In the mysterious opening of “Behind Me is Silence,” 17 performers, one by one, silently walk through a dark landscape of toppled black chairs. Three vertical panels, covered with words, float above. A blind, empty window panel and an open door flank the stage. At first sight, it’s a bleak, Brechtian dream. Or, it’s a perfect space on which to dance, sing and play out ideas about silence.
Credit Director Suzy DiSanto, Co-Director Warren Rockett, the Fort Lewis College technical team and DiSanto’s Devised/Performance Art Class for putting this program together in two short months. Devised theater is a collaborative method taught on college campuses and used in professional companies today. It’s an improvisational process that begins without a preexisting script, and through collaboration results in a new work.
If you go
WHAT: Fort Lewis College, “Behind Me is Silence,” a theater work devised by Suzy DiSanto.
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
WHERE: MainStage Theatre, Drama Building, FLC, 1000 Rim Drive.
TICKETS: Adults $28; FLC faculty and staff $15; non-FLC students $15; free to FLC students. www.durangoconcerts.com. Free parking.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.durangoconcerts.com.
“Two books inspired the piece, ‘Mercury Pictures Presents,’ by Anthony Mara, and ‘Martyr!’, by Kaveh Akbar,” DiSanto said.
Both books resonated with DiSanto over last summer. Both are “about being present in our lives, about how beauty lies in accepting uncertainty and letting life unfold naturally, without actively searching for an ending.”
When stripped of distractions and noise, she said, “life is surrounded by a silence that holds its own kind of truth and beauty. So, I pitched the idea about creating a show around silence to the faculty, who loved it. Over the summer, I developed a concept for the show.
“On the first day (of class) I presented my idea to the students,” she said. “The concept evolved from my initial vision, and I introduced them to devised artists – primarily in movement-based work. We practiced movement exercises, exploring and embodying words and stories.”
The result is “Behind Me is Silence,” an evening of fresh, inventive and often beautiful theatrical moments.
The opening is a deliberately ambiguous prelude for 17 more distinct chapters. It quickly moves into a soliloquy by Jay Hall. In a casual, storytelling mode, Hall functions as a master of ceremonies with a lively, first-person narrative about a college class studying “altered states of consciousness.” Hall introduces the idea of the mind-in-motion, ever changing, like water – and silence.
Scene Three shifts to a swarming crowd, occasionally revealing one individual (forcefully danced by Jade Sophia). It’s an ensemble piece that needs high contrast. DiSanto’s choreography communicates struggle dramatically.
Other complex ensemble scenes project surging energy. “A Story is Like a Moving Train” brims with sound effects with the mesmerizing Rockett at the center.
Fortunately, quieter solos and duets alternate with big company numbers.
Guitarist Calvin Marshall sings a soulful ballad in “I Will Follow You into the Dark.” He’s observed by dancer Katelyn Bowie who embodies emotional urgency as she moves from longing to connection.
Two other solos stand out for simplicity and focus. Jenelle Carico’s “Faith through Silence” and Lilia Reynolds’ “Like Bright Red Ink” speak of different dilemmas and are elegantly performed.
The most polished dance, “In These Moments,” created and performed by two seasoned dancers, Ryann Nicole and Rockett, is a modern pas de deux. Program notes elaborate what prompted the piece; take time to read it.
The only outlier in an otherwise seamless program is a video collage titled “Remembrance.” Talking heads, presumably the student cast, chat about various topics in garbled, overlapping statements.
To balance a generally thoughtful theatrical event involving storytelling through movement, song and drama, there are also comic and absurdist moments. And the colorful company finale will leave you smiling.
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
