STAGE REVIEW : Two One-Act Plays by Local Writers Debut; Both Fade to Black

The Orange County Coalition of the Theatre Arts is premiering two one-acts by local writers--the first centers on a woman’s introspection on the eve of her suicide, the second attempts a little jocularity (!) on the eve of a man’s execution in the electric chair.

Steven Mills’ “The Measurement of Arbitrary Momentum,” despite structural flaws (and a self-conscious title), is the more ambitious playlet.

Directed by Paisley Yankolovich, “Momentum” begins with 50-year-old Veronica (Harriet Gold) announcing that soon she will commit suicide. From there, we meet Veronica at two stages in her life, as an insecure but scrappy young intellectual (Jan Kennedy) and a disappointed middle-aged writer (Conni Stiegemeyer) fretting about her stalled career and stalled marriage.

She complains and reflects and cracks wise while a small troop of her men (Robert Blankenship, Rudy Salazar and Wayne Sherwood) add wry comment. Everyone is dressed in black, so you know this is serious stuff.

Actually, “Momentum” does try to put Veronica’s Angst before us in emotional and thoughtful ways. Mills stumbles, however, in making the one-act come together as a smooth-surfaced whole. His ideas are fuzzy and scattered--a honing of the imagery and some discriminating editing, especially concerning the significant but vague turning points of Veronica’s life, could bring it into focus.

The title of Katherine Rock and W.A. Rock’s “Old Sparky” (directed by Steve Wilber) comes from the nickname that executioner Mr. X. (Philip Seitz) has given his beloved electric chair. That’s sort of funny, and it gives you an idea of where this little number is going.

While the beer-gutted Mr. X. sloppily prepares for the execution of Eldridge Greenapple (Xan Martin) that evening, Greenapple himself faces the big sleep with punchy wit, a fair degree of blather, and a large dose of humanism. He may have murdered a drug dealer, but drug dealers are bad guys, so we’re suppose to feel sympathy for him and his vigilante act.

Anyway, the final moment comes and, amid some goofy sound effects and splashy it’s-the-end-of-the-world! lighting by Felix Cisneros III and Andy Rose, we learn whether this well-intentioned killer cheats death . . . and the state.

The acting in both plays was often uneasy on opening night Friday, but Paisley Yankolovich did make an impression with his aggressive portrayal of the “anarchist” in “Momentum,” and Martin brought a soft humor to Greenapple in “Old Sparky.”

A last note: Friday’s audience numbered no more than 10, which has to be discouraging to the coalition and other small groups thinking of staging new works. The encouraging thing is that Steve Wilber, one of the coalition’s founders, says his troupe will continue to produce original material from regional playwrights, no matter what the community support. Up next are two more one-acts scheduled for April.

‘THE MEASUREMENT OF ARBITRARY MOMENTUM’ and ‘OLD SPARKY’

An Orange County Coalition of the Theatre Arts productions of one-acts by Steven Mills and W.A. Rock and Katherine Rock. Directed by Paisley Yankolovich and Steve Wilber. With Robert Blankenship, Harriet Gold, Jan Kennedy, Ruby Salazar, Wayne Sherwood, Conni Stiegemeyer, Paisley Yankolovich, Xan Martin, Annita Russell, Philip Seitz, Nick Sigman and Carl Wiggins. Lighting and sound by Felix Cisneros III and Andy Rose. Plays Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Santa Ana City Hall Annex, 23 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana. Tickets: $10. (714) 991-8556.