Orbiter 3's world premiere of Douglas Williams's 'Breathe Smoke'

Douglas Williams's Breathe Smoke was devised with director Maura Krause and four talented actors and is, they admit, "more narrative mixtape than play." That's an oblique way of saying that the story meanders inconclusively and, though only 80 minutes long, isn't lean or sleek. But that's not necessarily a fault.

The indulgences of devising

Krause's production moves briskly, with quick transitions between its many scenes, due in part to Sara Outing's sprawling scenic design, which puts all the furniture, set pieces, and props on stage, minimal shifts required. Andrew Thompson's lighting defines each playing area well, and Adriano Shaplin's sound design mixes music with electronic and environmental sounds that form a mesmerizing soundscape and likewise propel the piece. Rebecca Kanach's versatile costumes allow for some quick onstage changes.

These don't entirely make up for the play's chatty scenes, in which experimental musician Trevor (Makoto Hirano) moves in with old friend and violinist Fritzi (C. W. Kennedy), and office drones Ellis (Jaime Masseda) and Dante (Anita Marie Holland) discover a shared passion for experimental music and rough bars.

Convergence

The two couples eventually converge, but not in the meaningful ways we might imagine. Dante tapes performances and is a fan of Trevor's onstage persona, "Rev Riley." She's planning on seeing his farewell performance, but is troubled by rumors that his onstage self-mutilations might actually lead to his suicide. Trevor wonders if he should even bother with this scheduled performance, while Fritzi privately noodles with her violin after telling Trevor she no longer plays. Ellis keeps his hard-rocking activities secret from work friends, who know him as jokester "Frogman," but Dante refuses to hide.

Moments between characters feel sincere and real, often with humor — especially Dante and Ellis's unisex corporate bathroom scene. Sometimes interactions are abstract: Trevor and Fritzi communicate in dance moves, and a sex scene between Fritzi and Ellis plays fully clothed, the characters' drying of bowls with dishcloths a quirky metaphor for intimate activities. The play's many short, punchy scenes feel like they were great fun to create.

What doesn't coalesce, perhaps in purposeful ambiguity, is Breathe Smoke's larger story and purpose. Perhaps it's that we're all separate lonely people, yet connected in ways we can't see because we have to face our demons alone. Perhaps devising a play sometimes results in lots of great trees but no forest.