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Independently Great

If you didn’t catch ITPs, in any of the four performances, then you missed out incredibly.

I say this without the slightest exaggeration or bias: The show was one of the best pieces of entertainment I’ve ever seen, live or recorded, theater or otherwise. It was wholeheartedly and unequivocally outstanding, and it was quite a while before I could get over the quality, ambition, and entertainment of what I saw.

That’s what’s important, of course. While you can look at a lot of the things created or exhibited by high schoolers, and be impressed by what they did, it is a rare occasion when you see something that actually elicits pure, objective pleasure. ITPs wasn’t a good show by high schoolers. It wasn’t remarkable how a small team of teenagers created such a quality performance. There was no favorable comparison to other, similar creative works by their peers.

Instead, it was simply and blatantly a fantastic, enjoyable performance. That’s it. It wasn’t “good for kids”; it was just good. Very, very good.

I am constantly amazed at the level of performing talent in our school. Berkeley High has 3,000 kids, which is a lot, but in the grand statistical scheme of things is not terribly many, and in that batch we have some actors, musicians, and other “creators” who are by any standards truly elite. Actually, we don’t just have “some” — we have a lot, a disproportionate amount, and it’s a real blessing. Sometimes you don’t notice it, though, until something like ITPs comes along and slaps you in the face with its jaw-dropping standards and professionalism.

The show consisted of three one-act plays, each directed by a different student and sourced from different playwrights. The first was thoughtful and subtly executed; the second was emotionally effective and brutally human, yet mindful and minimalist; the last, Liz Duffy Adams’s Poodle with Guitar and Dark Glasses, was simply so perfectly brought-together and exquisitely performed that I could not imagine a more entertaining play.

And all of this by a ragtag collection of busy students, overworked actors, and laboring crew members.

Some things are a gift.

— Brandon