Elemental Theatre’s deca.go.go: the exquisite corpse plays
by Abby Saunders | Live Downcity | January 29, 2009
Deca*go*go: The Exquisite Corpse Plays created by Elemental Theatre Collective opened at Perishable Theatre Thursday, January 22nd, and runs through Sunday, February 1st. The plays are much like a quilt, patched by someone’s very hip grandmother, one pattern ending, where another begins. And, the end product is one of many parts, collectively creating a functional, and beautiful finished piece–something you can curl up with.
Utilizing the surrealist game of the exquisite corpse, playwrights Dave Rabinow and Alexander Platt plucked five elements out of a hat, incorporating at least one element in each play. Ten short plays were written in sequence, with each writer given only the ending image of the previous play as their starting image.
The five elements, chosen blindly by the writers, seem simple and easily unrelated: a mask, disease, mice, torture, and a dirty joke. However, the tying together of these random elements leads to larger common threads.
Throughout the ten short plays, characters are plucked from the norm and faced with outrageous situations, ultimately leaving them in a changed state. Most often, we see this change through dealing with death, or quite the opposite, eternal life. We see characters question “truth” and custom, the restraints of spirituality, and the struggle with creative and artistic process. These heavy themes are communicated through the actors with comedic expertise, tinting harsh reality with a tinge of hilarity that remains consistent throughout the show. The audience’s chest would heave with worry, and in the same breath laugh out loud.
Stitched in place by the writers and executed beautifully by Director Peter Sampieri, the transitions leave one in awe of the swift movement of the show. In a culture, barraged by quick-paced media and bombarded with stimulus, these plays keep up. From the start, we are attached to the driving character throughout the show, Avide Robinatt, the writer. He is split into many distracted pieces, some juggling props, singing, talking, playing to the audience. The opening scene sets the pace for the rest of the show–fast. With one play’s ending image serving as the next play’s opening image, naturally, the show flows from one play to the next. At intermission, you’ll find the audience mulling over the program attempting to identify which plays were titled what or when one play ended and another began. There is viable question as to the division of plays, and it feels natural to question any division at all.
With each play running at ten minutes, and intermission also running at ten minutes, one is left to wonder if intermission itself was not yet another Surrealist play. During intermission, the actors spilled into the crowd, mingling and sitting with audience members. Characters solicited the involvement of the audience in creating their own exquisite corpse play, which the cast performed on the spot directly following intermission.
With an extremely minimal set, the actors provide much of the scenery. The plays were performed by Jillian Blevins, Elizabeth Gotauco, Jed Hancock-Brainerd, Michael A. LoCicero, Kelly Nichols, Rebecca Noon & Christopher Rosenquest. Each actor was featured in different ways throughout the ten plays, rising to the occasion of a strong role, then melting back into the scenery. Michael LoCicero, playing the real Avide Robinatt, gave a strong performance in the role, understated with subtle comedic timing. Jed Hancock-Brainerd’s role in “Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before,” as a blind comedian is one of the funniest in the show. Rebecca Noon transformed to almost unrecognizable lengths between plays and characters, showing an intense range. Chris Rosenquest’s role as a soldier in “Dither & Flail” was rigid and genuine, a leap from the looser characters we see him in throughout the rest of the show. The performance demanded a lot of the cast, including nudity, quick changes in roles and tone, physically demanding staging, and most difficult of all, zee french accents.
The use of sound in the show echoes the cast, making it seem double in size. Actors often portray characters with just a voice, resonating through speakers. The soundtrack, produced by Peter Sampieri is well linked to the physical movements of the actors, amplifying the intensity of a scene. At one point, several actors are playing a flock of birds, crouched on the ground and slowly flapping their wings together. The soundtrack mimics the eerie, repetitive movement of their arms. Characters play live instruments, such as guitar, cello and accordian throughout.
Starting from just five elements, the entire show blossomed into a complex and surreal experience. Deca*Go*Go: The Exquisite Corpse Plays suspends reality to take a good hard look at reality. I believe this show to be worthy of seeing twice.
Elemental Theatre Collective, a local company started by Trinity Rep Conservatory alumni, began the Go Go Plays in 2007, bringing audiences a series of short plays each year. The Exquisite Corpse Plays are a part of this annual series. Deca*Go*Go: The Exquisite Corpse Plays are playing this Thursday through Sunday at Perishable Theatre. Please, visit www.perishabletheatre.org for tickets, or visit www.elementaltheatre.org for more information on the show and the Elemental Theatre Collective.
The URL link to this article is no longer functional. We have reproduced the text of the article here. Any errors are the responsibility of Elemental Theatre.
Deca*go*go: The Exquisite Corpse Plays created by Elemental Theatre Collective opened at Perishable Theatre Thursday, January 22nd, and runs through Sunday, February 1st. The plays are much like a quilt, patched by someone’s very hip grandmother, one pattern ending, where another begins. And, the end product is one of many parts, collectively creating a functional, and beautiful finished piece–something you can curl up with.
Utilizing the surrealist game of the exquisite corpse, playwrights Dave Rabinow and Alexander Platt plucked five elements out of a hat, incorporating at least one element in each play. Ten short plays were written in sequence, with each writer given only the ending image of the previous play as their starting image.
The five elements, chosen blindly by the writers, seem simple and easily unrelated: a mask, disease, mice, torture, and a dirty joke. However, the tying together of these random elements leads to larger common threads.
Throughout the ten short plays, characters are plucked from the norm and faced with outrageous situations, ultimately leaving them in a changed state. Most often, we see this change through dealing with death, or quite the opposite, eternal life. We see characters question “truth” and custom, the restraints of spirituality, and the struggle with creative and artistic process. These heavy themes are communicated through the actors with comedic expertise, tinting harsh reality with a tinge of hilarity that remains consistent throughout the show. The audience’s chest would heave with worry, and in the same breath laugh out loud.
Stitched in place by the writers and executed beautifully by Director Peter Sampieri, the transitions leave one in awe of the swift movement of the show. In a culture, barraged by quick-paced media and bombarded with stimulus, these plays keep up. From the start, we are attached to the driving character throughout the show, Avide Robinatt, the writer. He is split into many distracted pieces, some juggling props, singing, talking, playing to the audience. The opening scene sets the pace for the rest of the show–fast. With one play’s ending image serving as the next play’s opening image, naturally, the show flows from one play to the next. At intermission, you’ll find the audience mulling over the program attempting to identify which plays were titled what or when one play ended and another began. There is viable question as to the division of plays, and it feels natural to question any division at all.
With each play running at ten minutes, and intermission also running at ten minutes, one is left to wonder if intermission itself was not yet another Surrealist play. During intermission, the actors spilled into the crowd, mingling and sitting with audience members. Characters solicited the involvement of the audience in creating their own exquisite corpse play, which the cast performed on the spot directly following intermission.
With an extremely minimal set, the actors provide much of the scenery. The plays were performed by Jillian Blevins, Elizabeth Gotauco, Jed Hancock-Brainerd, Michael A. LoCicero, Kelly Nichols, Rebecca Noon & Christopher Rosenquest. Each actor was featured in different ways throughout the ten plays, rising to the occasion of a strong role, then melting back into the scenery. Michael LoCicero, playing the real Avide Robinatt, gave a strong performance in the role, understated with subtle comedic timing. Jed Hancock-Brainerd’s role in “Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before,” as a blind comedian is one of the funniest in the show. Rebecca Noon transformed to almost unrecognizable lengths between plays and characters, showing an intense range. Chris Rosenquest’s role as a soldier in “Dither & Flail” was rigid and genuine, a leap from the looser characters we see him in throughout the rest of the show. The performance demanded a lot of the cast, including nudity, quick changes in roles and tone, physically demanding staging, and most difficult of all, zee french accents.
The use of sound in the show echoes the cast, making it seem double in size. Actors often portray characters with just a voice, resonating through speakers. The soundtrack, produced by Peter Sampieri is well linked to the physical movements of the actors, amplifying the intensity of a scene. At one point, several actors are playing a flock of birds, crouched on the ground and slowly flapping their wings together. The soundtrack mimics the eerie, repetitive movement of their arms. Characters play live instruments, such as guitar, cello and accordian throughout.
Starting from just five elements, the entire show blossomed into a complex and surreal experience. Deca*Go*Go: The Exquisite Corpse Plays suspends reality to take a good hard look at reality. I believe this show to be worthy of seeing twice.
Elemental Theatre Collective, a local company started by Trinity Rep Conservatory alumni, began the Go Go Plays in 2007, bringing audiences a series of short plays each year. The Exquisite Corpse Plays are a part of this annual series. Deca*Go*Go: The Exquisite Corpse Plays are playing this Thursday through Sunday at Perishable Theatre. Please, visit www.perishabletheatre.org for tickets, or visit www.elementaltheatre.org for more information on the show and the Elemental Theatre Collective.
The URL link to this article is no longer functional. We have reproduced the text of the article here. Any errors are the responsibility of Elemental Theatre.