mental health | The Sleepless Critic

REVIEW: Thinking outside the box in American Repertory Theater’s artistic autobiographical comedy, ‘300 Paintings’

Posted on October 24 by The Sleepless Critic

What happens after a dream doesn’t go quite as planned? For Sam Kissajukian, it’s finding another one.

Created and skillfully performed by dynamic Australian talent Sam Kissajukian, American Repertory Theater continues 300 Paintings live and in person at Farkas Hall at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts through Saturday, October 25. This cleverly executed production runs 90 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.

300 Paintings Production Photo Sam Kissajukian in 300 Paintings. Photo: Evgenia Eliseeva

300 Paintings carefully balances insight and humor in a zig zag autobiographical and educational journey about making a new start when your initial dream goes awry. Allowing the audience into his captivating methodology and thought patterns, Sam intimately reflects on this time with a step-by-step skewed and spontaneous comic logic that might be farfetched if it wasn’t for his unwavering confidence. Warmly yet dryly tracing out his often outlandish and complex ideas, you will marvel at his resourcefulness as Sam reflects upon his choices in the aftermath of his decisions. For example, Sam takes apart the art of doing business through the Museum of Modernia in such an interesting and unpredictable manner that one might wonder why no one has ever thought of that before. As Sam reflects, ‘A manic person will never do something the way you expect them to do it.’

Part comedy and part fascinating art exhibition, this personal portrait has a sense of urgency as it tackles art, comedy, business, and mental health with sincerity and self deprecation while keeping the majority of his zany storytelling lighthearted and humorous.

300 Paintings also contains a sense of adventure, gusto and discovery as the story unfolds behind these 300 Paintings. As Sam states, ‘No one would ever expect’ and I do think that is a deft description of this entire journey. With a mix of humor and surprise, Sam shows that discovering what you are meant to do is as significant as the journey toward it.

American Repertory Theater continues 300 Paintings live and in person at Farkas Hall at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts through Saturday, October 25. Click here for more information and for tickets.

Bay Players of Duxbury presents the Tony Award-winning play, ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’

Posted on June 18, 2017 by The Sleepless Critic

Its Academy Award-winning film adaptation was not only hauntingly memorable, but was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest films of all time. Based on the novel of the same name by Ken Kesey, Louise Fletcher’s tyrannical, indelible performance as Nurse Ratched at psychological warfare with defiant Jack Nicholson as Randle P McMurphy delivers a riveting message and stands as one for the ages.

Bay Players of Duxbury proudly presents the unforgettable drama, Dale Wasserman’s One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest for two weekends only on Fridays June 23 and 30 and Saturdays June 24 and July 1 at First Parish Church in Duxbury, Massachusetts at 8 p.m. Click here for more information and for tickets.

A play set at Pacific Northwest Mental Asylum, Randle P McMurphy is a carefree, charismatic man who becomes an inmate at the asylum after getting arrested. What lies in store for him and his surrounding erratic inmates is much more than he ever anticipated.

Directed by Phil Markella, produced by Nicki Bowser, and starring local talent Stephen Bradford Doherty as Randle P McMurphy and Sara Camden Daly as Nurse Ratched, see the captivating drama, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest kicking off on Friday, June 23, part of Bay Players of Duxbury’s 60^th season. All performances take place at First Parish Church, 842 Tremont Street in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Click here for further details and tickets. Discounted student and senior tickets are available.

Bay Players of Duxbury is also holding a five-week acting workshop with veteran Equity actor Gary S. Martinez called, Creating a Character kicking off on Thursday, June 29. Click here for further details and registration information. For more information on Bay Players of Duxbury, follow them on Facebook for their upcoming events, auditions, and more.