'Traveller' ushers solid performance

Brenda Bishop

For the Times-Standard

Eureka -- As the world awoke to the 21st century, Humboldt County residents and theater aficionados embraced an outstanding new work from James Floss and the Pacific Arts Center Theatre.

Appropriately earmarked for the New Year, "The Traveller" is a time-capsulated masterpiece. Adapted from "The Time Machine" written by H. G. Wells, this adaptation, written, directed and performed by James Floss, is an eerie reminder of mankind's fascination with events yet to come. H. G. Wells' version of the future differs greatly from the Star Wars, or Star Trek adventures of our space-alien mind set. He paints a picture of simplicity, nature, leisure, and beauty intermingled with an underlying horror. The horror that we never truly evolve to our full potential as humans, that ignorance and comfort surpasses our need for humanity.

Floss is a skillful story teller as he engages the audience in his dinner party decision of a machine he has built allowing a traveler an expedition from the present to the future and back again. His images are colorful while always drawing you closer and closer to its conclusion -- which thankfully never happens. As director he has cast the perfect actor, as an actor he has worked skillfully with the director and as a writer he has fulfilled Wells' imagination in all of us.

The set for "The Traveller" is wonderfully detailed right down to the knobs on the cabinets. Set and lighting designer Ronn Campbell has arranged an atmosphere of visual delights. His staging of lights and action when the time machine ascends into the future is dramatic and exciting to watch.

Costumer Beth Lanzi brings a masculine, handsome pizzazz to her turn-of-the-century (20th) designs. Lanzi's costume changes for Floss added to the value of the adventure aspects of the plot. Throughout this remarkable show there are a variety of skillful technical crew techniques. Music and sound effects also flow flawlessly throughout the space and time of this performance.

"The Traveller" is a solid one-man performance that will intrigue your intellect and satisfy the thespian lover in anyone. Make a New Year's resolution to see it.