Guilty Conscience
at HB Woodlawn

Reviewed on February 28, 2015

Melissa Haberle
Annandale High School
Submitted for publication to Washington Post - Alex/Arl

What if she was murdered? What if she got shot? What if she committed suicide? These mind-boggling questions stayed deeply burrowed in the minds of many audience members in HB Woodlawn's "Guilty Conscience", a black-box show by William Link and Richard Levinson. This mystery centers on defense attorney Arthur Jamison, who is plotting various ways to kill his wife Louise in order to evade paying a large sum of money for a divorce. With expert knowledge of the law, the court, and the inner workings of criminal minds, he plays out every situation in his head, from the murder and subsequent trial with his prosecutor to the advantages and disadvantages of his plan and seemingly foolproof alibi. With only a cast of four and crew of eleven, this enormously intimate production engaged the audience's attention exceptionally well, right from the get-go.

Arthur Jamison (Santiago Mallan) carries himself in a way not unlike a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Loki, emphasizing his constantly scheming and intelligent nature. Even his cathartic and dramatic outbursts contain some form of self-control. Mallan displays his emotions with absolutely dedicated fervor, from heavy breathing to evade "sobbing," to not-so-humble cockiness. Louise (Erin Claeys) provides a stark contrast to Arthur's character, in which she seldom loses her temper and constantly maintains a level head. Claeys' composure throughout is fantastic, and her marvelous diction allows to her to breeze through every word of her lines with ease, a key aspect of her cool and collected character.

Unlike Louise, Arthur's mistress Jackie Willis (Helena Witiw) perfectly embodies a stronger, spunkier, and far more independent attitude, combined with quick intelligence and sharp wit. As a comic relief character, with perfect timing and delivery, Witiw easily leaves the audience doubling over in laughter. Both traits indicate her extraordinary role as an atypical mistress, a character Witiw portrays with phenomenal charm and grace.
Actions speak far louder than words in the manner of the Prosecutor (Sebastian Talavera). Even when not speaking, his expressions and gestures are always in-character. Possibly the boldest character in the show, Talavera's incredible focus even during line delivery provides an astonishing amount of credibility. A noteworthy aspect of all four actors was that they needed no mics to amplify their projection in a very spacious black-box theatre.

Much like the inside of Arthur's meticulous mind, the tech took a very attentive approach to every minute detail in the show. The simplistic yet effective lighting designs by Aidan Dick and Erin Lammie provided an appropriate retro feel to the show, originally set in the early 1980's. Probably the most intriguing and noteworthy aspect of the lighting design was a single ghost-light of a picture of a judge. Another very symbolic cue was the downstage lighting during the scenes with the prosecutor, an indication of Arthur's feelings of fear within his thoughts. Lammie's by-the-book props design drew similar parallels by means of simplicity, but also stayed very true to the period, even including real cans of Tab in some scenes.

Other than a few tiny blips in the sound and makeup design, HB Woodlawn's "Guilty Conscience" kept the audience biting their nails and sitting on the edge of their seats with bated breath until the stunning, eye-widening conclusion.

Alexa Tucker
Westfield High School
Submitted for publication to Washington Post - Alex/Arl

A woman lies dead on the floor. Her husband is being cross-examined on the witness stand. At first he is confident, but at his story deteriorates so does his façade. The prosecutor reveals the unthinkable: the man killed his own wife. Or did he? The man stands up, admitting his defeat, and the imaginary courtroom melts away. Arthur Jamison will have to think of a better, more airtight way to kill his wife in H-B Woodlawn's riveting and meticulously crafted production of Guilty Conscience.

Written by William Link and Richard Levinson, Guilty Conscience premiered at the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1980. In this suspenseful play, all of the fortune Arthur Jamison has accumulated through the course of his successful law career is threatened by his impending divorce. His wife, Louise Jamison, will likely receive a large sum in alimony, unthinkable to Arthur Jamison. He decides that he must kill her, but how? Through a sequence of imagined scenarios, he carefully considers each of his possible options, testing the strength of his case each time in a courtroom against a prosecutor of his own imagination. But when Louise meets Arthur's mistress, Jackie Willis, and together they conspire to kill him, Arthur may not make it out alive.

Performing a dialogue-heavy drama is difficult; performing one with only four actors is daunting. Undeterred, the cast crafted an enthralling roller-coaster of a piece that kept the audience on the edge of their seats through all of the twists and turns. A level of attention to detail reminiscent of that of Arthur Jamison himself was apparent in Bennett Wineschenk's work as student director. A taut tension reigned in every scene, produced by the actors' clear understanding of the subtext in every line.

Santiago Mallan played the ruthless and cunning Arthur Jamison with incredible skill and commitment. Every movement was precise, down to the way his fingers tapped when he was thinking. His emotional shift from arrogance to desperation as the situation careened out of his control was thrilling to watch. As the cool and composed Louise Jamison, Erin Claeys expertly developed the tension between Louise and her husband, keeping the true motives of her character concealed until the end.

Helena Witiw portrayed Arthur's outwardly foolish mistress, Jackie Willis, with a greater depth that revealed the character's unexpectedly astute and crafty nature. This concealed side of her personality made her collaboration with Louise to kill Arthur all the more unexpected. As the Prosecutor, Sebastian Talavera embodied Arthur's subconscious with profound intensity, ruthlessly picking apart Arthur's story while engaging in witty banter that reminded the audience of the best crime dramas.

The imposing set, featuring wood moldings and dark red walls, added to the dark and manipulative tone of the play. Shifts in lighting aided each transition into Arthur's subconscious. A student-painted portrait of a judge hung in the living room, illuminated by a spotlight whenever a courtroom scene took place. Set transitions were carried out with minimal distraction and maximum attention to detail, down to the placement of cigarettes.

Hit TV shows Sherlock and House of Cards have nothing on the intimate feel of H-B Woodlawn's engrossing production of Guilty Conscience, which blurred the line between fact and fiction in a thrilling drama that thoroughly explored the subconscious of a would-be murderer.

Kathleen Connor
St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School
Submitted for publication to Patch.com - ARL/MC/Mont/DC

In a well-furnished office, an elegantly dressed man stares thoughtfully at the audience and smokes a cigarette. "What if," he ponders, "I hired someone to kill her?" And so starts the twisty, two act play that follows one man's attempt to pull off the perfect crime.

Guilty Conscience, written by William Link and Richard L. Levinson, opened in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 1980. In two acts, criminal attorney Arthur Jamison plots to kill his wife and get away with it. But in each scenario, as he tests them out on an imaginary prosecutor in a courthouse in his head, he discovers he can not find the perfect alibi that will ensure his "innocence."

HB-Woodlawn's production of Guilty Conscience was superb. As Arthur Jamison, Santiago Mallan captured the audience as a psychopathic lawyer. Every move was calculated, and he always stayed in the moment. He easily switched from cold and uncaring to grieving in a matter of seconds as if he were not acting at all. Another strong player was Sebastian Talavera as the Prosecutor. He never faltered; every mannerism was deliberate and he played off well with Mallan. The lead and supporting actresses were also great. Helena Witiw as the mistress Jackie Willis did an especially good job of playing a kooky character who revealed her true colors in Act 2. Erin Claeys played Louise Jamison with a restrained air in Act 1, then came into her own in Act 2 as a vengeful, scorned wife seeking blood. All four actors also did a fantastic job of reacting and creating tension; all were engaged at all times.

What makes HB-Woodlawn's Guilty Conscience unique is that it is directed by a student, Bennet Weinschenk. His direction was precise. The actors' blocking did not confine them to the stage but let them play out their scenes (particularly the courtroom fantasies) on the floor in front of the stage, and even next to the door.

The set and props of the show were also phenomenal. A drab black box was transformed into an incredibly detailed office: the black walls were transformed into red and wooden office walls split by moulding inlaid with bookshelves stocked with real books. Striped armchairs rested on stage right. The props were also realistic. By far one of the best was a hand-painted portrait of Louise's father, a judge, which served as a mock judge in the courtroom proceedings. The props were also accurate for the time period. Arthur's desk contained a rotary phone and typewriter, fit for the ‘80s. Another highlight was the use of cigarettes, and real drinks, including vintage Tab. The decor and props reflected Arthur himself: an exterior of comfort, but all business in reality.

HB-Woodlawn's staging of Guilty Conscience was a fabulous production all around with strong acting and even stronger technical aspects.