By Ernest Kearney — The Indomitus Theatre Company is young…. Very young.
They are in the flush of discovery of the power and the magic that is the wonder of stage. I have no doubt that as they gather more years and more experience that they will do some wonderful work.
The problem with their premiere production of Start Swimming, by James Fritz, is not that it lacks in talent, but that that talent is unleavened.
Directed and choreographed by Alexandra Fiallos Start Swimming, onstage at the Broadwater during 2019’s Hollywood Fringe, falls into the double whammy that is the curse of all pupa creative souls in their effort to metamorphosis into maturity, they reinvent the wheel and emerge coated in preciousness.
Five masked players (Maria Camacho, Justice Quinn, Laurent Sayer, Ethan Stachelek and Joey Aquino) occupy the stage.
“What’cha doing here?” they demand of each other and the audience.
Wrong answers are countered with harsh buzzers, “right” answers approved by a bell.
Their masks fall off as their anger grows, hinted perhaps that it is our rages at injustice that makes us both individuals and serves to unite us.
Indomitus seeks to be “bold, wild and fierce” but only manages to come off “mild, disorderly and naughty.” They lack, to use a Flamenco term, “garra.”
This is reflected in their mask work especially (Which are nicely designed – I’m assuming by Sharly Kama).
Masks are ritualistic.
Masks are the unknowable.
Masks are unfathomable.
Masks are not props unless you’re doing a musical on Zorro or the Phantom of the Opera.
I think of Mummenschanz, Theatre Témoin or Teatro Delusio: theatre companies that know the magic of the mask.
I take this work’s title Start Swimming as the company’s response to the old conservative saw, to “sink or swim,” so we can credit their sensibilities as being inclined towards the right direction.
The flaw of the production is its lack of ripeness, which will not be a flaw if the process of maturation continues, and this staging is not without merit.
The actors all display talent, especially Sayer and Aquino, and Kama’s costumes show intelligence in their selection.
And whatever else may be lacking here, sincerity is certainly not.
For that The Tvolution’s:
SILVER MEDAL.
For Complete Show Schedule and Ticket Information Go To: http://hff19.org/5700
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Find out more about Indomitus Theatre at indomitustheatre.com