You don’t have to be 25 (I’m a good deal older than that) to rave about
this absorbing new play by the prodigiously talented young writer Sam
Forman.

Four young adults get together in a small lake cabin in New Hampshire and
over the course of one night (a good deal of drinking is involved) make
discoveries about each other, and about themselves. 

You don’t often get to see such a superbly talented ensemble.  Clark
Freeman, Bitsie Tulloch, Em Dreiling, and Tamlin Hall are clearly four of the
most gifted young actors on our local scene, and each one fits his or her part
to a T. Not for a moment do they seem to be “acting.” 

Quarterlife is what I like to call a “fly on the wall” play. You watch it as if
eavesdropping on real life.  If you walked past a window and happened to
see/hear these characters, you would never once doubt that you were
hearing real people having these conversations for the very first time.  This is
not acting.  It is simply “being,” which of course is the best acting of all.

The cluttered living room set design by Michael Brainerd adds to the realism,
and Matt Doherty has directed with skill and understanding. Still, this is a play
which belongs to the writer/actors…young talents to watch. No matter
what your age, you will be moved by the quarterlife crises of this quartet of
authentic, flawed, yet sympathetic young people.
Quarterlife is well worth a visit to the Pico Playhouse.
APRIL 2006, PICO PLAYHOUSE, SIGHT UNSEEN THEATRE GROUP, WEST LOS
ANGELES.


--Steven Stanley