- Who: Concrete Theatre Company
- What: A one woman, one-act play
- When: November 12, 2007
- Where: Harry Ainlay Theatre
Shape of a girl is a one-woman show about female bullying, told primarily from the viewpoint of Brady, a young teenager, through flashbacks and memories. She, Adrienne and Sophie grew up together as best friends. Adrienne is the "leader of the pack", Brady is her best friend, and Sophie is the rear-end, typically singled out and made the subject of ridicule like “Sophie the Horsy give her a trophy!” The teasing becomes violent when the girls enter junior high. Adrienne has turned into a monster, hating and beating on Sophie for no reason, like when she is alone reading a book on the beach. Sophie comes home bleeding, but won't tell anyone the truth. Brady is too cowardly to report the bullying until the end of the play, when she summons the courage to tell her former daycare supervisor who “smells like play dough” what Adrienne was doing to Sophie. Brady often relates her experiences back to a news story regarding a case in Victoria where a young girl was beaten and drowned by her peers. She lives in constant fear that Sophie might meet the same fate, unless something is done.
The actress's portrayal of the characters was often pretentious and melodramatic. Occasionally, exaggeration seemed necessary, especially when she embodied young children who, in reality, are routinely overdramatic. But watching every single character be portrayed with such unrealistic emotional intensity was exhausting. She seemed to be "acting" the characters on the surface instead of deeply encapsulating them in a believable manner. The story would have affected me much more deeply if there was more realism and integrity in her acting. An interesting convention she used to show a character change was the removal of her sweater when she changed into a vulnerable character, like Sophie.
Stylistic choices were ostensible and functional, but not always effective. The synthetic, foreboding and CSI-style music was, on occasion, a nice touch. Often though, it clashed and diluted with the young-spirited, energetic nature of the play, over emphasizing the criminal aspect of the story without allowing the audience any comic relief, or a break from all the intensity. The lighting was bright, monotone, and lifeless. It didn't enhance the mood of the play at all. The set consisted of a blue cloth backdrop and a big tree root sprawled across center stage. The tree root was an excellent, flexible set piece, serving as playground, schoolyard, and beach terrain. The bright blue "sky" backdrop looked awkward, amateur, and distracted from the performance, leaving less to the imagination. A black expanse would've been more effective, elegant and engaging to the mind's eye.
Overall, the play was interesting to watch, but wasn't much of an enjoyable experience. The story was well told and easy to understand, but more of an educational, raise-the-awareness performance than a piece of quality entertainment. I would recommend the play if you want to watch a caricaturized dramatization of the typical teenage "Mean Girls" bullying story. Steer clear if you're seeking an intimate, entertaining, compelling and emotionally moving theatrical experience.
