TBA Sep 10, 2011 at 12:06 pm

Comments

1
Walking into the theater last night I had very similar fears about Rude Mechs' premise. I had to wonder whether or not this was going to be a play so caught up in self referential narrative and inside theater jokes, that only a small percentage of the packed Imago house was going to enjoy the performance. This was very much not the case though. There were several times in which I was literally balled over in laughter, only to look around and see that the same delight was filling the entire room. The Method Gun is terribly smart, but never lets that intelligence become high-minded or introspective. The show is so clearly for the audience which is a really refreshing thing to see with this style of theater. I stood up out of my seat last night and immediately wanted to sit back down and watch the show again.
2
I felt the same way Noah! Towards the end I kept thinking, "Oh no, it's not going to end, is it? There's still more, right?" So far it's definitely a favorite of TBA. I plan to see it again tonight! Like some folks were mentioning last night, it's one of those pieces sticks with you, and mills about in the back of your head for a while.

I went to their noontime chat today at PNCA. It was nice to hear them talk about their process: even though their shows themselves are pretty tight and constructed, they come about in a very organic and collaborative way. It's a tough balance to strike, but they do it amazingly well
3
This show was one of the most amazing and great pieces of theater I've seen in Portland (which I'm sorry to say about a company that's not local, but some fresh blood is a good thing!). They used such fascinating devices (those pendulum lights! those Approach exercises! the audience-written guru names!), and such interesting ideas (the tiger! and why was it wearing pants? and crying practice and kissing practice!), I found myself marveling at how they even came up with these elements and fused them so seamlessly into such a naturally-flowing, accessible whole. How!? Brilliant. I loved it.

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