After reading a great review of 4ish in the Trib, I wanted to see this. I love the idea of allied arts and something new. The last show I saw at Harris Center was invigorating and innovative. And I wasn't disappointed.
4ish is a group from Amsterdam that Chicago Children's Theatre brought to the Harris Center, which usually does more dance stuff. It was live DJed break-dance/roller-skating performance art. It was frenetic, exciting, and fun.
The stage was initially set with fabric hanging down, which allowed for a playful introduction to the characters, pantomiming 2 halves of people. An interesting observation of how humans move. The general story line is a kid learning to skate, which was slapstick. And narrated non-verbally by a beat-boxer! As the kid learns how to stand up, the Beat-boxer narrates him into something that you gradually recognize as "Billie Jean". And the kid does the whole Michael Jackson dance on skates!
After they leave the stage, the place goes dark. Except for blue and red lights strapped to skates! Woo! On a modified half-pipe, two extreme skaters did all sorts of crazy flips over different central body axes.
In addition to a show down between extreme skaters, there was a bit of a competition between the DJ and beat boxer. Astounding. I need to listen to more hip-hop!
And in an homage to derby, there were guys in huge afros dancing to disco on skates. Not to be outdone by disco, the troupe tapped in skates. Not roller blades, but the 4 wheels!
Unlike most children's theatre, this performance was not cloying storybook stuff. I liked the innovative approach to children's theatre. By using more familiar elements and youthful vernacular with fast pacing, it could tell a story and be an entertaining theatre experience for young people. It made me want to dance and yell and cheer.
My only criticism would be the use of projections. As a transition = awesome. Providing a different vantage point of the live action = cool. But it is sometimes hard to focus on the action, especially as we have all be trained to focus on the boob toob.
But the whole experience is helping me understand Artaud's theory. A focus on gesture and music. Non-verbal expression connecting you to something else. Brink of chaos. Etc.
And now I am watching some ballroom competition!!
4ish is a group from Amsterdam that Chicago Children's Theatre brought to the Harris Center, which usually does more dance stuff. It was live DJed break-dance/roller-skating performance art. It was frenetic, exciting, and fun.
The stage was initially set with fabric hanging down, which allowed for a playful introduction to the characters, pantomiming 2 halves of people. An interesting observation of how humans move. The general story line is a kid learning to skate, which was slapstick. And narrated non-verbally by a beat-boxer! As the kid learns how to stand up, the Beat-boxer narrates him into something that you gradually recognize as "Billie Jean". And the kid does the whole Michael Jackson dance on skates!
After they leave the stage, the place goes dark. Except for blue and red lights strapped to skates! Woo! On a modified half-pipe, two extreme skaters did all sorts of crazy flips over different central body axes.
In addition to a show down between extreme skaters, there was a bit of a competition between the DJ and beat boxer. Astounding. I need to listen to more hip-hop!
And in an homage to derby, there were guys in huge afros dancing to disco on skates. Not to be outdone by disco, the troupe tapped in skates. Not roller blades, but the 4 wheels!
Unlike most children's theatre, this performance was not cloying storybook stuff. I liked the innovative approach to children's theatre. By using more familiar elements and youthful vernacular with fast pacing, it could tell a story and be an entertaining theatre experience for young people. It made me want to dance and yell and cheer.
My only criticism would be the use of projections. As a transition = awesome. Providing a different vantage point of the live action = cool. But it is sometimes hard to focus on the action, especially as we have all be trained to focus on the boob toob.
But the whole experience is helping me understand Artaud's theory. A focus on gesture and music. Non-verbal expression connecting you to something else. Brink of chaos. Etc.
And now I am watching some ballroom competition!!
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