Last weekend was competitive, with highly anticipated exhibitions opening across the city. Attending them all would have been challenging at best. A personal highlight being Jack Levinson’s play The Troubadour presented by OOF Books at MOCA on the occasion of the OOF Books residency being extended. The “dramatic reading”, (not a staged play as such, opting instead for projected painted backdrops, also by writer and producer Jack Levinson) is the second iteration of an ongoing theatre series following the fictional band Square Circle, whose histories weave across the Los Angeles landscape all the while remarking insightfully on the city’s’ many clichés or common tropes.

This is also part of an ongoing collaboration with OOF Books, who hosted this performance at their MOCA Residency. Previous program from the two was a “staged dinner”, in which attendees were assigned a role and read from a script by Levinson.

Loren Kramar & Lyla Porter-Follows, photo by Athena Denos.

This approach to theatre, or to entertainment in general, is at once playful and shrewd. The incredibly aware script undulates, oft performing as the city itself leaning into clichés of vapidity, a high point being a dramatic reading of MGMT’s Time to pretend lyrics. This combined with stunning performances from multi-disciplinary cast including Peter Falls, Naïma Hebrail Kidjo, Mercedes Kilmer, musician Loren Kramar, Kaitlin Magowan, comedian Ruby McCollister, Sean Monaghan, Allyn Morse, Lyla Porter-Follows, skateboarder Omar Salazaar, and artist Sparkly 22, further mirrored the discipline straddling The Troubadour (and Levinson himself) engage in.

Promotional image for Square Circle by Jack Levinson.

Considering that Levinson and Christie Hayden (Founder of OOF Books), as well as several cast members, are well-respected members of the arts community, attendance would never have been a concern. However, my own expectations were exceeded with almost all seats filled thirty minutes prior to starting. Latecomers were accommodated with additional seating as more attendees continued to filter through the doors. In attendance were identifiable pillars of the community; artists, gallerists, filmmakers, actors, writers. The curtain call was met with a full room and a standing ovation. A huge thank you to all involved for engaging, entertaining and innovative programming and big request for more.

The crowd at OOF Books in MOCA Geffen.

More information on The Square Circle Story may be found via Instagram @squarecircleofficial.

OOF Books is at on residency at MOCA Geffen through May 16 2020. Upcoming programming may be found via www.moca.org/program/oof-books-pop-up-store, @oofbooks, and @mocastores.