Feeling Child Abuse’s Impact in ‘Random Acts of Evil’

If any human act lays unambiguous claim to pure evil, it is surely the abuse of a defenseless child. Harrowing repercussions of this all-too-pervasive social tragedy are depicted in the aptly named “Random Acts of Evil,” presented at North Hollywood’s Bitter Truth Theatre under the auspices of Theatre of Hope for Abused Women.

In just under an hour, five hard-hitting character sketches written and directed by Alice Champlin frame the theme of child abuse in its varied manifestations--psychological manipulation, physical battery and sexual molestation.

Though we’re spared the brutality of the acts themselves, there’s no escaping the consequences in Champlin’s tight, economical scripting. There’s not a wasted syllable, for example, in an understated monologue by a deputy sheriff (Jodi Taffel), who poignantly chronicles the story of her mentor’s obsession with finding a missing little boy and his ultimate mental collapse and shattered faith when he does.

A victim’s perspective is supplied by a child beauty pageant contestant (Taylor Allbright), who’s creepily adept at using her stage persona to get what she wants--she’s already internalized the strategies of manipulation that have so obviously been exerted on her. Even scarier is the ease with which she accepts them.

Author Champlin appears in the shortest segment, a direct address by a housecleaner offering evidence born of personal history in the search for a serial killer.

The much longer opening segment strikes the collection’s only false note, with its cat-and-mouse confrontation between an inept social worker (Annie Grindlay) and a supervisor investigating one of her cases. The monumental self-absorption of Grindlay’s character isn’t impossible to swallow, but its persistence is--especially when the supervisor reveals the fate of the child whose ominous bruises the caseworker had failed to take seriously. Where even a complete sociopath would at least feign the trappings of a conscience in an inquiry that could so obviously be used against her, she doesn’t even register the event.

A ray of redemptive light and reasserted morality comes in the finale about a genteel social services volunteer (Kaye Kittrell) and her efforts to protect a little girl (Zoe Warner) from her ornery mother (Carla Von).

None of these scenes lasts long enough to probe beneath the surface; Champlin clearly sets out to hammer the tragedy of defiled innocence into our awareness rather than explain its causes. Fine performances from a diverse cast ensure that goal is achieved with considerable dramatic impact.

BE THERE

“Random Acts of Evil,” Bitter Truth Theatre, 11050 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood. Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Feb. 15. $7. (818) 766-9702. Running time: 1 hour.