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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, October 15, 2008

'Pay Attention' will keep you intrigued

By Joseph T. Rozmiarek
Special to The Advertiser

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Frank South stars in a one-man play he wrote about his personal battle with a neurological condition and alcoholism.

REBECCA BREYER | The Honolulu Advertiser

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'PAY ATTENTION — ADHD IN HOLLYWOOD, ON THE ROCKS WITH A TWIST'

8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, through Oct. 25

Academy of Film & Television, 1174 Waimanu St.

$15

550-8457, www.honoluluboxoffice.com

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Frank South's new one-man show is an autobiographical monologue that spends nearly two hours in nonstop exploration of its title, "Pay Attention — ADHD in Hollywood, On the Rocks With a Twist."

The ADHD reference is to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a behavioral or neurological condition marked by inattention and impulsiveness. "Hollywood" anecdotes add glamour. "On the Rocks" adds the dimension of alcoholism.

But it's the "With a Twist" perspective that makes the show most intriguing, marked by a fast pace and a winsome comic treatment that is in no way clinical or self-pitying. Written by South and directed by Mark Travis, the production never fails to sustain the material and engage the audience.

Generally following a linear path, the incidents also take great leaps across time, linking ideas and looking for connections among experiences. While South emphasizes the randomness of events, he links them on a thread of personal insight to give them retrospective shape.

As with many of us, South's life pattern started in high school. As a teenager, he entered a talent show, failed to rehearse an act, then counted on spontaneous self-disclosure to save the moment. It failed miserably.

South attributes most of his trouble to his "Inner Crazy," a dark side alter ego that he figuratively keeps buried in a corner of the backyard under a layer of cement. At significant turning points, he hears a threatening crack and knows that his "Inner Crazy" has once more broken free and is about to create havoc.

Not shy about naming names, South attributes his early success to his discovery by film director Robert Altman. In a nicely-timed comic episode, South recounts the heavy drinking at their first meeting that led to South's throwing up.

"Did you get any on your shirt?"

"No …"

"Good! Let's go eat."

While the meeting with Altman marked the beginning of South's rise in Hollywood, his association with television film producer Aaron Spelling led to his sunset, with South taking the brunt in a legal suit over casting.

Although his brushes with the rich and famous add dimension to South's life with ADHD, his personal relationships give it texture.

A frustrating homework episode tempts him to pull down the kitchen refrigerator — a technique that had previously been successful in "other marriages with cheaper refrigerators." His drinking led him through a series of "smaller houses, bigger martinis," and a Christmas family reunion showed him that others have survived their own tragedies.

In performance, South is unfailingly disarming, ingratiating, charming and full of energy. The end result gives us an appreciation for ADHD and the man who continues to face his "Inner Crazy" and go on living and loving.