Fringe of Humanity
By Andrew Andrews
Newly arrived in “the capital city of a lawless third world country,” David Zayas plays Ross Gausmann, the aforementioned producer who needs this film to save him from bankruptcy. William Rothlein is Ken “Patch” Kelly, the D.P. who’s going to blow his top if they don’t start location scouting yesterday. Rebecca Nyahay is the aging actress who recently tied the knot with Gausmann because it was about time to pop out a few babies before her eggs dry up. Jakob Von Eichel, Luke Smith and Alex Emanuel are the talent, all of whom spin from having each others’ backs to stabbing them at the drop of a hat. Feliz Ramirez and Jessica Damouni round out the cast as wanna-be starlets who can’t recite their lines until the scene has been properly set—even if they’re only reading the script to work out the kinks and bubbles.
Calderon himself stars as Nick Valdez, the aging director recovering from a heroin addiction who just wants to get through the shooting. He’s the coolest head in the entire crew, which is like saying that the pit viper is the least poisonous of all of the poisonous snakes. Still, he’s a likable protagonist—if only thanks to his nihilism.
Fringe of Humanity is the kind of story that provides a different experience to different members of the audience. The drama queen will be waiting anxiously for the shit to hit the fan. The satirist will be shaking his head at the absurdity. And if you’re in show business—or sooooo finished with it!—the characters will strike close enough to home to make you howl at the caricatures.
Photo by David Zayas, Jr.
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Andrew Andrews attended Fringe of Humanity at Access Theater in New York on Thursday, January 12, 2017 @ 8:00pm to write this review.