Have you ever wondered what Julia Child
was really thinking while she was chopping, mashing and pounding
in her TV kitchen? Maybe not. But apparently some people have.
"Re: Treat," an Off the Deep End production that combines
performance, installation and noshing, suggests one possibility.
It seems Ms. Child may not have been worrying if the tomatoes
were ripe and the lettuce crisp. She was really musing over memories,
reflecting on desire and reliving injustices. Her mind was miles
away from the kitchen.
On stage at A:D/B Project Space in Fort Greene until Aug. 3,
"Re: Treat" was conceived by Linsey Bostwick and Jen
Zoble. Zoble also directs, and Bostwick, who produced the photographs
of food that line the walls of the space, stars as the cook.
It is she who prepares the chocolate chip cookies the audience
is invited to share at the end of the show.
The two other performers are Irene Young and Molly Mullin. Their
choreographed movements are reminiscent of those Bostwick uses
while baking. Their disjointed dialogue represents her fantasies,
dreams and delusions.
On occasion, Bostwick interacts with Young and Mullin, but for
the most part she remains at her table diligently pouring and
stirring throughout the performance. She shares the stage with
Domino sugar, Morton salt and Pyrex bowls – all icons of the
American kitchen.
The three actors are accompanied by the not very inspired music
of Jennie Teague on guitar and sequencer.
Set and installation designer Christian Douglas has contributed
some interesting three-dimensional collages composed of platters,
baskets, hooks with towels, a holograph of Leonardo da Vinci’s
"The Last Supper," and other objects related to the
kitchen and eating. They share space on the walls with Bostwick’s
photographs.
Over a steel worktable in the center of the space, Douglas has
hung an assortment of kitchen utensils – eggbeater, bottle opener,
potato masher – that might be called a mobile if they moved.
Nine artists worked on "Re: Treat" in one or more capacities.
They are young, creative and obviously passionate about their
work, which they call a "freshly baked installation of photography
and performance." It’s a shame all that talent went to a
production that’s not freshly baked but rather half-baked.
Like a baby rediscovering language and proudly repeating her
first word, Off the Deep End has rediscovered the subconscious
with all its fragments, randomness and repetitions. This is presented
to the audience as art or theater or whatever.
There are repeated references to a missing brother, a need for
baking powder and a meeting at which someone didn’t show up for
some undisclosed reason.
There seem to be equal doses of anger and eroticism. Is the audience
supposed to make sense of all this, or accept the concept that
it all makes no sense?
And if it makes no sense, who cares?
Every audience has the right, indeed the responsibility, to demand
something more than mindless movement and disconnected dialogue.
The job of art, most especially theater, is to enlighten and
explain.
At the very least, it should entertain. At its best, theater
touches something deep within us, kindling an emotion – love,
hate, anger or joy, to name a few. "Re: Treat" does
none of this.
As the name implies, Off the Deep End has no direction and no
focus. While the cookies are baking, delicious smells waft across
the audience. Unfortunately, when tasted, the cookies do not
live up to expectations. Like those cookies, "Re: Treat"
left this reviewer with the taste of absolutely nothing and the
desire for something more.
Off the Deep End Productions’ "Re:
Treat" will be performed on Aug. 1 and Aug. 2 at 7:30 pm
and on Aug. 3 at 7 pm and 9:30 pm at A:D/B Project Space (1165
So. Portland Ave. between Hanson Place and Fulton Street in Fort
Greene). Admission is $7. The photo exhibit and gallery installation
is open for viewing through Aug. 3, noon to 6 pm, or by appointment.
For more information, call (718) 855-9394 or visit www.adbps.com
on the Web.
