iTunes Exclusive Episode None Of The Above
The Clubhouse Podcast reviews the stage play None of the Above, a two-person production written by Jenny Lynn Bader and directed by Jared Colpever at the Bathhouse Cultural Center on White Rock Lake in Dallas. The play follows Jamie, a high school junior preparing for her SATs, and Clark, her tutor hired by her father, as secrets and revelations emerge in Jamie's bedroom. Starring local college actors Kelly Stewart and Steve Robert Pounds, the hosts praise the performances and production design while noting pacing issues in the first act and overly neat resolution.
About this episode
Key takeaways
- The play uses a black box theater setting with invisible fourth, second, and third walls established through careful direction without explicit barriers
- A two-person cast carrying a 90-minute play (plus 45-minute intermission) with a single set location requires significant memorization and acting commitment
- The first act felt rushed with heavy dialogue to meet pacing before intermission, while the second act allowed better character dynamic investment
- Transitions between scenes with visible prop and set changes briefly distract from the narrative but serve as necessary scene markers
Q&A
Who are the two actors and what are their backgrounds?
Kelly Stewart plays Jamie and has about two years left at UT. Steve Robert Pounds plays Clark and attends UTA, with about two years remaining; he aspires toward Broadway and stage performance and has lived in multiple countries including Australia due to his father's work.
When does the play close and how many performances remain?
The play closes August 30th with two performances scheduled that day.
What is the initial misunderstanding between the two characters?
Jamie initially believes Clark is her drug dealer when he arrives at her bedroom, but discovers he is actually her SAT tutor hired by her father.
How do the hosts evaluate productions on this show?
They use a two-part question: first, would you see this production again, and second, if yes, how much urgency would you assign to seeing it before it closes.
Read Transcript
The following is a sooner orgator production. The following is a sooner orgator production. The following is a sooner orgator production.
The following is a sooner orgator production. Welcome Empire member and or members. If you are hearing my voice it means a few things number one you've at least once in your life as another clubhouse podcast and if this is your first time welcome we appreciate you.
It also means you may or may not be subscribed on iTunes which we appreciate as well. So thank you for that. Our normal show which is your one-stop shop for all things sports entertainment airs live every Sunday at 70's from for Pacific but as you know now we're also on iTunes so you are going to enjoy it anytime you want.
My name is Rob and I drive this congloy rocket into the night. Joining me for this particular what we like to call is the official fact checker of this show and he is a man who did so well on his SATs they can't reveal the score. You may know it's fun don go but his mom and even don port I'm going to call him don't afford a welcome sir actually I never took the SATs I took the ACT and I got a 21 but got me in the college which is good enough.
I got a 31 on my ACT got a 980 on my SAT Montana they really never did that SATs because there's no electricity up there and all that which you know so now we also have a casual observer joining us tonight. He's so casual because he's royalty and he can that's just how he rolls he's the king of bowling he is Andrew Beckham welcome sir thank you great to be here. Not reviewing a movie tonight but yet reviewing a stage play called None of the above currently showing that the Dallas bathhouse cultural center we have a new contact here with a barb wine burger who's with the Pegasus the Pegasus theater company and we really want to first off thanks Joanne for the whole two's one of our friends at the show there for getting us introduced a barb in all the people there at the Pegasus.
Really enjoy talking to her when we let's all this last time and we I think everybody getting at the bathhouse at the cultural center here Dallas Texas right by Warrock Lake for let's come in and see this review for this play. The entire cast of this consists of two people the bathhouse cultural center is truly what they call a black box theater basically there's a stage in the middle and there's seats on three sides of the stage so you're right there it's what they call a black box theater because it's a box like you're in a box and everything's black it's the story of Jamie and Clark Jamie is a high school junior preparing to take her SAT she is a young socialite in New York City the entire play takes place in her bedroom where she hangs out and she meets Clark thinking that originally he's her drug dealer but what she finds out is that he is her SAT tutor wow and he has been hired by her father to help her do as well as she can on her SATs by the way this is iTunes exclusive number 45 so climb in the mountain to 50 and for the next runtime really is an hour 45 because there is a 45 minute intermission a little over past a halfway mark. Jamie played by Kelly Stewart Clark played by Steve Robert pounds both local actors both college students studying acting I mean there's more people in the crew than there are in the cast I mean there is because it's it's it's a two person cast that takes place in you know in this girl's bedroom as he you know he helps her prepare for her SATs and what follows are revelations about who they are as people and secrets come out and motivations and things like that I don't really want to ruin a lot the unfortunate part right now is that as we record this thing it's the eve of the closing day of the show we really wish we could have gotten to see this early in the run and give our empire much but you know tomorrow August the 30th if you have a chance to stop by the bathhouse cultural center on white rock lake I have to to initiate that or I can't say it yeah we really want to send some members of the empire their way and we want to start really with the story itself and you know Andrew as a as a casual observer if you have any questions just popping whenever you want to done on the story um going to this place you really do not know too much about the story um I have to say first off doing a two person play I got to give it to both of those actors written by Jenny Lynn Bader yeah and how in the doing a two person play only is very tough to do that it's a lot of lines a lot of work put into that film and a lot of I mean to the the show and a lot of acting but the storyline I seem like their user will spoil Brad film but then you get some revelations like the drug dealing and stuff like that and you realize that there's more to these people than they who they are there's a lot of layers to the story yeah it's like laying like layers of onions and stuff and Jamie you realize yeah she's a spoiled Brad which social social light and stuff like not only worried about clubbing but she has some intelligence and then you got the guy uh Clark played by Steve Roberts and Pound to Robert Pound to Robert Pound to Robert Pound to Robert Pound to Robert Pound to apologize and he seems like they're you know the real social uh like real prestige is kind of a guy real man or that kind of thing he's kind of the opposite of the guy exactly and you're in it this guy has some skeletons in his closet as the film goes on and he's not to mr.
squeaky queen guy that you think he is from the beginning and that's what I really liked about the story itself is it it paced that knowledge as it went through so it didn't you put everything out there on front street you kind of had to you almost had to earn it oh yeah which I really liked about the way they did the story is we're gonna give you little tidbits here and there was a lot of give and take between the characters just like look I'll tell you this but you have to do this first yeah it's like why did she take why did he take her as a student as a as a tutor for her in you learn reasons why more than just to help you or it's a challenge there's other reasons why he too don't we don't want to go to you know I'm not given any kind of this start out was it like her talking like it's not she was there first just hanging out in a room and there's a knock at the door and she he walks in and she thinks he's her drug supplier and he's putting SAT books on the desk and then and then that's how it starts and really you know the next two hours of your life is is dealt with these two characters and one thing that I really dug about the the production itself especially on a black box setting which I've seen other plays and in black box settings is you there there's a wall but there's not and and I think what director Jared Colpever did very well here and I said this in my written review on the clubhousepodcast.com don't scratch anything you think you better you better you bet you bet I'm not saying some people will get it and some people won't that's important it's hard when you do something in a setting like that because you don't only have a fourth wall you have a second and third wall too because there's people I mean one of the rows of seats if you sat in it you could reach out and touch the bedpost like that's close you were but what I thought Colpever did really really well as we get into the direction of the production was he formed those boundaries without you realizing it and when you look back on it you're like they're really was like on a certain level you feel a little voyeuristic because you're looking into this girl's room but there's a there's an invisible barrier there that he establishes without even trying to establish it which I really really dug done I was really impressed because this film I mean this this show is an hour 45 roughly with not counting the intervention right how one set the only thing that changed was a couple props nothing more a glass here glass there cereal added not taken out but how they could do a whole thing in one play with two actors only yeah and they had to carry they carried it they really carried it two people had to carry all so how how they're able to do that how once set is able to run the whole play and like you're seeing you feel like you're kind of in the room after a while it's feel like there's that boundary there now if I can go into this the the acting I have the pleasure of talking to both the the actors on this film and it's been a little time with them with you know first up Jamie is played by Kelly Stewart she's local she's about two years left in school and she's going to UT our one ten for those people in the you know DFW area it's a local college part of the UT system of University of Texas system she has about two years left and she would look like over time to her goals to give like the LA hollow would be more in the films and stuff like that very nice very mannered the you know very nice person to be able to talk to and get some information from the guy who played Clark Steve Robert Pounds he seemed very professional of tight kind of guy in the film but he said when I talk in him after this show also he said I'm more of the laid back goofball this is totally opposite of what I'm like in real life he's going to UTA you do that North Texas dead I'm sorry that's where like me jogering played and stuff like that my wife's gonna be exactly okay but he has about two years left also he'd like to eventually go to Chicago go more into the play stage performances he goes out my dream of like be on Broadway or I just wanted to take where it takes me but the thing is interesting is he his dad worked for helpers so he's born in the Dallas area but he spent time in Australia and all around and that's where he got some more input in the acting was being in all these places around the world but how two people can carry a plan I said how tough was it to memorize all these lines for an hour and 45 minute plane he goes just memorize and memorize and memorizing and having anybody can help you help you out but you said it was one of the tougher roles because it is just hurt him and someone else you know so I got to give it to the acting for these people just called students just trying to you know do what they love and be able to carry an hour or 45 minute play by just themselves and I even quote professionals I thought they did a great job if I've got to have a criticism and I don't really think this is a criticism over the performance but more of the production itself the first act is very very like very I mean not on a Kevin Smith level but um the way that Jenny Lynn beta writes that first act there's a lot of dialogue and I felt a lot of it was very rushed because they were trying to hit that hour mark before the intermission and so I kind of thought with his rushed as the dialogue was I couldn't invest like I wanted to I was able to invest more in the second act because the dialogue was slowed down and I think they were trying to lay a lot a lot a lot of groundwork and again I don't fault the performances on that but for me it's more just as script itself and maybe maybe trim a few lines here and there to get a little bit better pacing so you're not trying to just you know we gotta get to this point we gotta get to this point we gotta get to this point and I think it would have sold the dynamic between the two characters better what did it work better with the reacts instead of two no there was enough story okay there was enough story I'm my criticism is at the end and everything just kind of goes happy called lucky at the end of the little bit I thought and they wrapped it up too much and two out of whack here two out of whack there to try to tie everything up in the end I thought a little bit on this flight me personally I would disagree with that in a certain level I think it ended like it was supposed to there's one small bit about the ending that I kind of went but I don't really want to talk about it I'll tell you off air okay but I thought the performances were solid if I have to have another criticism if I've got to have a second one this is a small production in a black box theater transitions are very tough to do and between scenes it was a little distracting for me seeing people walk on to the stage and move props around and then you know things like that but it's it's a necessary evil I it wasn't long enough for me to go okay can we get on with this thing but it was just enough to kind of take me out of it for a minute and then I had to put myself back in it when this in the next scene started so I mean if I've got to have criticism those would be the two overall I thought the production was very very good well you're saying one of the moves of the props it's like why did they just leave that glass water there to hold time to show to the matter or why they took the books out or done I think that the purpose was there was to let you know that we were moving on to a different time and a different day but it was really neat needed that kind of thing you know I just like it kind of just wrapped up too much at the end to easily given a good you know loving ending I thought a little bit did she actually take the SAT yes she did and that's all I'm going to say that's a major plot point is the film reaches its climax or the play reaches its climax there's yeah there's there's there's there's layers to that as well and we don't really give it away because we really do want to encourage people not only to support local theater but to see this production I mean it's not like you know I did not enjoy it I enjoyed my time there so we want to make sure you know if you've got a chance it closes August 30 there's two performances on August 30 if you want to go it's a holiday week and if you got chance to get out and if you remember you on the clubhousepodcast.com I was I was kind of like you know I'm kind of a sucker to these kind of little small production shows like this you know this was this fan of the opera at the opera house no but it's still some good time support the local people here support the local theater and it won't break the bank like I want to thank you again the new contact we met me and my bar blast night my wine burger and it's a pleasure meeting her and we look forward to long relationship and of course everybody at the Pegasus theater everybody at the pathhouse cultural center white rock lake in Dallas, Texas and the girl again Joanne Hallford makes us the introduction so let's do the final analysis the way we do a final analysis on the show we don't give you a grade or we don't give you thumbs up thumbs down we don't give you a ranking because we believe that our empire our audience deserves more than that and they expect more than that out of us so it's a two-prong question question number one is would you go see this production again the answer is no then we're done here if the answer is yes what kind of shall we say urgency would you put on it don would you see this again for stop the campler yeah I would definitely see this film yet and I really I really I mean sorry this play again I really did enjoy this production and I would say you know see this see this production before it ends get out you know it's a holiday weekend go see this puppy it's going to be worth your time and for you know what it costs to get you get some good quality theater for the what you put into it is I think it's a great deal I will say as well go see this production we really enjoyed it had a great time great performances great production support local theater even if you're not in the DFW area because our empire stretches around the world support local theater these are people that are the next generation of entertainers and we want to make sure that we're fostering that with them if you say any production from like the biggest theater company you know go check it out they got some good stuff there you know they've got a big show coming up in January you know totally living black and white it's the coolest thing and I don't want to go too deep into it but if you if you got some to do in January this is going to be some of that I'm definitely going to want to check out it's pretty cool uh Harry Hunsacker he's a he's a he's a bumming detective and we don't even know how to carry it we say it all the time on the show the music is a character on this show so wouldn't be the same without the background music so go check this out tell him you heard about it from us let me know that did yeah we heard it on the clubhouse podcast and we're here to check y'all out because the boy said it was cool congratulations to the cast and crew on a great job and we look forward to seeing more productions from that and when you see this thing remember these guys are just you know there's students and they're acting students and they do this because they love it you know and you get a great production from some students I think they're they're gonna make I think they're they they got a good future ahead of them so and if you're doing what you love you'll never work it on your life let's do the plugs visit our website www.theclubhousepodcast.com find our written reviews there find a bunch of stuff you need and some stuff you probably don't like our Facebook page look up the clubhouse podcast on Facebook with word podcast on the end or it's something completely different follow the show on Twitter at clubhouse show you can follow me on Twitter I am at yes that Rob Irvin that has felt the RV I am my normal co-host is Chad Wobbick you can follow him at Chad N.P.G. six night and the casual observer is at King of bowling and I'm at Fondongo and you could email me at dawn at theclubhousepodcast.com please email dawn if you like us to come do a show for you at your establishment we love doing road shows you can email me with questions comments or concerns tell me to go pound sand I'm Rob at theclubhousepodcast.com my co-host Chad is Chad at theclubhousepodcast.com and I am going pound sand at gmail.com Charlotte Parker is on Pinterest because we are morally obligated to say that and Jules Walmick she's just keeping it in international you know our normal show is every Sunday night seven Easter and four Pacific we are your one stop shop for all things sports and entertainment we'd love to have you join us or just subscribe on iTunes listen to it whenever you want so for Don for Andrew for the Empire the clubhouse is closed Brittany Palmer in the window hanging out I'm cool the preceding was a sooner or greater production