The Enablers
This original play, exploring
the mystery of the creative process, perhaps, is written, designed and directed
by Jerry Mouawad and produced by Carol Triffle.
It is playing at their space, 17 SE 8th Ave., off Burnside (parking
is a challenge in this area, so plan your time accordingly), through February
22nd. For more information,
go to their site at www.imagotheatre.com
This is probably the
best expression of the extent of possibilities involved in the process of
creating Art! To most, it is a
mysterious journey, made up of Muses, Madness and Magic. I have been a part of that unique club since
I was old enough to remember and continuing to the present day. To give some connection for you from the
existing world of artistic merits, it skirts the edges of Serling’s, The
Twilight Zone; the French, cult-classic film of yesteryear, King of Hearts;
Vonnegut and his outrageous worlds; Pirandello and his search for meaning; Dr.
Leary and his exploration of the inner depths through Lucy in the Sky with
Diamonds; and other sources.
The setting is a
stage, cluttered with four folks, the asexual, Thelma (Stephanie Woods); the
promiscuous, Louise (Emily Welch); the sanctimonious, Narcissus (Danny Gray);
and the newbie, Goldman (Matthew Sunderland), actors all. Their purpose, as it has been for twenty
years, is to entertain the fantasies of SHE (Anne Sorce), the be-all and
end-all, the Empress or Queen, of this “castle” during the Black Plague era of
Europe in the 14th Century.
(A side note, showing the creative side of
people during such dark times: The
disease started as a red spot on the body and, as it multiplied, a dark circle
formed around it. To stop the spread,
victims who died of this were identified by flowers being placed in the pockets
of them. The bodies were then
burned. A famous children’s ditty came
from this disaster…which I’ll name toward the end of this review.)
The purpose for this
deception, it seems, is a type of therapy to feed into her delusion until it
wears off. Her minions are actors hired
to feed into this atmosphere and to do her bidding. But wear and tear are emotionally draining
the participants, until an elegant stranger arrives, Arnold (Sean Doran) and
his quirky assistant, Jeanette (Colleen Socha).
More I cannot tell you without revealing elements an audience should
discover. But, suffice to say, it will
turn their world upside down and sideways…and ours, too. Keep in mind, not everything is as it seems.
This is a brilliant
piece of Art by Mouawad (with is co-conspirators/designers, Jon Farley,
Lighting & Props and Myrrh Larsen, Sound), exploring the inner workings of a
human and merging them with the outer complexities of the universe. “What a Piece of Work is Man….” It is destined for a run, I predict, in the
Big Apple. It will open your minds to
what is possible—Everything!
The actors and crew,
many from former Imago shows, are exceptional! The illusion/delusion they
create is perfectly understandable and realistic…until it isn’t. “We are but a walking dream…” and this cast
& crew and its creator make us believe in the unbelievable…the illusion of
reality. And when this is stripped away,
what are we left with…the Void…an Eden…no, another Dream, perhaps. Oh, and the little children’s rhyme: “Ring around the rosy, pocketful of posies,
ashes, ashes, all fall down!”
I highly recommend
this show. If you do see it, please tell
them Dennis sent you.
--DJS
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