable us to connect.”

Czuba playfully refers to his work as “sneaky”, the everyday dialogue disclosing subtle layers of deeper truths and insights, slowly drawing the audience in, peeling away the separation between them and the actors until they merge, becoming “truly connected”. As the characters externalize all the thoughts and impulses that monopolize the space between our ears; the twisted, irrational, perverse, even moronic things that everyone is thinking in any given millisecond and that God forbid, anyone should actually hear, the audience bonds with each other and the actors in their common experience.

“There isn’t a person in the audience who won’t relate on at least one level. The play is totally accessible. We demolish the fourth wall as it becomes obvious that I, as an audience member, am the actor and the actor is me. The play reveals us to ourselves! Who’s not up for that?”

I AM I runs from July 8 to 24, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20, $15 for students and seniors. The venue is the Players’ Theatre (3480 McTavish, 3rd Floor)

For more information, you can contact: (514) 369 - 6954

theatredancingmonkey@gmail.com