emerging from the collective
Sun, 12 Aug 2001, 01:13 pmDavid Ryding3 posts in thread
emerging from the collective
Sun, 12 Aug 2001, 01:13 pmI tend to shy away from reviewing shows for a variety of reasons but i thought it appropriate to comment about the Collective Unconscious show at the Blue Room theatre, Emerging from the Collective.
Collective Uncoscious have a little bit of history with their show, I might be Edgar Allan poe, which has had quiet a life, both with them and in other productions. With that show in mind and the title and image of this show I was expecting a more dark and innacessible night than I encountered.
I was wrong.
Emerging... is four short plays written, performed, produced and directed by the various members of the collective. And I must say it's great to see a collective like this in action. Many people in town muse about forming colective but they rarely try it or when they do it implodes under egos. i didn't get that sense from this group.
The plays range through a varietry of styles,forms and subject matter, though to me they all seemed fairly love based. Innaccesible/ Dark? not in the slightest. In fact it was a well balanced and entertaining evening.
I don't want to describe the four plays except to say you'll laugh and you'll lapse in to a few moments of uncomfortable silence as a couple of the plays will make you reflect on memories and events in your own life.
In brief, the first is a beautiful monologue about a grandchild remembering his grand father, the second a over the top comedy of a couple meeting at a wedding, the third play a particularily poignant view of a couple who have reached standstill and the fourth is a hoot! I'll let you discover that one for yourself
Performance wise it is fairly soild with the acting in the fourth being ideal for that play. The main complaint of the night can be the direction, not that it is lacking but at times the moments and depths of the scripts haven't been fully realised. But i believe thes performances will evolve as they are very proactive in refining this production.
Interestingly many of the scripts are first time efforts!
In short an enjoyable night at a cheap price and with short plays (no more than 30 minutes each) none of the plays out stay their welcome. And the Collective themselves are very welcoming of comments and when you go stay round and have a chat.
If you want more information I believe they have a website linked to this page but i can tell you performances continue for another week and you can book on 9227 7005.
And to continue my policy of revealing any bias, don't know any of them except for chatting after last nights show.
cheers
Dave Ryding
Collective Uncoscious have a little bit of history with their show, I might be Edgar Allan poe, which has had quiet a life, both with them and in other productions. With that show in mind and the title and image of this show I was expecting a more dark and innacessible night than I encountered.
I was wrong.
Emerging... is four short plays written, performed, produced and directed by the various members of the collective. And I must say it's great to see a collective like this in action. Many people in town muse about forming colective but they rarely try it or when they do it implodes under egos. i didn't get that sense from this group.
The plays range through a varietry of styles,forms and subject matter, though to me they all seemed fairly love based. Innaccesible/ Dark? not in the slightest. In fact it was a well balanced and entertaining evening.
I don't want to describe the four plays except to say you'll laugh and you'll lapse in to a few moments of uncomfortable silence as a couple of the plays will make you reflect on memories and events in your own life.
In brief, the first is a beautiful monologue about a grandchild remembering his grand father, the second a over the top comedy of a couple meeting at a wedding, the third play a particularily poignant view of a couple who have reached standstill and the fourth is a hoot! I'll let you discover that one for yourself
Performance wise it is fairly soild with the acting in the fourth being ideal for that play. The main complaint of the night can be the direction, not that it is lacking but at times the moments and depths of the scripts haven't been fully realised. But i believe thes performances will evolve as they are very proactive in refining this production.
Interestingly many of the scripts are first time efforts!
In short an enjoyable night at a cheap price and with short plays (no more than 30 minutes each) none of the plays out stay their welcome. And the Collective themselves are very welcoming of comments and when you go stay round and have a chat.
If you want more information I believe they have a website linked to this page but i can tell you performances continue for another week and you can book on 9227 7005.
And to continue my policy of revealing any bias, don't know any of them except for chatting after last nights show.
cheers
Dave Ryding
RE: emerging from the collective
Tue, 14 Aug 2001, 11:39 pmWalter Plinge
Emerging From the Collective
Presented by Collective Unconscious
Aug 8-11, 15-18 @ 8pm, Blue Room.
For some reason my expectations for this production were low. Like David I anticipated something ‘inaccessible’. I was unfamiliar with the group and had not heard anything about the production until a friend of mine suggested going to see it. Anyway, my preconceptions were very unfair as I was treated to a very enjoyable night at the Blue Room.
I donÂ’t want to spoil the show but I would like to just make a few comments about the 4 short pieces that made up the production.
Even though the first piece was my least favourite, it held my attention and was rather touching in parts. I have a problem sometimes when a character stands on stage and spends 20 - 30 minutes delivering a monologue straight to the audience with little movement; I always start thinking how it could be differently staged to make it more visually interesting. However, having said that, for the most part in this case the technique worked, and it was testimony to the actorÂ’s delivery (sorry, donÂ’t know names) that it was engaging as it was. The performance was nicely pitched; you never knew where the character was going to go with his tale and why he was telling you his story in the first place
Onto the second piece - I loved how it moved so unexpectedly; i won’t ruin it by telling you where it goes but i loved how it was all played as totally plausible-the turn of events may be unusual but you never for a moment believe that it isn’t possible within the world of the play because of its commitment to the sense of the ‘bizarre.’
The third piece I really liked; a short ode to the difficulties of sustaining a meaningful relationship, in this case a marriage. My friend didnÂ’t like the monologues that broke the action. I however did, it was a glimpse into the underlying subconscious thoughts of the characters, which to me was the point of this piece; an expression of the coupleÂ’s inability to communicate successfully. There were moments however where I felt that the characters could stay a little longer with certain moments. There are instances in this piece that I think could perhaps be extended to more fully explore the dynamics of their relationship.
The final piece was well written and exquisitely performed. All I will say is that I havenÂ’t laughed like that in the theatre for a while.
Overall, well worth a look see. Also, I have just noticed that most of the plays for the August to October Blue Room season are priced at $18 full and $12 concession. This is not necessarily a complaint but more of an observation - is it just my imagination or are the prices of locally produced plays on the rise? Anyway, despite the price tag attached to "Emerging from the Collective" go see it. It deserves better than the 14 or so people that were there last Friday night.
Cheers,
Warren Herbu.
Presented by Collective Unconscious
Aug 8-11, 15-18 @ 8pm, Blue Room.
For some reason my expectations for this production were low. Like David I anticipated something ‘inaccessible’. I was unfamiliar with the group and had not heard anything about the production until a friend of mine suggested going to see it. Anyway, my preconceptions were very unfair as I was treated to a very enjoyable night at the Blue Room.
I donÂ’t want to spoil the show but I would like to just make a few comments about the 4 short pieces that made up the production.
Even though the first piece was my least favourite, it held my attention and was rather touching in parts. I have a problem sometimes when a character stands on stage and spends 20 - 30 minutes delivering a monologue straight to the audience with little movement; I always start thinking how it could be differently staged to make it more visually interesting. However, having said that, for the most part in this case the technique worked, and it was testimony to the actorÂ’s delivery (sorry, donÂ’t know names) that it was engaging as it was. The performance was nicely pitched; you never knew where the character was going to go with his tale and why he was telling you his story in the first place
Onto the second piece - I loved how it moved so unexpectedly; i won’t ruin it by telling you where it goes but i loved how it was all played as totally plausible-the turn of events may be unusual but you never for a moment believe that it isn’t possible within the world of the play because of its commitment to the sense of the ‘bizarre.’
The third piece I really liked; a short ode to the difficulties of sustaining a meaningful relationship, in this case a marriage. My friend didnÂ’t like the monologues that broke the action. I however did, it was a glimpse into the underlying subconscious thoughts of the characters, which to me was the point of this piece; an expression of the coupleÂ’s inability to communicate successfully. There were moments however where I felt that the characters could stay a little longer with certain moments. There are instances in this piece that I think could perhaps be extended to more fully explore the dynamics of their relationship.
The final piece was well written and exquisitely performed. All I will say is that I havenÂ’t laughed like that in the theatre for a while.
Overall, well worth a look see. Also, I have just noticed that most of the plays for the August to October Blue Room season are priced at $18 full and $12 concession. This is not necessarily a complaint but more of an observation - is it just my imagination or are the prices of locally produced plays on the rise? Anyway, despite the price tag attached to "Emerging from the Collective" go see it. It deserves better than the 14 or so people that were there last Friday night.
Cheers,
Warren Herbu.