FLOW wasn't necessarily unenjoyable because of it, but it depends on what perspective you take. Apparently the show changes every night. It's this older woman named Neel de Jong, and she kind of sticks with a theme, I think, but does whatever she feels like every night. Tonight, it was half an hour that began with her in the middle of the stage in a giant white parka, white tights, big sunglasses, and patent leather heels. She stood center stage, tangled up in about 30 large tree branches. For the first ten minutes, she untangled herself from the tree branches, and then took a box of strawberries and threw them on the branches. Next, she spoke to us about metaphors, and the revelation that she has a black hole inside of her. Finally, she read us a poem, then sang it to us as a song, with piano accompaniment.
Remember when a play reminded me of movies Ariel and I used to make? That's why I laughed almost the whole time. It reminded me of parts in our movies where we'd just drag things on that weren't even that funny, but they were so ridiculous we'd laugh ourselves to tears. Also, the woman looked somewhat like my grandmother Ro-Ro, which made it even more totally absurd and hilarious to watch.
The other perspective that I saw it from half the time was that of "this is completely for yourself, so why should I sit through it?" I guess it wasn't completely for herself, because she interacted with us, and genuinely seemed to want us to understand the thoughts (and occasionally relatable insanity) going through her head. But I have to say I'm pretty glad I didn't directly pay the 6 pounds for a ticket, as it was one of the shows bought for us in advance. (Even though I technically did pay for it in the program fee...)
I don't know. I'm undecided about the show. When I relaxed and went with it, I enjoyed it. But when I thought about self-expression vs. theater, I got annoyed.
The other show I saw tonight I fell into going to, because someone here had a ticket and couldn't go. This one, I'm very glad I didn't pay for (in any way). Inventing the Sky was a bunch of young dancers trying to act. Ugh, modern dance. To be fair, I haven't seen much modern dance, but I did go with someone who dances, and she agrees with me. So if anything, I'm probably not crazy. It was an hour and a half, and there was barely a minute when I was content to be there. The most painful thing about it for me was that these four young people clearly have incredible potential to move and dance like not many people can, but they filled the show with uncomfortable, jerky movements and awkwardly over-the-top facial expressions and miming.
One thing I love about this festival is that it helps me further understand my theatrical palette. And something I realized I cannot stand is the kind of miming where the people mouth words or use intricate facial expressions; then it just seems obvious that they're doing everything but speak. If they use movement and committed gestures instead, it seems like the alternative to speaking, not just the absence of it.
I realized about halfway through that if these people were older (they're probably about my age), I might like it more. But at the age they are, this kind of modern dance just makes them look like they wanted to be up on stage, so they are, and they're young, so it should be weird.
To generalize quite a bit, I feel like there are two reasons people end up doing theater. 1) They want to be onstage because they express emotions externally, and/or 2) they want to explore and help others figure out relationships and human nature. Each is a legitimate reason, and I know many people who simultaneously fit into both categories. However, I tend to think that some of the people who fit only into the 1st category are not self-aware enough to make theater effective for the audience. At least two of the four actors tonight seemed like those types, and it really grated on me. Almost the whole time they were up there, I read "hey, look at me" on their faces, along with whatever else they were trying to express.
But hey, if nothing else, I had a ton of realizations about theater while watching it.
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