Here’s why. Do you remember back when you and some neighborhood kids decided to stage a play? (Or was that just me?) You delivered hand-written invitations on your bike and got busy scripting and making props from cardboard boxes, old toys and whatever clothing you could safely steal from your parents’ closets. You didn’t have an ending but figured you would just improvise (probably a mistake). Regardless, on the big day, the mostly moms and toddlers who showed up to your basement laughed and clapped, appreciative of your spirit.
Traffic School is infused with that same spirited basement-level creativity but in a much more practiced production. Written and directed by John Sturgeon, the story follows what happens when enthusiastic new instructor Boyd Beasley (John Schwendinger) is faced with his first class of four traffic school students and an actual dummy (go see the play to know what that means). Each student has at least one quirky personal issue that emerges through interaction with each other and the teacher.
The five actors, with the occasional appearance of school director Ms. Harper (the hilariously dry Stephanie Thomas), do a remarkable job wheeling desks and chairs around the small stage as “professor” Beasley employs every teacher trick in the book trying to keep his class engaged and learning. The dialogue also bounces back and forth actively as characters weave around each other, revealing very distinct personalities: disaffected Darwin (Derek Long); nurturing but sarcastic Randi (Melinda Parker); April (Lauren Nave), whose mother issues have led to bad-boy boyfriend delusions; and dreamer Zuzu (Bev Shields), the mousy goody-two-shoes with a crush on the teacher.
The most creatively directed parts (and most telling in terms of character) are when we see flashbacks of the driving debacles that led the students to this class in the first place. Cardboard cars with headlights and windshields framing the characters become animated through the magic of lighting (well-coordinated by Jesse Bosworth), sound, video and shadow puppetry. All the actors pitch in to move the resourceful set props efficiently and seamlessly.
You wouldn’t want to be in real traffic school with any of these characters (and, fortunately, you don’t have to because, as they also find out, you can complete that online). But you would enjoy spending a couple of hours at this creative production as a class of misfits figures out how to navigate their lives as well as their cars.
Traffic School is performed at the Found Theatre, 599 Long Beach Blvd., through Aug. 28. Shows are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2:30pm. Tickets are $15. For tickets and information, call the box office at (562) 433-3363, or visit foundtheatre.org.
