Post Gazette: "The Task" represents another notch in the belt of Quantum Theatre's mission, now in its 19th year.
The theater's online history includes such phrases as "an incubator for the amazing" and an introduction to "artists forging new theatrical ground." Found spaces that suit the work are part and parcel of the Quantum experience.
6 comments:
I'm happy to read such great reviews of work done by those teaching at CMU. I think that Quantum is the perfect place for Jed to have directed this piece and it sounds like the collaboration as a whole was very successful. I've heard nothing but good things about the show and hope to get a chance to see it before it closes. It's interesting to think about how out of the ordinary this show is... maybe when you've been doing theatre for this long this is the type of stuff that ends up being worth the time.
This show was great! Not only was it something different but it was new. New to me at least. It may be my lack of exposure but this show was incredible. The design was smart and the story fit the experience. And the great thing is that it was all CMU teachers and graduates. Together they created something unexpected and new. I wanna take part in theater like that.
I went to go see this show and it was very well done. I'd even say that it was one of the best works that I've seen. Part of the reason why it's so good is exactly because the audience needs to move instead of the scenery. In doing this, I felt as if though I was actually just a bystander watching these things take place instead of constantly remembering that I was a theatre-goer watching a show. I think that shows like this are where our industry is headed and that seems pretty exciting to me.
I went to the show along with Jacob and really enjoyed it. It seemed to be a good example of a show that was technically complete, with elements that supported the story, but wasn't excessive, like so much theatre today is. It was clear that the design was focused all around on the show itself. I heard some other folks at the preview who were less pleased, complaining that they weren't sure of the details of what had happened or what they were supposed to have gotten out of it, but I think this might stem from an excessively close minded, academic approach. With an open mind and a bit of curiosity, I doubt anyone could fail to respond to any part of the show. Maybe they couldn't parse that into a formal message, or even a detailed narrative, but the element of story was definitely present, and I thought the show communicated a number of ideas about the complex nature of violence, revolt, and deception - issues that we normally paint as black-and-white.
I got to see The Task yesterday. It was really amazing that the design team was comprised of mostly CMU faculty, along with a CMU alumn in the cast. What I really enjoyed about this production was the use of space, and how the audience was an integral part to the story. We took the journey with the cast, moving around the warehouse and parts of the eastern Caribbean. They didn't try to hide anything in the warehouse, they used the structure to their benefit.
I do hope I get a chance to see this show. I've heard so much about it. I like the idea of being in the space from day 1. I hope next year's production of Alice gives those working on it a chance to do much of the same exploration that other such productions have had. While traditional "rehearse-in-a-room than move-to-the-space" is what we usually have to do for practicality reasons, a deviation from the normal can be very helpful, and more than successful at times.
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