Details

What: Barnyard Theatre production of Meghan Brown’s “Psyche”

When: 8:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Aug. 4

Where: Schmeiser Barn, 35125 County Road 31 west of Davis

Tickets: $15 general, $10 students, available at the door

Info and directions: www.barnyardtheatre.org; (530) 574-1318

For the uninitiated, Barnyard Theatre is an outfit largely composed of 20-somethings who graduated from Davis High School over the past decade or so. Some are now several years out of college, others are pursuing advanced degrees, some of the younger ones are undergraduates. Their common bond is a strong interest in serious theater.

And having “aged out” of the youth theater and college theater programs in which they trained, these aspiring young professionals band together each summer to mount a show that appeals to their sensibilities — more often than not new works, along with the occasional classic, mounted with youthful energy and enthusiasm, and an infectious sense of fun.

The shows are presented in an unusual setting: the historic Schmeiser Barn, a rustic dirt-floored working structure west of Davis whose rugged wooden frame dates from 1893. Each summer, the Barnyard Theatre crew constructs a stage and set that suits the particular play they’ve taken on.

Their current project is “Psyche,” a play by Meghan Brown, who graduated from the theater program at UC Irvine about five years ago. As the play’s title indicates, the story draws on the ancient story about the incredibly beautiful Psyche, who gets romantically involved with the god of love (Cupid).

The setting for Brown’s play, however, is modern. And the characters include Vera (Alison Whismore), a high-strung movie star moving into middle age with a penchant for substance abuse …  as the play begins, she’s just come out of rehab, having left a bit prematurely. Vera’s unpredictable behavior is mitigated to a degree by her faithful assistant Sarah (Camille Beaumont), who keeps Vera’s calendar, deals with the Hollywood producers, and tries to keep Vera clean and sober.

Vera is also romantically involved with the good-looking, genially opportunistic Ali (Jason Oler), a rising actor half her age, who is determined to become a star himself. Ali, as it turns out, met Vera after befriending her son Peter (Anthony Pinto), a moody, artistically minded, withdrawn young man who spends a great deal time scribbling in the attic of Vera’s well-appointed home — sometimes, the folks downstairs don’t see him for days.

And it’s up there in the attic that Peter is having extended sessions with his muse Psyche (Madeline Stone), whose immortal spirit he conjures amid the clutter of crumpled manuscripts.

So we have two related stories unfolding in linked sequence — downstairs, it’s a cautionary tale about the Hollywood meat grinder, replete with big egos, personal betrayal, guilty feelings, pills and booze; while upstairs, the solitary artist gradually goes off the deep end, as he becomes so wrapped up in his conversations/courtship with his attractive muse that he loses touch with the world outside.

(And if you know anything at all about Greek and Roman myths, you know that personal relationships between mortals and immortals seldom end well for the humans involved.)

Brown’s script, which is getting its first full staging in this production, draws on potent personality types and situations that we’ve seen in other plays. The famous actress who is also a lousy mother, carrying on what is clearly a doomed romance with a less-than-faithful artist, while half-heartedly propping up a dysfunctional young adult son who can’t find his way in the world brings to mind Chekhov’s “The Seagull” (among others). The sexually obsessed young man in the attic has some resonance with Peter Shaffer’s grim “Equus,” though the dialog Brown has written between Psyche and Peter is generally humorous and ironic, even as the story takes on increasing dark dimensions.

The performances are good — Stone has a beguiling girlishness as Psyche; Pinto brings a sarcastic edge to Peter; Oler flashes a winning smile as he takes advantage of Vera’s disintegrating career; Whismore manages to bring together Vera’s unruly talent, maternal regrets and tendency to self-medicate; and Beaumont gives Sarah a brisk efficiency.

Directors Steven Schmidt and Maddy Ryen manage this rather complicated story rather nicely, without explaining too much about the supernatural events upstairs. The show’s technical aspects — sound, lighting, video projections — are deftly done. Clearly, the Barnyard Theatre crew knows where to get good equipment, and how to use it.  The overall effect is pretty sophisticated, which is particularly impressive given that the show is literally being staged in a working barn.

Which is to say that the foot traffic across the dirt floor kicks up a bit of dust, and the folding chairs are not exquisitely comfortable. But hey, the rural setting is very much part of Barnyard Theatre’s charm. And “Psyche” is a very interesting show. (And let’s also tip the hat to the Hunt family, which owns the barn, for encouraging this creative use of the venerable old structure.)

“Psyche” plays Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. through Aug. 4. Performances are in the Schmeiser Barn at 35125 County Road 31, Davis. Tickets are $15 general, $10 for students. For information and directions, visit www.barnyardtheatre.org or call (530) 574-1318.

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Alison Whismore and Jason Oler star in Barnyard Theatre’s world premiere of Meghan Brown’s “Psyche,” a darkly humorous retelling of the Eros and Psyche story from Greek mythology. Robert Schulz/Courtesy photo

psyche1W

Madeline Stone and Anthony Pinto star in Barnyard Theatre’s world premiere of Meghan Brown’s “Psyche,” a darkly humorous retelling of the Eros and Psyche story from Greek mythology. The show will be presented July 20-22, 26-28 and Aug. 2-4 in the historic Schmeiser Barn west of Davis. Robert Schulz/Courtesy photo

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