LOS ANGELES -- An epic 100-character play, performed by one actor in eight installments, will be the next attraction at the brand-new 2100 Square Feet theatre.
Written and performed by Heather Woodbury, with direction by Dudley Saunders, What Ever, An American Odyssey opens March 12 for a six-week run.
What Ever follows 10 main characters across America as they interact with 90 others and as their lives and stories converge.
The epic is divided into four evenings of theatre; two acts will be performed per evening (with a 10-minute intermission between acts).
The story 'deepens' with each installment, but any evening can be attended and seen as a fully realized play within itself, according to a spokesperson. Woodbury, a native of California, moved to New York in the early '80s and became involved in the East Village performance scene. She worked numerous odd jobs and also crisscrossed the U.S. several times by car, train, bus and thumb.
All of her experiences served to inspire What Ever.
The show is actually the result of a dare. For nine months straight, Woodbury performed an entirely new show every week in the back of a Village bar. The tale she spun was then shortened and tightened into What Ever by the friend who dared her to do it, Saunders (the show's director).
What Ever has also been produced as a radio serial drama, which is scheduled to air in its entirety on WBEZ in Chicago in tandem with an upcoming production at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. In addition, excerpts have aired on NPR's " This American Life ."
What Ever runs through April 19 at 2100 Square Feet, 5615 San Vicente Blvd. Performances are Thus.-Sun. at 8 PM. For tickets ($15 for the first performance, $10 each subsequent show), call (213) 660-TKTS. There is also a related Website, www.amorosa.com/Whatever.
-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent
