Steadstyle Chicago
	February 2008 Theatre Review by Joe Stead
	Looking for a Ticket Broker? Check out the hottest broadway tickets from Gotickets.com Slipping Critical Evaluation: *** out of **** (Pictured Right) Rose Buckner and Nate Santana in the World Premiere of "Slipping" at The Side Project Theatre.  Photo by Scott Cooper/Archetype Images. It is possible that life is just a collection of moments, some intense and vivid, others more mundane.  That could also describe The Side Project's current pairing of the original plays "Perfect" by Philip Dawkins and "Slipping" by Daniel Talbott.  Both are undercut by an episodic short scene structure that suggests an Indy film more than live theatre.  And with frequent blackouts, mini scene changes and transitions that threaten to destroy any sense of pace, it takes a pretty powerful plot to keep our attention focused.  Fortunately, Talbott's disturbing one-act reveals not only a painful look at teenage alienation, but also a great deal of talent and potential for its author. "Slipping" isn't your average, run of the mill gay teen coming-of-age tale either, although that element is present.  It's about starting over and trying to reach out to the future only to be haunted and suffocated by the past.  Recently widowed Joan is just hoping for a new life for herself and her 18-year-old son Eli.  They've left the sunny beaches of San Francisco for the Great Plains of Iowa, where Joan has taken the job of English department head at Iowa State.  Eli's aloof melancholy is troubling to Joan.  All he does is smoke cigarettes, take pictures and dream of the sexy jock he left behind. We see through a series of flashbacks that Eli's relationship with Chris was complicated at best, that as much as Eli felt real and "owned" by Chris, he was also diminished by him.  That uneasy chemistry of attraction and repulsion drives Eli to cut himself with razors, a frightening example of the masochism plaguing some of today's troubled youth.  A nice fellow student named Jake shows a growing interest in Eli, but Eli's moods tend to put everyone around him at a distance.  "I don't think I'm meant to be with people, I'm just not wired for it," Eli says.  Even his mother is more like a "business partner" to Eli, who feels like "the thesis she started in college and never finished."  And just as Eli is grappling with his emerging sexuality, Joan begins an affair with a 20-year-old student. The painful mother/son confrontations are disquieting; alas, the era of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson parenting has long since passed away.  And no less comforting are the dark turns Eli's burgeoning sexual proclivities take.  They're all that much sadder because we know there are kids very much like Eli out there going through similar ordeals with depression, peer pressure and self-loathing.  Nate Santana gives a courageous and psychologically intense performance as Eli.  Rose Buckner, Daniel Caffrey and Adrian Gonzalez all give solid, committed support.  And author Talbott slices through the moody despair with occasionally riveting dialogue that suggests a promising talent in the making.  Kudos to The Side Project for giving voice to two original young authors and tackling subjects less adventurous companies wouldn't go near.  May they continue to do so for a long time to come.    "Slipping" continues through February 27, 2008 at the Side Project Theatre, 1439 West Jarvis Street in Chicago.  The play runs 90 minutes with no intermission.  Performances are Sundays at 5:00 p.m and Monday through Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are $15, with discounts for seniors, students and industry professionals.  For tickets and information, call (773) 973-2150 or visit www.thesideproject.net.