CHRISTOPHER SPENCER is Carl is “Eight Seconds,” recently on stage at Golden West College in Huntington Beach.

By Thom deMartino
Orange County Tribune

If you’re looking for terror, you don’t have to look much further than the glow of your own screen.

A world premiere production has opened for a special limited engagement at Golden West College’s Mainstage Theater,  recently on stage. “Eight Seconds.” Written by Golden West College’s own Tim Muller and directed by Tom Amen, it’s a deep dive into the darkest depths of the internet, how even the best of intentions can go wrong, and how when we point fingers… we may be pointing back at ourselves.

After an introduction by a peppy, carnival barker-style song detailing all the internet has to offer (“anything and everything, all of the time!”), the audience is introduced to Ellie Donner (Catherine Dosier). She addresses the viewers directly, breaking the fourth wall as she quotes a 2015 study that since the year 2000, the average attention span has diminished from 12 seconds to 8 seconds – theoretically shorter than that of a goldfish.

Ellie proceeds to explain that her online obsession is trolling people who reside in the darker corners of the internet: but rather than antagonize them, she befriends them as someone else, someone sympathetic, so that they open up about their worst thoughts and biases… and on occasion, reporting them for their vile online behavior. Think of her as an aspiring keyboard warrior or “troll for good”, exposing some of the most toxic viewpoints shared on the web.

For instance, there’s her online friend Steve (Nick Flum): while he only knows Ellie as “Jeff” on the net(god forbid he knows she’s female), he’s constantly raging to her about being undesirable to women, being an “incel” (internet speak for “involuntary celebate)… while never having the self-awareness to ask himself why, or if his own bitter perspective might be contributing to it. They commiserate over “Beckys” (not to be confused with “Karens”) and “Stacys” (in Steve’s mind, women who flaunt their sexuality to manipulate men.) And yet, beneath the vitriol, there is something unmistakably wounded & broken in the young man.

But, as Ellie tells the audience, he’s not nearly the worst of her online interactions: that dubious honor is reserved for Chris (Jack Clark), an attorney who is, for the lack of a better term, a Nazi (though he prefers the “alt-right” branding.) He only knows her as “oneBritney8814” (Ellie explains to the audience the racist connotations of the numbers), and constantly rails against immigrants, “woke” mentality and the superiority of white culture.

There is no self-doubt here: he is irrefutably confident in his beliefs, even wanting to draft “Britney” into the secret project he’s working on.

After such harrowing interactions, Ellie’s relief lies with Carl (Christopher Spencer), a goofy older fellow with fun and eclectic musical tastes… who just so happens to believe the earth is flat, and that the world is run by “reptoids” (or “lizard people” as Ellie refers to them.)

But of her “projects,” Carl is by far the most harmless, and even open to opposing viewpoints: he and Ellie even trade “flat earther” jokes. But he thinks of her like a daughter (while his actual wife and daughters were driven away by his obsession), and she even thinks of him with some affection… despite her own duplicity.

While she fields messages between the different players, something is happening… something winding up to a fever pitch… but could it have to do with one of her online “friends?
And when a tragedy actually strikes… could she possibly bear some of the blame?
“Eight Seconds” is an extremely powerful and timely show, one that may well shake some viewers’ sensibilities.

And yet, while the characters she interacts with may be painted in extremes, there are yet some hints of the humanity in the characters (with the possible exception of Chris.)
But it’s made clear that to these individuals, these ‘extremists”, that their paths are righteous; that they truly believe their myopic worldviews – and that anything which threatens or contradicts their internal narrative, threatens their own identity and sense of self… and that just can’t happen.
The sparse set allows the viewer to focus entirely on the cast, and all the performances are magnificent, by all the players.

Flum’s Steve is both subdued and manic in his interactions, yet clearly wounded; Clark’s Chris is patently terrifying – his appearance gives the impression of a white collar businessman or modern politician, and the sharp, biting cadence of his words and almost robotic mannerisms give an uneasy discomfort to the audience; and Spencer’s Carl is a delightful breath of fresh air, fun and frivolous, dancing around to his music… and yet incredible soulful, with unknown depths of emotion, and certainly harmless … right?

Mainstage Theater veteran Carrie Vinikow plays FBI Agent Rogers and David Rodriguez plays Agent Collazo, excellent in their grilling of suspects: and of particular note is Mia Josimović, whose sudden appearance does a stellar job of turning the show on its head, and whose performance and demeanor are undeniably chilling.

But the driving force of the show is undoubtedly Dosier’s Ellie. Armed with the best of intentions, she wants to make the world a better place by exploring and exposing the darker depths of the internet… but, to paraphrase, when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss is all too happy to gaze back.

Ellie is charming easy to empathize with, and one can see how that while she may originate from a more liberal perspective, that her interactions are indeed affecting her, as she plays a kind of everywoman stand-in for the viewers who may wonder where the world is going these days… and what can be done about it.

It’s a stark, yet riveting production that demands wider viewing: written by a local talent, it’s a show that will make the viewer think and consider how some of these more extreme perspectives come to be, and if there are any ways to enlighten or counter them.

“Eight Seconds” may not be for the faint of heart, but it is for the courageous of spirit: a powerful statement on internet culture, and the darkness it may foster within.

“Eight Seconds.” Catherine Dosier, Jack Clark and Christopher Spencer starred in this tale of one young woman’s internet games, and their darker implications.