In Austin, Penfold Theatre revives razor-sharp 'Art,' a comic drama about friendship

Fifteen years ago, three actors chose the first play for their new troupe.

Freshly minted Penfold Theatre Company, based in Williamson County, was committed to stage plays that, according to its mission statement, exhibited empathy and hope.

"We wanted intimate, actor-driven shows," says Ryan Crowder, co-founder and now producing artistic director. "Literary plays that make strong connections between audience and characters."

For their first outing, they picked a hot one, "Art," a comic drama about the untangling of three friendships, beautifully written by French playwright and actor, Yasmina Reza, and translated by Christopher Hampton, a British playwright, screenwriter and film director.

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Fifteen years later, Penfold has revived "Art" with consummate skill and sensitivity at the Ground Floor Theatre.

Two of the company founders, Crowder and Nathan Jerkins — the group's other artistic director — return in their original roles as Serge, a man who has purchased an expensive white painting, and Yvan, his friend who falls apart as his wedding approaches.

They are joined by Kareem Badr as Marc, probably the most interesting character, who challenges Serge's seemingly facile modernist tendencies.

At 75 minutes without an intermission, "Art" condenses their intricately tangled friendships into a theatrical tour de force, one that still resonates for the Central Texas troupe after 15 seasons.

And yes, it ends with a tentative portion of empathy and hope.

What you will see in 'Art'

Designer Desi Roybal's mostly white, nested, open set for "Art" stands in for three streamlined apartments, then suddenly transforms into one apartment where the three characters wrestle out what appears to be the end of three unhealthy friendships.

At first, Reza's 1994 play appears to focus on the conflicting ideas sparked by the prominently placed white painting. Quickly, the modernist vs. anti-modernist debate is upstaged by the pitched emotional battle among the friends, as vehement as any dialogue from "A Long Day's Journey into Night" to "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

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As coached by director Steven Pounders, however, the real rollercoaster is found in the virtuoso acting. Starting with Jerkins' long, mad, spiraling monologue about his upcoming wedding — a scene you do not want to miss — we can't take our eyes off the three actors, who remind us why we attend theater in the first place — because it is worth the watch.

'People you don't understand': How Penfold Theatre came to be

Crowder, Jerkins and a third actor, Sean Martin, founded Penfold in 2007. All three had studied drama at Abilene Christian University, then they scattered to theater scenes in three distantly spaced cities.

Originally from Nashville, Jerkins had settled in Austin. Although the area already supported dozens of theater companies, it was growing rapidly, especially in the northern sector, including suburbs that were turning into cultural centers in their own rights.

"There was a demographic study that showed the population center of the Austin metro at the time was somewhere near Research and North Lamar boulevards," Jerkins says. "We met with some city leaders in Round Rock and that became our home. We still perform there and in Austin."

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How did they choose the name "Penfold"?

"It sounded literary," Jerkins says with a laugh. "We wanted to make it sound like we were established. We were not established. We were three actors in the back of a car. 'Penfold' made us sound like something that would last."

They later discovered that the name had been used in "Danger Mouse," the British animated TV series, for a sidekick mole attired in a business suit.

Jerkins (laughing): "That sounds on point."

"Art" quickly launched the group that has produced a half dozen or so outings each year, including free outdoor performances, holiday radio shows and chamber musicals.

Early on, Martin moved to London to study directing at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.

The rest of the company thrived and stayed true to its original impulse to emphasize "empathy and hope."

"One reason we chose 'Art' 15 years ago was because the relationships among the friends are constantly renegotiated," Jerkins says. "That said something about us. We care about stories and about how we relate to each other, how we take care of each other. In the end, it's about how to meaningfully interact with people you don't understand."

"We did consider one show that turned out to be nihilistic in the end," Crowder says. "An adaptation of the novel, 'The Birds.' The play suggests that the characters have to eat each other to survive.

"No. We need to hold out the possibility that things will get better."

See 'Art' in East Austin

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 18

Where: Ground Floor Theatre, 979 Springdale Road

Cost: $17-$37

Information:penfoldtheatre.org