Chase the Ace—Not Playing with a Full Deck of Cards
Tucked behind a local farm house is a cleared out field with a massive canopy style tent and rustic wooden stage where Chase the Ace joins Festival Players’ return this summer. Enjoy the Eddie Hotel and Farm’s selection of local wine and cheese as radio personality Charlie King takes a producing job in the small town of Port Bellete after losing it all to a mistaken drunken stupor. Written and starring Mark Crawford, an often told (and now old) story of political corruption, greed, and self-interest becomes the focal point of the plot as Charlie shares his daring tale of investigative journalism and his encounters with several locals.
Upon speaking with Crawford, I was confused to learn that his piece is essentially a finished product. I was surprised to hear this given the minimal production elements, subdued physical presence, and time specific jokes. Evidently, this performance was not intended for me so proceed with a grain of salt.
Growing up in a similarly small town, I can recognize the types of personalities Crawford portrays in this play. Perhaps there is a discrepancy in my humour with his, but the “rural Ontario humour” Crawford has been deemed a master of is not accurately represented in this performance. In my experience, the kind of humour found in smaller towns tends to be more focused on satirical jabs at an individual’s surrounding community or social circle, to which they are extremely familiar with, while also being dressed with light word play, puns, and turns of phrase.
In contrast, Crawford claws for simple and repetitious jokes about the pandemic and base portrayals of how foolish, stupid, or cowardly small town locals can apparently be. With an oversaturation of COVID-19 jokes and allusions to our current (now past) political landscape, the comedy remains outdated, and at times, aggravating. A form of escapism, jokes about the pandemic regarding distancing, bubbling, and Zoom mishaps humorously explains the pain and sadness we were all feeling.
Any active netizen on the internet has most likely seen or heard almost all of Crawford’s jokes through websites like Reddit, 9GAG, and even Facebook. But the way those initial sentiments were revisited in the return to in person theatre doesn’t evoke the same effect. The gravity of our shared experience has grown stale and its comedic implementation demonstrates an avoidance of its weight.
If Crawford is not receiving work as a voice actor, the industry is missing out on a huge bed of talent. Close your eyes and you would assume there were several performers rather than one. However, his characterization of a Hispanic character (and the only explicitly non-white character) was distasteful and unnecessary. Especially as a white man, it was an uncomfortable portrayal from Crawford of a racialized individual with the sole purpose to make the audience laugh at the expense of the Other. If the audience has to interpret whether this choice is from King the character or Crawford himself, the choice was not done in good fashion.
With minimal lighting, set, and sound, I believe that the storyteller in all regards needs to be spectacular. Unfortunately, it was as if the sleeves of Crawford’s shirt were glued to his waist, his elbows rarely leaving his side, which made for a restricted and stagnant performance, creating yet another barrier to my investment in the story.
With solo performances, our narrator or leading character needs to draw the audience in, hold our attention, and conduct us effectively through the story being told. Say, for a second, that this is how Charlie King would tell the story! His lack of physicalization would be better suited as an audio drama, with the imagery left to the imagination of the listener.
Crawford’s intention with Chase the Ace was likely to represent and unite small town communities over an easily relatable story of capitalistic greed, but to someone like me, it seems like he ripped off several jokes from the other content creators; adapted it into a story about a game from an older generation; and then mass-marketed it as his own original content to that same demographic. His works, which are predominantly about and created for rural Canadians, have also been featured in several festivals and been refined through the funding of recommender grants, which is why I find these issues to be as concerning as they are.
Sure, this show may not be intended for theatre enthusiasts or emerging artists, but if you are looking for a mildly humorous evening, the scenic drive and venue are worth it. With questionable portrayals and unoriginal comedy, I do find myself bewildered as to why it has received ample funding but I’m always excited to see the success of theatre artists outside of Toronto gain traction. I only hope Crawford takes the time moving forward to understand the time and space his work is entering.
Chase the Ace is written, created, and performed by Mark Crawford and runs from August 24 to 29, 2021. Check out Festival Players for tickets and more information regarding showtimes.