Mixed Tape by Another Urban Riff is a playwriting version of an exquisite corpse.

Exquisite Corpse is a type of poem where each poet writes one line and a word. The first poet then folds the paper down so that only the one word at the end is visible. The next poet sees only the one word of the line that the new poet is supposed to begin with. This usually goes around for as many lines as there are poets in the circle and then: share.

Are you with me? Good. Mixed Tape has four playwrights and four directors, the second playwright reads only the first work. The third does so for the second and the fourth for the third. . . interesting.

Although my friend Julia whom I came to see (aka Burlesque-dancer Roja Rouge) told me they cheated a little. And I guess that’s where the flaws in this project began. .

To AUR’s credit, (or maybe the discredit of the lighting-person) the stage lights were fucked and they had to do the play with the house-lights on which severely threw off the entire sense of theater. With the prying eyes of the audience boring into all the actors, it felt more like we were sitting in on a dress rehersal.

The 1st “track” (as each chapter was called) was a manic mish-mash of stressed out roommates, bed-bug jokes, short attention spans, screaming frenemies, and some too-cool-for-school booty-call who ditches the sexually desperate and confused protagonist who just wants to some attention. . . I guess. . . Oh, and all the roommates are all actors. . . I think. . .

The 2nd track was about two depressed and stressed-out roommates alongside a sexually unfulfilled woman with her loser TV-addict boyfriend. There’s an awkward, desperate and awkward one night stand between one of the roommates and the boyfriend, and everyone’s frustrated reaction.

By the time the 3rd track begins with a neurotic young man cleaning an apartment while masturbating in various strange auto-erotic positions and screaming SHUT THE FUCK UP!! while slamming his head against the wall. . . Well, between the flourescent lights and uncomfortable folding chairs, I was just desperate to get out of this confused, nearly plotless cluster-fuck of a theater project.

Which was unfortunate, because this was where it started to get good.

The 3rd track incorporated a character from the second, which then made it confusing to the audience which of the reoccurring actors were the same character as before. Apparently each play has one “carry-over” actor from the previous play, or maybe more than one, the audeince wasn’t sure and I’m not sure the playwrights were either.

The 3rd track continued on the theme of shitty living situations in the city, bi-polar outbursts and massively desperate sexual confusion which after being beaten over the head with it already for 45 minutes was starting to get painful.

By the time we were into the fourth trach, I was just hoping it’d be over soon.

Which is a shame. Because the 4th track very smartly and depthfully explored the world of Sexual Addicts, sexual repression, sexual expression and dudes with popped collars (A very clever performance by Nick Paglino, with some great slapstick turns).

Track 4 was written by Marge Lewitt, who also directed Track 3, and for her quality work, I applaud her. The others. . . Well, I think I’d need to see more of their work to give a “fair” assessment. Same goes for the actors.

And so, I’d say the idea of Mixed Tape is good and should be taken back to the drawing board, but if I could make one suggestion to AUR:

Be it the playwrights, the directors, the actors or some combination therein, someone needs to put down the methamphetamines.