Absurd drama, green screen technology, sexual power and sincere shock value were brought together in Caden Manson/Big Art Group’s on-stage production of “House of No More,” which was performed at Wexner Center for the Arts Jan. 13-15.
Those who saw it walked away feeling like they just witnessed something disturbingly original, a sort of schizophrenic soap opera that is impossible to convey through words alone; and those who missed it … well … the Big Art Group won’t be back in Ohio or the United States anytime soon.
“House of No More” kept its audience attentive and impressed from start to finish.
Using live video directors and a green screen backdrop, the set transformed on three separate video screens, a living room, car and forest. The plot wove in and out of crime solving and brainwave channel surfing.
The precision of technical movement and video framework was extraordinary as cast members interacted, touched and kissed on a large central screen, however stood 10 feet apart from each other on stage.
“Every move is choreographed,” said assistant video director Aaron Rhyne. “Everything is timed, and we all work together as an ensemble.”
Although the technical aspects of “House of No More” were absolutely remarkable, the moral behind the plot never really surfaced, leaving a sense of bewilderment about the intentions of the text. The dialogue seemed to drown in the echoing trance music and served only as a unstable bridge that roped the scenes together. Even though the script didn’t illustrate the mind of a genius, it enabled the audience to devote more attention to the visually experimental testimony of the performance.
“Caden describes the narrative as viral,” said production manager Linsey Bostwick. “It mutates, and is constantly changing.”
Big Art Group is a New York City-based performance company founded in 1999 by Caden Manson, the creator, director and video designer of “House of No More.” Most of their touring is done in Europe and in non-English speaking countries.
“In Ohio, or in the United States for that matter, I felt like there was more of an audience reaction,” said cast member Ebony Marie Hatchett.
“They understood the text, which changed our performance in a good way. I think that we gave more, and maybe even our best acting performance here,” she said.
The vision of the company looks to produce unique narrative performances through multimedia that test the formal boundaries of theater and film, creating culturally challenging new works that usually involve the same group of performers.
The Big Art Group successfully delivered an impressionable performance of cinematic paranoia that gave viewers a chance to swim in the wave of a theater company not afraid to take big steps.
