Ionescopade
After World War 2, European citizens grappled with how to
rebuild their lives and regain a sense of normalcy and also still understand
the terrible atrocities of the Holocaust and the Great Purge. How could people
do such terrible things to other people? Modern Literature and Art began to
question human morality and the purpose of existence. Theater, also, sought to represent this new shift in
sensibilities. In particular, the Theater of the Absurd used the stage to
address human futility and meaninglessness.
Eugene Ionesco was a notable playwright of Theater of the
Absurd, and he only wrote about a dozen plays in the latter part of his life.
Much of his work focused not on traditional storytelling (i.e. character
development and a plot) but on metaphors and cyclical conversations between
one-dimensional characters. I had the privilege of being in one of his pieces,
“The Lesson,” and I enjoyed the challenge of bringing a one-dimensional
character to life. His work left an impression on me, and thus I was excited to
see The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s presentation of “Ionescopade.”
Robert Allan Ackerman’s concept of “Ionesocopade” takes bits
of Ionesco’s best-known plays and poems and couples them with vaudevillian
style dance, music, and comic bits, revolving around the ideas of existence,
fulfillment, and absurdity. There isn’t a story or main character, but simply a
group of actors playing different roles from different iconic plays, outlining
ideas and exploring philosophical thoughts, all while being entirely farcical
and absurd.
Directed and choreographed by William Castellino,
“Ionescopade” is a group of sketches and songs, beautifully performed by a
talented group of seven. Castellino does a great job of utilizing the colorful set
(designed by David Potts) and creating different play spaces all around the
stage, even using the wings and the aisles as entrances. The talented band,
which consisted of just a piano, drums, and reeds, was upstage center, and was
as much of a part of the show as the actors were.
Alan Abelew, as The Writer, wanders throughout the scenes,
writing his characters and watching them act out their parts for him. The
Writer is silent throughout the show, merely observing and sometimes
encouraging his characters to follow his storylines. Abelew does a tremendous
job, keeping the audience’s attention without his voice, and even adeptly using
magic to transition us from scene to scene. I really enjoyed his simplicity of
movement, and the fact that he trusted his body to tell the story. In a space
like that of the Odyssey, where the house is small, and relatively close to the
actors, huge movements and exaggerated facial features are not necessary. It
was delightful to watch Abelew's efficient and effective work.
Tom Lowe, who played several characters throughout the show,
equally blew me away. From his wonderful singing voice, to his effortless
dancing, Lowe is a wonderful performer. He was equally believable as the
handsome lounge singer, the little boy Bobby Watson, and the vaudeville-style
comic. His passion for performing just poured out of him. He reminded me a lot
of Patrick Swayze, a strong yet vulnerable actor. Every time he was on
stage, he just grabbed my attention, and I was excited to watch his sketches
and short pieces.
The numerous sketches and play-lettes that make up
“Ionescopade” vary in theme and style, so I bet many audience members connected
with some and not with others. Personally, I really enjoyed the short play Voyage, a story of two lovers as they discuss the
happenings to the body as we turn into ash after our deaths. Regardless of what
we do on this earth, we all die. And after our bodies are lowered into the
earth, we will eventually turn into dirt.
Wipe out Games was
another notable play-lette for me, as it hinged on the idea of a group of
people chatting, and they die, over the top, one by one. After the first
person’s death, everyone is shocked and scared, and then angry, turning on one
another, accusing the other of killing. By the end of the sketch, one of the
characters notices that there are only two of them left, and that death is no
longer shocking to them. They’ve become used to the concept of death. And after
another one dies, the final character embraces the idea that death is inevitable
and unavoidable, and of course, she dies.
My favorite of the little plays was called The Leader, a piece with an announcer, who spots the leader off
in the distance during a rally in the city. Through the minutes long piece, the
actors run throughout the stage, out the back aisles, through the front door,
off the stage at the back, all running and searching to get a glimpse of, and
hopefully interact with, the leader. the announcer guides the group of
citizens, and stops them every once in awhile, and describes the scene he sees
in the distance: The leader hugging children, shaking hands, eating a bite of
soup etc. And finally, it happens, the leader appears on stage, and the
citizens and the announcer stand agog as the leader (a puppet strung from the ceiling
and manipulated by a puppeteer all in black) stands at attention on stage left.
But the leader has no head, and one of the citizens notices that, and tells the
others. The announcer scoffs, and responds that it shouldn’t matter because
“[The Leader’s] got genius!” I loved the underlying message of the piece, and
think it still has political resonance today.
Again, I’m reminded that writings from many years ago, like
those seen throughout “Ionescopade,” still resonate in our current society.
Ionesco wrote during a post World War II era, and now we live in a post 9-11
world. The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble recognizes our current world’s issue with
paranoia and identity, along with a divided, overly partisan political
landscape. They used the works of
a 20th century artist to find 21st century
significance. And in this, they
created a timely, thoughtful, but most importantly, entertaining production.
The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s production of Ionescopade
runs Fridays at Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at
2:00 pm through August 11 with some Wednesday performances
at the Odyssey
Theatre at 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd.,
West Los Angeles, CA 90025.
Call (310) 477
– 2055 for more information,
and visit The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble at
www.odysseytheatre.com.
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