Indian Turn

Performing at Theatre Project, the Dakshina/ Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company offered an invigorating program of classical Indian and contemporary dances.

Somewhat surprisingly, the highlight of the everning were two contemporary Western works. In Kaddish, accompanied by the music of Ravel, Melissa Greco Liu gave a beautifully expressive interpretation of a woman racked by desire, solitude, and grief. Cleverly using spotlight and blackouts, By the Light employs Beethoven's music to ground the desires, absences, and reconciliations of an elusive romantic couple. Supported by Jamal Ari Black, Natalie Pinzon ably expressed the fluctuating emotions of the piece.

Choreographed by troupe leader Daniel Phoenix Singh, the more distinctively Indian dances seemed less secure. The opening invocation, Pushpanjali revealed the uneveness of troupe members' technique. The closing piece, Vasanth is an exercise in narrative ballet based on a tale of Shiva and the rebirth of the seasons. The joyous piece uses traditional Indian dance, mime, ballet, contemporary dance, and even a bit of Broadway chorus line to evoke the Hindu myth. But in this fusion of disparate dance traditions, one has the impression that the mixture of approaches has yet to gel into a coherent overall style. In his solo piece, Gokula Nilaya, Singh revealed his own mastery of technique in his supple, lyrical movements.

Bewitching Chaos

It is hard to believe that Run-of-the-Mill Theater is already producing its seventh Variations anthology. This year the theater features nine short plays focused on the theme of chaos. The result is a Variations on Chaos rich in diverse dramatic genres and high in magical atmosphere.

The evening opens with John Conley's "Farewell to Hippocrates," a stark condemnation of the contemporary medical profession's violation of the ethical ideals it claims to uphold. In a fine piece of ensemble acting, directed by Alec Lawson, a brooding trio of doctors (Beverly Shannon, Sarah Heiderman, and Rachel James) assaults the Hippocratic ideals of life, purity, and privacy. Kevin Kostic's "One Out of Five" is a charming piece on the anxieties of the parents of quintuplets. Directed by Danielle Young, Justin Isett and Emma Healey are suitably harried as the anxious couple. Susan McCarty's "Where Will We Go, What Will We Do?" is a farcial spin on the gay marriage debate and the anxieties it provokes. Under Kendra Richard's direction, Justin Isett, Beverly Shannon, Sarah Heidermann, and Ben Hoover are properly manic. J-F Bibeau's "In Theory" features two faux monkeys involved in a scientifc hoax. Directed by Kendra Richard, Emma Healey and Ben Hoover make energetic chimps, but this one-joke play could have used some pruning. The program's wittiest comedy, Laura Merrill's "The Great Unspeakable Tragedy of the Poorly Made Soup" features four frenzied diners (Emma Healey, Justin Isett, Phil Doccolo, and Sarah Heiderman) who turn blame and recrimination into a fine art. Alec Lawson's direction uses a full emotional palette to express the diners' abrupt interactions.

Written by Clarinda Harriss, "Taming Chaos" is an entertaining literary joust on how to interpret a poem, featuring a guest appearance by Wallace Stevens and a mysterious chicken (ably mimed by Brett Messoria). Kendra Richard's direction enables Rachel James, Sarah Heiderman, and Ben Hoover to bring out the love of literature at the play's core. Matthew Smith's "Pastoral Smut" brings a touch of neoclassicism to the evening. A contemporary couple seems to be role-playing the old pastoral archetypes of nymph and shepherd. Danielle Young's direction and the performances by Justin Isett and Emma Healey provide an elegaic touch, but the play seems uncertain in tone. Joe Dennison's nightmarish "First Day" features an authoritarian military officer (convincingly played by Beverly Shannon) ordering a new recruit (Emma Healey) into her sadistic war games. Kelly Cardall's stark direction underscores the violent despair of the situation. Closing the program is Ben Hoover's "Parable no.4." A poetic piece, the play features two lonely, isolated persons (touchingly played by Sarah Heidermann and Phil Doccolo) whose separate monologues finally end in a lethal encounter. Since both characters simultaneously deliver their monologues, it is not easy to follow the narrative (it has something to do with someone dying in the nineteenth century), but the play's lyrical qualities, enhanced by the tableau-like direction of Alec Lawson, turn the audial chaos into consolation.

The program had its false notes. To provide a transition between the plays Joe Dennison's "Well There You Have It," a satire on drive-time radio, has been hacked into smaller pieces. In an evening already heavy on text, this flood of extra words might cause migraines in certain audience members. The dim lighting abets the atmosphere of menacing chaos, but this audience member would have liked a better look at the intriguing abstract mural dominating the back of the playing area.

Variations on Chaos is a fine achievement in collaborative theater. The varied scripts, fluid direction, and energetic performances contribute to the evening's point that everyday order is illusory and that the apocalypse may be closer than we think.