Spare 'Shape of Things' explores love and art on TCC stage | Theater Review

“Strive to make art, but change the world!” What does this mean to you? How far do you have to go to make art? How far do you have to go to change the world? Where are the limits and who sets them?

These are questions posed by Neil LaBute’s play "The Shape of Things." TheatreTCC’s current production opening Thursday, Nov. 16.

I was able to preview a rehearsal of the intimate show. Whether one audience member or a full house, that performance would have been the same. The actors, of which there are only four, are there fully to serve the story and no one else.

It was truly impressive how zoomed in they made the Turner Auditorium feel.

The story follows Adam, your very average college English major, played by Jake Tottle. We watch how Adam’s life is changed after meeting ambitious art student Evelyn.

Adam is changed on a physical level and some might say, a soul level by his relationship with Evelyn, played by the dynamic Amanda Holton. She is charismatic and intelligent and brings new light and color into Adam’s life. Oh, the things one does for love…or is it art?

We also learn how these kinds of changes can ripple through a life and into others through Adam’s friends, Phillip and Jenny, played by Colton Stacy and Audrey Evans. These friends help to ask the question, how far can you push change before it's seen as a problem and not progress?

It is truly fantastic how this production manages to feel so intimate in such a large space. There is barely a set, only a few pieces of stark white furniture the cast move around themselves.

There are a few flat, empty spaces meant for the projections that become the fifth character in this play. Projecting random images mixed with pictures of the cast all set to an amazing soundtrack sets up the passage of time, the setting, and the distinct tone of each and every scene. The music and images projected had a very MTV at 2 a.m. in 1994 vibe and it works so well.

Also, do not be shocked by what can only be deemed as choreography by the cast in between scenes and even before the show starts. Distinct movements done by individual actors or all four of them really tell the audience that this world is just for these characters and not for us.

The director Jimmy Kontos has been quoted saying “The audience is secondary when it comes to the work we are doing together.” As an audience member I did not feel secondary, but there were times where I almost felt like an intruder into Adam’s life.

I definitely recommend this show to anyone who would like to explore the definition of art. I do not recommend this for anyone under the age of 16 due to scenes and discussions of a mature nature.

The show is only 90 minutes long and runs with no intermission, meaning you have plenty of time to continue your night discussing what you have witnessed. You may love it or you may hate it, but you will not come away from this production indifferent. Evelyn would hate that.

Book launch: 'Musical heartbeat': Tallahassee Symphony melds music, art into bicentennial book

If you go

What: Theatre TCC! presents "The Shape of Things," by Neil LaBute

When: 8 p.m. Nov. 16-18; 8 p.m. Dec. 1 & 2 and 2 p.m. Dec. 3

Where: TCC’s Turner Auditorium, 444 Appleyard Dr.

Tickets: $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for non-TCC students and children. TCC students, faculty and staff receive free admission. Tickets can be reserved online at tcc.fl.edu/theatretcc

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: TheatreTCC's intimate 'Shape of Things' explores impact of art