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This show continues to baffle us, and trust us, that’s not an easy thing to do. It raises lots of unanswered questions: is this really theater? is this a video installation that’s better suited in a gallery? is there a script and who wrote it? are these people members of Actors Equity? is it the same trick used during the ghostly ballroom scene at the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland? Lots of questions without clear answers. Questions we (Richard Maxwell will be happy to know) are still asking ourselves and friends after seeing this 60 minute production at Performance Space 122.
There are no live actors to be found anywhere on stage, only ghostly projections of about 40 different characters who take turns standing on the only real prop in the show, a soapbox, to answer the question “what do you believe in?”. Some answers seem lofty and awe-inspiring, while others seem cryptic and poetic. Some seem to be stiffly read off cue cards, while others seem to be delivered as a well crafted soliloquy. A few are just bizarre. The best ones are able to stand alone as a self contained narrative that even without the gimmick of ”you-are looking-at-a-video-projection-not-a-real-person” are still deeply moving and profound. These address bigger questions of isolation, systems of belief, and attaining personal tranquility. Music is an important theme; as is Buddhism. But it’s light years from being ironic; the audience actually finds itself identifying with a hologram. It’s a true testament to the people involved in this production that a parlor trick on an empty stage could move you to the brink of tears.
After the show we asked a friend (who is an actor) what they thought of the piece. They were glad they saw it but stopped short of saying they liked it. As an actor they found the lack of real humans on stage to be a bit disturbing. We feel the same way, but are quite sure that we loved it. No question about it.
Co-presented by Performance Space 122 as part of COIL.$15 Tickets with code UTR at ps122.org, 212-352-3101 or at PS122 box office Performance Space 122 150 First Ave. E. 9th Street
a play with no people.sounds interersting!