The Happiest Medium » Emily Hartford

A Wonderfully Flat Thing – Or A Journey Into Your Imagination

Lina Zeldovich — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 17:56:54 +0000

Mark Twain’s short story A Fable gets a dazzling rebirth in A Wonderfully Flat Thing, when Manju Shandler (the artistic director who had previously designed masks and puppetry for The Lion King on Broadway) brings her creative talent to this small but charming production which appeals to everyone from age three and up. The script has been adapted for the stage by Valerie Work, Manju Shandler, & Basmat Hazan.

In this reinterpretation, Mark Twain (Jake Goodman) is working on a new story that has to do with a big mirror in his room. When he falls asleep, his Cat (Emily Hartford) discovers a beautiful cat in “the wonderfully flat thing” and runs into the forest to tell her friends about it. Skeptical at first, the menagerie decides to investigate and convinces Donkey (Jake Goodman) to go into the house. Donkey, of course, sees a donkey in “the wonderfully flat thing,” contradicting Cat’s story. The controversy is brought up to King Elephant (Shawn Shafner), who sends out Snake (Sarah Painter) followed by Ostrich (Sarae Garcia) to settle the matter. Snake reports witnessing a snake. Ostrich comes back in tears, telling a sad story of a big clumsy bird who wanted to soar with the seagulls, but couldn’t fly. Finally, King Elephant embarks on the adventure himself, discovering his own reflection in “the wonderfully flat thing.”

The tale is deceptively simple, but there’s a lot to read between the lines, as well as in the characters’ costumes – so brilliantly designed by Shandler - and even in their self-reflections and mental images that are brought to us via multi-media effects (designed by David Tirosh) and additional background puppetry.

Donkey, an old gent with strong opinions, is elegantly clad in an old-fashioned cardigan with a red-white-and-blue trim and a button that proclaims “No, you can’t!” Snake’s self-reflection brings out a familiar scene of a snake snatching apples off a tree; we definitely had been exposed to that one before. And, trumping and trampling, Elephant is a picture of a monarch, who had long ago outlived his use.

Flamboyant, picturesque costumes, alluring puppets and colorful stage décor instantly transform the LABA Theater into an enchanted forest where the fascinating animals live. What’s more, the children can sit on the front row red carpet if they want to fluff Ostrich’s lacey skirt, pet Snake, or “Hee-haw” back at Donkey. Unlike the more formal shows that require enough discipline to remain seated in thy chair and stay quiet, AWonderfully Flat Thing, pays as much respect to the stiff societal rules of proper etiquette as did its creator. The little audience is free to shout, giggle, crawl, jump and interact with the characters. “The house is there,” they shout to the seemingly lost Donkey. “Wake up!” – to the sleeping Mark Twain. “Ooh,” they sigh at the sight of a sobbing Ostrich, “Don’t cry!”

After the show the puppets come out to mingle. Ostrich lets the little fans fuzzy up her feathery tutu, the cat draws a feline-loving crowd and if you never high-fived an elephant, well now’s your chance to slap that big round paw. And, if you want to bring home a souvenir, you can buy a few tiny, colorful, rubbery finger puppets from the concession stand.

“For kids, it’s an entertaining riddle, a romp on stage with surprising puppets,” says Manju Shandle. “For adults it’s a piece about self-reflection.” But, perhaps the best moral of the story is expressed by Mark Twain’s own words: “You can find in a text whatever you bring, if you stand between it and the mirror of your imagination.”

~~~

A WONDERFULLY FLAT THING

Based on A Fable by Mark Twain

Created by Manju Shandler & Basmat Hazan

Directed by David Winitsky

The 14th Street Y LABA Theatre

344 East 14th Street (Between 1st & 2nd Avenues)

New York, NY 10003

Remaining Shows:

Sunday, 1/9 2:30PM & 5:00PM

Saturday, 1/15 11:30AM, 2:30PM & 5:00PM

Sunday, 1/16 11:30AM & 2:30PM

For tickets click here or call 646-395-4322.

Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the 14th Street Y front desk.

That’s Quite A Story – The Tragic Story Of Doctor Frankenstein

Karen Tortora-Lee — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 21:47:18 +0000

There is a very good reason why some stories are told under the cover of darkness – hidden from the world and everything that takes place during the mundane trivialities of the day. Because some stories aren’t meant for the daylight. Only a blanket of blackest night will give some words that extra visceral thrill, only the the anonymity of the night can help create that tension that starts racing along every nerve ending – only darkness will give some stories the ability to make your heart race . . . will draw your lips together – will make you believe that the words are true.

The Tragic Story of Doctor Frankenstein (written by Stanton Wood and directed by Edward Elefterion) is just one of those stories – a tell-it-in-the-dark story: so when it starts in the dark, crackling terrifyingly to life before remaining partially hidden, a little chill of anticipation runs up your spine. You may not know what to expect from this story – but your racing heart is telling you all you need to know about how it will end.

Elefterion frames this work organically – the stage is bare and everything that is necessary to tell the tale is crafted and created from the people who creep about the stage. The lighting design is reminiscent of campfire ghost stories – strong lights beaming hotly and casting shadows – carving faces into ghoulish masks. The sound design is equally unprocessed – hisses of train breaks, whispers, crackles, and every sound both necessary and nightmarish are the product of two very talented women - Lauren Cook and Nikki Dillon who also act as props when necessary.

Beyond the staging, there’s another reason this Tragic Story pulls you in. It is completely unexpected – though not without precedent. For the Doctor Frankenstein is Doctor Victoria Frankenstein (Elise Knight) – a brilliant , beautiful, tortured doctor who lives in a world she creates from her mind, with mostly herself for company. So much so that she’s splintered herself off – and a second Victoria (Jocelyn O’Neil) exists to aid when necessary, to take over when necessary . . . to help support the enormity of the weight that’s on this fair doctor’s shoulders. After all . . . she did manage to reanimate a lovely dead body – only to then find herself horrified by her own actions. She’s got to be able to share that burden with someone – even if the other person is just an offshoot of her insanity. In effect, this trio becomes a strange family unto itself – Victorias 1 and 2, with the “Child” (Emily Hartford) acting as the completion of this unholy trinity.

Emily Hartford as this reanimated corpse had me frightened beyond belief. For much of the beginning of the play she does little besides lurk and lunge, and – without that wall of protection (a movie or TV screen) the immediacy of her terrifying presences was a little too much to bear. A few times the lights went out completely and I was grateful that I’d chose to sit in the last row up against the wall – knowing that she couldn’t pop up behind me. Slowly, however, this monster/child’s terrifying persona goes from merely a grunting, gasping, groping thing to an eloquent being who explains her torment to her creator in heartbreaking detail. She’s almost more frightening when she can put words to the barren emptiness she’s doomed to exist in.

Arthur Aulisi is the lone male of this production – he plays Zachary (Victoria’s long-suffering sweetheart who doesn’t fare well by the end) in addition to the other male characters of the play. He is particularly touching as Victoria’s father who stands by the sidelines and suffers as he watches his daughter disintegrate.

Ultimately, however, this play belongs to the women – the two tragic sides of Victoria who create a shattered tableau and become more seamless as the play moves on – and their unfortunate creation, the unwanted Child who Victoria can neither liberate nor obliterate. She has started this – and she must see it through till the tragic end.

~~~

The Tragic Story of Doctor Frankenstein

Written by Stanton Wood

Directed by Edward Elefterion

Through November 13, 2010 8:00 PM

Brooklyn Arts Exchange

421 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Fl

Brooklyn, NY

Tickets are $15.00 – $18.00

Click here to purchase

The Happiest Medium » Emily Hartford

A Wonderfully Flat Thing – Or A Journey Into Your Imagination

Related Posts:

That’s Quite A Story – The Tragic Story Of Doctor Frankenstein

Related Posts: