Elements series concludes with FIRE ON THE WATER at Cleveland Public Theatre

FIRE ON WATER is the fourth play in Cleveland Public Theatre’s Elements Cycle, plays about the environment.  According to Artistic Director, Raymond Bogban, the plays were not created “to preach or propagandize.  We wanted to make plays that explored our ongoing efforts to understand and transform our relationship with the world.”  The presentations have done that, with varying degrees of artistic success.

Most of the efforts were “devised theater,”  productions which have no playwright, per se, but are conceived by the performers and other theatre staff.

In the case of FIRE ON WATER, the production is a partnership with other west-side theatres:  Blank Canvas, Ohio City Theatre Project, Talespinner Children’s Theatre and Theater Ninjas.  “Each of the five theatres involved sought to create plays about sustainability and the burning of the Cuyahoga [River].”

The collaboration is both the strength and weakness of the evening.  The fourteen playlets, plus some transitions, made for over two hours of performance, plus the intermission.  Listening to the stories of the burning of the river over and over made for redundancy and a very long sit.  Some of the tedium was relieved because the offerings moved from the stage units at both ends of the main theatre, to smaller platforms and tubs of water, distributed through the space. 

In a creative staging device, the audience members were each seated in their own plush wheeled office chair and were silently directed by cast members where to skootch.  It was almost like being on the Dodgem Bumper Cars at an amusement park, but the object here was not to run into your fellow audience members.  Some attenders made the movements into a game by spinning around on their chairs as they moved.  This may have been facilitated by the availability of beer, which was allowed into the acting arena.

Segments covered the historical settling of what is now referred to as Greater Cleveland, how the river was named [Native American for “crooked river”], how it got polluted, the role of such companies as Standard Oil in the destruction of clean water, how fire and water can work together or can counter each other, what happens to fish when the river gets polluted, the role of the Clean Water Act in attempts to clean up the sludge and oil, the numerous times the river caught on fire (there were at least 12 occasions that were recounted), the Hough riots, the successes and failures to pass laws to help the environment, and the citizen flight from this area.

The devices used to convey the ideas varied from spoken words to sung and played music.  There were puppets of varying sizes and materials, projections, an ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET television show reenactment, a scuba diving probe into the dark river waters, swimming in large tubs of water, and acrobats swinging like Peter Pan over the heads of the audience.

According to Bobgan, “This is truly homegrown theatre that acts locally with a global vision.”   To this he added “how we act in this world is a mater of choice and belief.” After participating in this adventure, a strong feeling of the need for action became apparent.

The large cast worked as a well functioning unit to portray the ideas developed.  

Capsule judgement: Cleveland Public Theatre, with its Elements series, continues to use theatre to not only entertain its audience, but to act as an arts device to alert people to the needs and wants of society, as well as teach civic and social responsibility.  FIRE ON WATER, though overly long and redundant, is an interesting piece of devised theatre, that, as the rest of the Elements series, illustrates the fragility of the world in which we live.

FIRE ON WATER, runs through April 6  at Cleveland Public Theatre.  For tickets call 216-631-2727 or go on line to www.cptonline.org.

The Excavation

You’ve Got to See It To Believe It: THE EXCAVATION at Theater Ninjas

Anyone who has ever been to a Theatre Ninja’s production knows that Jeremy Paul, the theatre’s guiding force and Artistic Director, doesn’t like “normal” theatre. He doesn’t pick plays or develop the ordinary. Being inside Paul’s head must be like being in a labyrinth of a fun house. Weird visions must swirl around and around. The results of Paul’s creativity are usually fascinating and confounding theatre. THE EXCAVATION, Ninja’s latest invention, is no exception.

Now consider this. Theatre Ninjas “home” is part of a floor of rooms in an old abandoned industrial building. The building has been transformed into a home for the arts. The area that the Ninjas use is basically a wreck. So, if you are Paul, what do you do? You, of course, excavate the space to see what’s there. What’s there, in Paul’s mind, is Pompeii. I kid you not.

The Roman city of Pompeii was completely buried during the eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius over a span of two days in 79 AD. The city disappeared in about 6 yards of ash. It remained hidden until about 1600 when excavations gave the modern world insight into life at the height of the Roman Empire.

Paul, clipboard in hand, and a group of “guides” take the audience, who are divided into self-formed groups, each going through different experiences, to celebrate the life, death and re-discovery of Pompeii. The “guides” are rhetoricians, scientists, puppeteers, dead bodies and science fair addicts, who lead us from room to room in a labyrinth of exhibits and galleries dedicated to the doomed city. As Paul explains, “blending live action, music and visual art, this interactive museum examines the way people reveal themselves when digging into the past.” (Okay, if he says so.)

The format takes us back to the happenings of the 1960s, blended with fantasy flicks, as they intersect with the Discovery and History channels.

At times the production is not an easy sit. Well, most of the time the audience is not sitting, but following the performers from place to place, being active participants in a weird adventure as they traverse through the museum shop (yes, artifacts are sold), the Main Gallery, Via Donotorem, the Catacomb entrance, the Amphitheater, Shrine, Tomb, House of Mysteries and the Observatory.

I actually learned a great deal about volcanos (eg., when Mentos are mixed with soda, explosions occur), the history of Pompeii (or Paul’s version of it), how long I can stand while shifting my weight from foot to foot, and how much fun a classic Punch and Judy show can be.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: It must be quite an experience to live inside the head of Jeremy Paul. You can get a glimpse of by attending THE EXCAVATION. It’s an evening of invention, humor, and the bizarre.

Inoculations

Theater Ninjas' INOCULATIONS challenges the senses

As I was driving home from Theatre Ninja's confounding production of INOCULATIONS, the Terminal Tower loomed ahead. It was lighted in bright purple, the color representing Alzheimer's Awareness. (November is Alzheimer's Awareness month). My mind flashed back to the theatrical experience and its probing into random scientific and philosophical concepts including the way in which colors affect the body.

INOCULATIONS is an evening of two one-act plays, WHO SHOT JACQUES LACAN? and RADIO ROOSTER SAYS THAT'S BAD. The former runs about 15 minutes, the latter around 45.

As described by Jeremy Paul, Theatre Ninja's Artistic Director, “using rhythm and rhyme, songs and science, INOCULATIONS is a crazed meditation on unconscious drives, millennial paranoia, and collective psychosis.” He adds, “Come for the pumpkin pie: stay for the hallucinations.”

Those who have been to Theatre Ninja's previous productions will not be surprised by Paul's explanation, nor his choice of this duet of plays. Paul, has a knack for picking plays which are challenging. Challenging to the cast, who must find the performance devices to portray characters which are usually extremely non-traditional, often edging on the insane. Also challenging to the audience who must figure out what is going on with these people.

INOCULATIONS is the work of Darren O'Donnell, a Canadian novelist, essayist, performance artist, playwright, director and actor. He states that he “engages the public and claims to prove the generosity, abundance and power of the social sphere.” Sounds obtuse and abstract? Yes, those words definitely explain INOCULATIONS.

WHO SHOT JACQUES LACAN? is an investigation of the theories of French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. The play, according to the author, is written so that “the performers create a vortex to slowly evoke the audience's unconscious.” To explain: Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, proposed that there was a division between the unconscious (id) and the consciousness (ego). Therefore each human self is divided between his conscious and unconsciousness. Freud thought that human actions are shaped by the unconscious. Lacan developed his own version of psychoanalysis by reinterpreting the theories of Freud with an emphasis on the humanist philosophy, indicating that people made conscious choices and not all of a person's actions were below his/her level of awareness. Lacan's concepts are the basis for WHO SHOT JACQUES LACAN?.

The play, in an abstract way asks such questions as, “Why do we do the things we do?” “Do we chose to act as we do, or are hidden drives causing us to perform in certain ways?” and “Are we responsible for our actions?”

RADIO ROOSER SAYS THAT'S BAD exposes us to the thinking (ranting) of Dr. Radio Rooster, a so called “member of the scientific community” who proposes results of real and fictional research on such subjects as the effect on the human body of exposure to different colors of light and how people are manipulated by music. He expresses righteous indignation regarding theories of science, philosophy and psychology while hanging from a swing, turning various color light bulbs on and off, and speaking through the mouths of a dog (“a very, very good dog”) and a mouse (who prefers cheese to peanut butter). This is a character brimming with paranoia and neuroticism.

The Theatre Ninja production, as is the case with Paul's work, is well conceived.
The actors are centered on their purposes, stay in character, and create the proper intensity. LACAN features Ray Caspio, Val Kozlenko, Ryan Lucas, Amy Pawlukiewicz, Michael Prosen, Nick Riley and Darius Stubbs.

RADIO ROOSTER is basically a very long monologue by the talented Nick Koesters. This is a herculean role. Not only were there 45 minutes of lines to memorize, but the timing needed for being exactly in the right place for all the special lighting effects, is daunting. Koesters, the first member of Actors Equity to appear in a Ninjas production, is marvelous. He is aided by a creatively designed light plan by Paul and technically produced by stage manager Dan Kilbane.

Oh, the pumpkin pie reference in the play's description. Come early and have free pumpkin pie to get you in the mood for the production. Following the obtuse concept of the production, the pie is free, canned whipped cream is a dollar.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: INOCULATIONS is a confounding yet fascinating evening of theatre. The production is well conceived and performed. Besides understanding the play, is the additional task of finding the arts building/factory, where the show is being performed.

Anna Bella Eema

Theater Ninjas confuses, confounds and fascinates with ‘ANNA BELLA EEMA’

Theatre Ninja’s talented Artistic Director, Jeremy Paul, has a knack for picking plays which are challenging. Challenging to the cast, who must find the performance devices to portray characters which are usually extremely non-traditional, often edging on the insane. Also challenging to the audience who must figure out what is going on with these people.

Paul’s latest mind boggler is ‘ANNA BELLA EEMA,’ a play by Lisa D’Amour.

Reviews of the script in other venues reveal explanations such as, “the script is part fairy tale and part creepy campfire,” “it is an intriguing, beguiling tale of creation, womanhood, anima, loss and survival. “ Other views were: “it is far-fetched, ridiculous and silly,” and “it drags and disengages.”

For the sake of discussion, let’s say that this is a ghost story with three bodies with three voices. The three voices belong to Actress # 1: a mother who is a thick sturdy woman who we eventually discover is agoraphobic, obsessive and paranoid. Actress #2 is an impish young girl “whose eyes sparkle and whose voice reaches toward the sky.” Actress #3 is also impish, sometimes appearing to be Actress #2's twin sister. She has a supernatural soul.

The characters generally don't speak to each other, but to the audience. They tell improbable story after improbable story relating to how their household is the last holdout in a trailer park being displaced by a highway project. These stories include how Actress 2 created Actress 3 out of clay. According to the playwright, the script “asks us to listen and listen carefully’ as the characters “explore the human and particularly the female experience.”

The Theatre Ninjas production, under the guidance of Paul, is both confounding and compelling. It is well staged, well acted and in spite of its obtuseness, is captivating.

All three cast members are strong. Elizabeth R. Wood, Actress One, the mother, demands attention. Wood develops a neurotic being who is out and out scary. Why is this mother like she is? What has driven her into her state of insanity? I don’t know, but Wood makes her live with impassioned frustration.

Faye Hargate is properly child-like as the basically “normal” young girl, mature beyond her years. Well, as normal as a child could be living in solitude, in a decaying trailer, surrounded by miles of nothingness, with bulldozers at the front door.

Cassie Neumann, Actress 3, may be the most bizarre of all. What is she? Is she really a creation of mud? Whatever, she is properly spooky.

Curtis Young’s set, Alison Garrigan’s costumes, and Jeremy Paul’s lighting all enhance the bizarre experience.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: ‘ANNA BELL EEMA’ is a quirky Goth play that will not be to everyone’s liking. It’s worth going to see three fine performances. The ride home should be a setting for trying to figure out what you just saw and what, if anything, it means.

Woyzeck: A Proper Murder

‘A PROPER MURDER,’ a good production of a convoluted script at Theater Ninjas

In his program notes to ‘WOYZECK, A PROPER MURDER,’ director Jeremy Paul states, “’WOYZECK’ was the first play I ever wanted to direct.” To be honest, I have no idea why of all the great plays written, Paul would pick this abstract, convoluted script as his heart’s desire.

‘WOYZECK,’ was written in the mid-1860’s by Georg Büchner. The script, which was found in segments with no clear structure, was left unfinished when Büchner died. It was completed by a variety of other writers.

The script deals with the dehumanization of a human being caused by human jealousy. It parallels the true story of a Christian Woyzeck, a wigmaker and soldier, who murdered his live-in mistress.

‘WOYZECK’ is supposedly a commentary on social conditions as well as an exploration of poverty and how circumstances in one’s life ultimately can push a person over the edge.

The Theater Ninja production, in spite of creative staging by Paul and fine acting by the cast, is a hard sit-through. Sebastian Hawkes Orr is properly maniacal as Woyzeck. Emily Pucell develops effectively the role of Marie, the woman Woyzeck is living with. The rest of the cast, Val Kozlenko, Elaine Feagler, Katelyn Cornelius, and Adam Seeholzer compently carry out the director’s concept.

Doing the play in the Asterick Gallery in Tremont adds to the abstract quality of the action as the actors dart in and out of the gallery’s display walls.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: ‘WOYZECK, A PROPER MURDER,’ gets a fine production at Ninjas, but there is a caveat. The script will appeal to those who like abstract, experimental theatre. For those interested in a standard format of beginning, middle and end, with a clear message, this isn’t going to be their thing.

Crave

‘CRAVE’ a mind stretching experience at Theatre Ninjas

Sara Kane, the author of ‘CRAVE,’ now being staged by Theater Ninjas, was a very troubled woman. Even though she was hailed as a talented playwright by the press, she committed suicide at the age of 28. Her plays, from a psychological viewpoint, were cries for personal help from the demons who were at war in her mind.

‘CRAVE,’ which is having its Ohio premiere, was her fourth play. It was first performed in 1998 in Scotland. It features four characters (or possibly four elements of the human mind), each of whom is only identified by a single letter. The script has no stage directions and no indication of the intent of the writer.

It examines the trauma of rape, infidelity, loneliness, familial rejection, childlessness, death, sex, loneliness, relationships, suicide and child molestation. The characters appear to be dismayed by an existence over which they have no control.

In contrast to a traditional script, ‘CRAVE’ is a series of fragmented sentences, phrases, poetic stories, monologues and dialogues. They are not connected to each other to create clear concepts. Ideas flow through phrases such as: “I am not what I am; I am what I do.” “It talks about the definitive role of the centre in the geometry of the circle where there is no chicken and egg dilemma as to who came first as it was the centre that came first and then the circle was formed.” “I had to fake orgasms before but now I have to fake not having an orgasm.”

The Theater Ninjas production of ‘CRAVE’ is creatively staged by Jeremy Paul. He uses the space in the Asterisk Gallery to intensify the chaotic arrangement of the lines. The four actors run, jump, roll, crawl, chase each other and move in programmed chaos around the gallery’s display panels.

The members of the cast, Lucy Bredeson-Smith, Terence Cranendonk, Val Kozlenko and Layla Schwartz are each compelling. It is not only a wonder how they not only learned the massive number of lines but also the intricate blocking.

Capsule judgement: The 50-minute play is a mental challenge. There are constant questions of “what does this all mean?” Discussing the happenings after the production is as intriguing as watching the abstract experience itself. If that’s your “thing” then you’ll enjoy the production. But, if you’re into clear messages in happy encasements, forget seeing ‘CRAVE.’