Since the Spring of 2013, Jennifer Jasper’s Family Affair has occupied the third Wednesday of each month in the Rendezvous’s intimate Jewel Box Theater. Jasper is beloved in local fringe theater scenes and their audiences for her autobiographical, one-person shows like I Can Hear You…But I’m Not Listening. She’s also a naturally funny storyteller. Family Affair is her cabaret night of storytellers who, given six minutes at a time, will relay a story involving family in one way or another. I went last Wednesday night and had a more than enjoyable evening. In her opening remarks, Jasper explained a handful of lineup changes – too many to call the evening “curated” (and thank @almightygod for that).
On Sloane Crosley’s book I Was Told There’d Be Cake, Jonathan Lethem has a blurb where he says, “What makes her so funny is that she seems to be telling the truth, helplessly.” That’s what I had in mind whenever Jennifer Jasper was on stage.
But there was a great roster of readers and performers on Wednesday night. Jose Amador spoke first about his relationship with his Catholic mother. Bret Fetzer read a short story about rabbits, carrots, and more that was hilarious and moving at the same time (and actually went on for about 12 minutes as he was taking the place of two people who canceled. Fetzer’s wife Tracy Leigh and Abigail Hustsell performed an Elmo-like puppet show about being gay. Emily Golden told a story of a family cat affectionately named Shithead (or Shead, in formal situations). Paul Mullin told a story, which he described as nonfiction, about his stepfather having a stroke and familial panic it causes.
Between each story, Jasper told the audience about one way or another she related to the story that was just performed. Empathy explains why the night was so enjoyable. In the middle of the show, Jasper relayed a story about talking to her mom about raising money to take her production of her newest play, Etymology, to New York and her mother being dismissive and asking questions like, “Are you paying for the hotel rooms for everyone? That seems like a good deal for them, there aren’t that many lines.” It flashed back to my own dismissive mother who would ask me questions like, “Are you still writing for that website for free?”
Paul Mullin noted that some stories had traits or themes that ran through the performances by coincidence. His piece and Emily Golden’s both have stepfathers named “Bill”; his play and Jose Amador’s family both deal with Catholicism, etc…
The evening closed with Jennifer Jasper having an audience member (in this case, Tracy Leigh) draw a story from a box called “Jasper Jewels.” It has dozens of cards with stories written them. Jasper said that she never performed any of them and some she probably doesn’t remember. This one, the card said “Father – voicemail – Kotex.” She told that story that was too painfully recognizable to have been anything but a direct retelling. Though I know it’s not the best way to review a show, it was really something that needed to be seen to believe. It as hilarious and painful and oddly moving, mostly at the same time.
The next Family Affair is on Wednesday, August 22 at the Rendezvous ($10, cash at the door, 21+), and there’s another one at Bumbershoot August 31 at 6:45pm on the Theatre Puget Sound Stage. I would recommend not missing either.
