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| The Cast & Crew of "Ada/Ava" (photo: ArtsEmerson) |
Those who are fans of animation (and who isn't these days) will find the current production of Ada/Ava an enthralling experience, a fascinating amalgam of high art and modest technology. ArtsEmerson has presented many cutting edge programs, but this is an incredibly original use of visuals to tell a simple story, harkening way back to the first shadows created by a campfire on an ancient cave wall through the wizardry of Indonesian stick puppetry silhouettes to the cinema as we know it today.
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| The Cast & Crew of "Ada/Ava" (photo: ArtsEmerson) |
In the short space of an hour, the Chicago-based group
known as Manual Cinema creates a timely approach to the mysteries of
love, loss and loneliness as they relate the story of two twin
sisters who care equally for a New England lighthouse and one
another. Reminiscent of the first part of the Disney animated film
Up, with techniques mirroring the magic of Julie Taymor's
puppetry in her stage version of Disney's The Lion King, the
troupe utilizes vintage overhead projectors with their craft on full
view of the audience, leaving theatergoers in a state of suspended
animation as though immediately involved within the mechanics of
their work, (with a live score, no less), requiring eight
multi-tasking and multi-talented artists.
The show, with us only until this Sunday January 14th,
is a unique (as in literally one-of-a-kind) offering that should be a
must-see in these dark times. It's that illuminating.
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