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A Certain Level of Commitment

nytheatre.com review by Gyda Arber
August 15, 2005

At the beginning of the performance I caught of A Certain Level of Commitment (an actor prepares), solo performer Brandon Wolcott had to make a curtain speech. There had been some technical difficulties, so could we please bear with him as he tried to set things right? Though this was an unusual occurrence, Wolcott is an engaging and affable fellow, and I definitely felt for the guy. It’s hard to put a show together, and even tougher in the Fringe, with some less-than-desirable venues and little-to-no tech time. Little did I know that his brief speech would set the tone for the rest of the performance.Wolcott’s play explores the powerlessness that most actors have. Unless you’ve hit the big time, performers are really at the mercy of casting directors, agents, directors, and other industry professionals, waiting for them to give you your big break. He explores this theme in two ways: as himself, discussing his passion for the theatre and his plans for this showcase, and through a funny monologue and song about a drag queen who’s hanging up her hat. The drag character, sandwiched in between Wolcott’s musings on the process of building a career as an actor in NYC, herself muses about many of the same issues as Wolcott, blurring the line between Wolcott playing himself and Wolcott playing her. She is being interviewed for an HBO reality show, a fitting premise for A Certain Level of Commitment, for as the play continues, performance and reality come together and the show literally crashes to the floor.Though the character he creates is interesting, Wolcott is at his best playing himself, a dedicated actor whose frustration at not yet having “made it” is palpable. Ever hopeful, however, Wolcott eloquently expresses the dissatisfaction so many performers feel as they endlessly attempt to get the attention of agents, audience members, anybody, really, just so they can get an opportunity to perform. Wolcott presents his show as a showcase for “industry professionals,” but it was disappointingly clear by the end of the performance that no industry professionals had come.I’m reluctant to reveal too much about the show; the surprising way in which it plays out is compelling, and I’d hate to spoil it. But A Certain Level of Commitment is definitely worth checking out, especially for us performance-types spending an eternity in showcase purgatory, constantly wondering when that big break will finally come.