Class Forces and Sneaky Pete Ensemble
The young woman who plays Emma in the one-act monologue, Emma Goldman: Love, Anarchy and Other Affairs, wrote the second play, Zero Stimuli, as part of the ideological double bill being offered by Class Forces Theatre at Theater Rhinoceros. In her commitment to love, passion, imagination, spontaneity and social justice she is on the side of the angels. But as the evening's first half ended and the lights came up following a pallid and stilted production and performance, I realized that unless she was a better playwright than she is an actor, we were in for a very painful evening all around. Unhappy to say, she wasn't.
On the other
hand, The Sneaky Pete Ensemble doesn't preach about imagination
and spontaneity but actually comes up with the goods, and they do it with
dolls -- or puppets. Is been a long time since I've seen good puppet theater,
and this is very good puppet theater. They deserve a permanent home and
a regular season. But in the meantime the five members of the ensemble
plus three accomplished jazz musicians are playing Vasilisa and the
Saga of Baba Yaga, a pleasingly grotesque Russian folk version of
the Cinderella story in the upstairs studio at The Marsh on Valencia
Street. The work is delightful and shows off Sneaky Pete's abilities with
a mix of puppet theater techniques: shadow play, rod puppets, larger Bunraku-style
dolls manipulated by up to three handlers, a hand-puppet and, most spectacular,
a full-sized body-suit witch comically awful enough to send the small
fry running back to their parents but not so fearful to keep them from
watching in wonder. There is clever use of a movie-like shadow screen,
quick shifts between long distance and close-up, and very much of a Tim
Burtonish visual sensibility at work.
The Marsh is devoted to nurturing new work and talent. The upstairs space
-- formerly Tile Workers Union offices and then a martial arts studio
-- has a the feeling of a country community hall and is quite suited to
Sneaky Pete, with its mixed audience of kids, parents, old hippies and
younger hipsters looking for something imaginative and different. Vasilisa
and the Saga of Baba Yaga is a good time and plays until August 1st..
Sneaky Pete Ensemble's Vasilisa and the Saga of Baba Yaga at The Marsh, 1062 Valencia Street, July 8-August 1st. (415) 826-5750.
Class Forces Theatre presents two short plays: Emma Goldman: Love Anarchy and Other Affairs and Zero Stimuli, July 9-31 in the Studio at Theatre Rhinoceros, 2926 16th Street. (415) 861-5079
S.P.
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