Hip Shot: ‘I Am S.A.A.M.’
I Am S.A.A.M. (South Asian American Male)
Goethe-Institut
Remaining Performances:
Friday, July 27, 9 pm
Saturday, July 28, 5 pm
Sunday, July 29, 4:30 pm
They say: “A multimedia presentation inspired by stories of real South Asian men living in the DC area. Through vignettes of humor and drama, we bring to the forefront a production that speaks not just to South Asians, but to men and women all over the world.”
I say: Minimally multimedia — and minimally competent. Packed house Sunday afternoon was treated to a series of shorts notable more for pedestrian writing and stiff performances than for any window into the experiences they portray — though the whole business is earnest and heartfelt and possibly even full of insider insights, the creators haven’t found a way to communicate those insights to audiences from other subcultures. (Or even, given the thin laughter among the bindi-dotted gaggles in the audience, to their own.)
Glimmers of light: A sweet two-hander about a guy whose arranged marriage (I think) turns out beautifully, and a lightly funny lecture-style dissection of the ABCD Woman (that’s “American Born Confused Desi”) and her polar opposite, the FOB (“Fresh Off the Boat”) –delivered by a frustrated guy who wants the best of both worlds: “a woman with high values who’ll sleep with me.”
But to get there, you have to sit through the one about the biracial bisexual whose interracial relationship is threatened by her decision to seek gender-reassignment surgery — which you’d think you could wring a little drama from, no? (no.) Then you’ll have to sit through several more, including a final skit about a whiny, needy woman and her emotionally unavailable boyfriend — types who turn out to be annoying in pretty much any culture. Upside of the Goethe-Institut: Lovely sightlines. Downside: No discreet back-of-house exit.
See it if: You’ve got friends in the show.
Skip it if: You can pretend, next time you see them, that you were out of town.
11:17 am
I agree it was minimally multimedia. But claiming it to be minimally competent is probably being too hard on an earnest effort. As you have pointed out most of the scenes cross the borders and problem are universal. If you found yourself hating a character, it definitely means he/she has done a great job in portraying what was asked.
12:39 pm
Trey:
Were you at the same show? Reading the rest of your reviews makes me wonder if you are into self-loathing as well…pedestrian writing? stiff performances? bindi-dotted gaggles? Dude, the writer was brilliant…and yes, even if the performances were uneven (as can often be expected from an amateur outfit), they were competent depictions of themes which are non-traditional and difficult to play out…such as in the scene of the Bangladeshi intellectual with an African American wife, or even in the bisexual-biracial scene which involves an effeminate man being involved in the r’ship….brave attempts in new directions, and you should be commending the efforts of the writer, director and actors…
12:55 pm
I don’t agree with you, Trey… I thought the vignettes were nice. The breakup scene was beautifully done, the ABCD-FOB scene was highly entertaining, and both the transgendered woman and the effeminate guy were right on the money in terms of depicting their characters. The romantic scene between the two lovers at the metro was very charming, and the last scene (hello, some of us can relate to being involved with emotionally uninvolved men) was sharp…why were you so annoyed? Don’t know if you have been involved with a South Asian IT consultant before. I have and believe me, the scene depicted was pretty accurate. I could empathisize with the plight of the girl involved.
1:27 pm
Give the writer a break. She did a damn good job, trying to put together a series of different snippets into a short production. Yes, while some of the acting was a little drawn out, there were some standout performances, including the African American woman in both her scenes, the tall guy who suffered an emotional breakdown, and the woman involved in the breakup. I also think you are being to harsh for the transgendered scene. The “gay” guy was pretty dramatic and pretty damn “gay”, I thought, and the woman was a perfect foil.
Not sure why you were looking for the exit so early. I was hoping the play would carry on.
3:39 pm
Trey,
I think you were way too deafened by the overwhelming applause received by the production, scene after scene.Minimally multimedia is the only true observation you seem to have made from yesterday’s show…what term do you give to the immaculate portrayal of their characters by the African American woman and the tall guy as a Bangladeshi intellectual and in the other scene where he goes through an emotional breakdown.I agree with one of the writers above that you are being over-judgmental of the transgendered scene.There are people who identify with that kind of emotional strife.
In my opinion it was good writing and more than that an inspiring effort by a group of brave writer,director and actors to bring forth the myriad experiences of South Asian American Men and it aptly communicated to audiences of other sub-cultures.I agree there are different sub-cultures but there are no water tight compartments when it comes to emotions,at the basic level all of us share and express the same emotions…some shed tears and some smile it off.Similarly though focussed on South Asian American Men,the portrayals may seem to be tilted to that culture but take a deep breath and introspect and you would find the same struggle and emotions seeping through the cracks of the lives of one and all..I think I AM S.A.A.M was a great effort in getting back home the universal truth that men and women across cultures share the same platter of emotions.
3:40 pm
Yes, the director might have condensed the scenes from 9 down to 6-7 or stretched out the time in the show so as to allow for fuller development of characters…but it was fun to watch come convincing performances such as the breakup scene, and the interplay between the economist and the African American woman…some things could have been better contextualized for the non-South Asian folks, like the “women are visas” sequence, but overall I will recommend this play to friends and family.
Oh, and how cool was it to have a baby in the audience??!!
3:58 pm
Am with you Carol…and people had cell phones ringing…such people dare go to the show.
Something inportant that I forgot was the break-up scene..am sure it reminded all of us of some break-up in our lives..The gay scene was also well played by the actor.
Strongly recommended for all who want to feed a tingling sensation to their grey paradise.
4:10 pm
Trey:
Reba Watkins was fabulous as the woman about to get transgendered scene. Am not sure how much more drama you can have than when a highly effeminate registered nurse in love with pink and his biracial bisexual gf go from fighting and arguing with each other, to that moment where the woman breaks down. Very touching scene, and well handled by both protagonists.
The other scene that I personally loved was the breakup scene…Carol Jacod is a natural talent and bubbly, and her boyfriend was very believable in character.
Roshni Lal was also very convincing in her role as a whiny girlfriend…nothing wrong with that, Trey…not sure as to how you could just dismiss this as annoying. The play was intended to be a portrayal of r’ships and identity, and if you find the theme of insecure girl meets Mr. handsome non-commitment annoying, well, then you are denying real life in Washington DC!!
P.S. FYI, I am not a friend of anyone in the cast, and even if I was, there would have been no reason for me to pretend I was out of town.
5:05 pm
As a woman of South Asian origin, I can honestly say that while this was a reasonable production, the storyline would have been better helped had there been more context provided to the characters. For e.g. why was there an emotional breakdown by Karan (was it a flashback? was it emotional abuse from childhood? was it rejection). While the actors were overall good , the storyline needed to be more rounded. I definitely agree with Trey that it was minimally multimedia – I expected more film.
Perhaps the director might want to consider taking one of the themes of the play, and expanding it outwsard -.making it full length. I really liked the Bangladeshi intellectual – African American woman theme, and am sure that could be taken further. Or a fuller exploration of the Karan – Becky theme.
On another note, the ABCD-FOB scene was a scream. The guy in that scene had great timing. Also, the effeminate actor early on was really cute and convincing.
5:33 pm
Trey, I don’t know how you are so vehement in your dismissal of this production…took my Indian origin girlfriend to this production, and she and I both loved it. The ABCD scene was funny, the romantic man chasing his wife across stage was special, and 2-3 of the initial dramatic scenes were appropriately emotionally charged. Yes, there was definitely uneven acting. The club scene did seem a little contrived, and as mentioned by others on the blog, some of the scenes could have provided more context. But given the constraints of undertaking 9 scenes within a short period of time, the director has done a great job, leaving the appropriate level open to imagination.