‘Threesome’ Falls Apart at the Start

Named after William Wolfskill, an explorer and early settler of downtown L.A., the Wolfskill Theater Company is an intrepid group of theatrical adventurers bent on reviving downtown’s arts district.

Sadly, the audacious new company loses the trail with its current trio of one-acts, “A July Threesome,” at the Spanish Kitchen Studios. (In warm weather, shows are mounted in a small outside space that has been converted into a makeshift amphitheater.)

Adolphus A. Ward’s “Sizmatik,” the evening’s opener, staged by Abdul Salaam El Razzac, is so benumbingly bad that it casts a pall over the remainder of the evening. A half-baked stew of existentialism and histrionics, the piece focuses on the emotional crisis of a dying actor (Cornell Adams), cast as a dying character, who cannot resign himself to his annihilation--either onstage or off.

John Steppling’s promising but underdeveloped “My Crummy Job,” directed by Joe Balogh, features three typically fascinating Steppling losers, stranded in circumstances that seem uneventful--even by Steppling standards. In Ken Prestininzi’s undisciplined but poetically provocative “Breath for Elizabeth,” directed by Loren Rubin, we experience the final fever dream of Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Paul Mackley), who receives a ghostly visitant, his slain bride (Kaaren J. Luker).

Speaking of visitations, a scene-stealing rat made unscheduled appearances in both acts, leading one to surmise that, above and beyond its artistic agenda, this theater’s first imperative is vermin control.

* “A July Threesome,” Spanish Kitchen Studios, 734 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles. Saturdays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends July 27. $10. (213) 620-9229. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.