Living Room Theater
Living Room Theater
Conceived and performed by Tisse Mallon and Banks Helfrich
November 23, 2015
A Private Residence, Orlando, FL</strong>
Sometimes you’re out in public and accidently overhear some snippet of conversation, some slice of drama from another life. It’s an accidental voyeurism, incomplete and unintended yet somehow invigorating. That’s the closest explanation I can offer for this “Structured Improvisation” by local film maker Helfrich and artistic entrepreneur Tisse Mallon. Like an old fashioned illegal rave the address had to be sought out, the seating ad hoc and not all that comfortable, and the rest room up stage and unavailable. A laptop plays sound effects and paces the performance; I found the faint arc of a story of relation progressing but that may only be a personal apophenia. We begin with “Time”; here Helfrich demands to know when and where “now” is and Mallon counters with “Now is forever.” Deep stuff… The most interesting segment “Piss Off:” presents Helfrich demanding to know where Mallon’s “line” is – just what would he have to do to piss her off? Later “Cell Phone” turns the act of fielding dropped phone calls into a parody of physical aggression and violation of personal spatial boundaries. I loved this as I’m still not comfortable with being available to anyone, anytime, anywhere. This team has 30 or so little scenes, so your performance will almost certainly differ. Occasionally there’s a musician, but tonight he had a paying gig. How can you see one of these events? Use your newfangled smart phone to Facebook the link below. Exercise your digital right to invade other people’s cyberspace. Right now this is a high minded “pass the hat” funded activity, but you never know. Success pops up in the weirdest places in Orlando.
For more information on attending or hosting “Living Room Theater” please visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/livingroomtheater/
