These Reindeer Games Aren’t So Engaging

“Antler Days,” at Theatre/Theater, plays like a prolonged skit put together by a bunch of teenagers just for fun. As is often the case with such projects, the participants look as if they’re having more fun than the audience.

Set in a reindeer high school, Nick Olney’s play has very little to do with Christmas until the last five minutes, when Santa Claus finally shows up.

Instead, Olney is parodying teen dramas. A new boy, whose antlers are deformed, shows up and arouses the hostility of the local bully. The girl deer gossip and emulate ‘80s Valley diction. In the least coherent section, a teacher stages a school play. Hardly anything is as funny as Olney apparently intended.

The set--green synthetic turf that isn’t well secured--looks shoddy, probably deliberately so.

“Antler Days” is preceded by the abysmal “Zeitgeist!,” which appears to be a parody of pretentious German drama; most of the dialogue is in German. Bring earplugs for the bit in which an actor screams into a microphone.

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“Antler Days,” Theatre/Theater, 6425 Hollywood Blvd. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Fridays-Saturdays, 8 and 10 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. $14. (323) 871-9433. Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes.