‘Search’ Embodies Sense of Resilience

“You know how it is when life screams in your face?” Actress-writer Nadine Mozon gives us a taste in her solo piece, “Confirming the Search: That Girl’s Still Here Somewhere,” at the Fountain Theatre.

Being female and black--which some might consider disadvantageous in this society--provides a rich source of material for Mozon’s art, especially when coupled with an abundance of insight and talent. Using movement and a variety of exotic percussive instruments to supplement her poetic recitals, she takes her audience on a tour of various stages of her life.

Mozon isn’t interested in heavy-handed social polemics--her carefully written reflections are personal, warm, funny and touching. In one sequence, she examines her own resentment at being categorized as an “African American” and having her un-PC vocabulary corrected by a clueless patronizing acquaintance.

With a poet’s eye, she finds universals in everyday occurrences--a game of freeze-tag is a metaphor for her sense of immobility, a loving embrace becomes a straitjacket, a visit to her late father’s Southern family opens her eyes into human truths behind cultural barriers.

In chronicling her hardships, Mozon’s emphasis is on survival, with good humor and compassion intact. Though she doesn’t pull any punches with her subject matter, her verse has more in common with the delicacy of Keats than the confrontational angst of urban rap.

Despite interesting blocking by director Ben Harney and lighting effects by Ken Booth, this piece is closer to staged poetry than a conventional theatrical presentation. Calibrate your expectations accordingly, and you won’t be disappointed.

* “Confirming the Search: That Girl’s Still Here Somewhere,” Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends Sept. 27. $15-$17. (213) 663-1525. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.