“Portal,” with Lookingglass Theatre Company/Photo: In The Black Photography
RECOMMENDED
Lookingglass Theatre Company teams up with Night Out in the Parks and The Actors Gymnasium to present “Portal,” a series of free performances consisting of short vignettes told through interpretive dance. At Chase Park on August 1, five dancers/actors performed six surreal scenes based on life lessons about friendship, nutrition and the dangers of spending too much time with electronics. While these aphorisms are designed to be aesthetically pleasing for children, the quality of the performance and the message it delivers are sure to please adults as well.
The actors—Jacinda Ratcliffe, Jordan Reinwald, Michel Rodriguez Cintra, Vanessa Valliere and Julie Matolo—give an impressive performance in ninety-degree heat, keeping pace with a quick, bouncy score composed by Mucca Pazza. Some of the scenes are straightforward, as in the opening number where a TikTok influencer-in-training becomes fed up with the isolation of recording puerile dance moves in their room and slips into a daydream of running through fields with friends, throwing a football, playing baseball and skipping hopscotch.
“Portal,” with Lookingglass Theatre Company/Photo: In The Black Photography
The tale of a slob who spends their day slumped back watching television and eating junk food is a simple aphorism for good nutrition that reaches a climax when a gang of rogue squirrels and rabbits (puppets provided by Cabinet of Curiosity, Emilie Wingate and Jesse Mooney-Bullock) assault the shut-in with colorful vegetables. With one bite the chump becomes a champion, striking a pose like Charles Atlas.
Other works are more profound. A person hunched over a laptop computer grows irritable, no doubt from arguing with strangers on social media (What else is it for?). They learn a valuable lesson as the “talking heads” from internet clips leap from the screen into real life, backed by a creepy soundtrack straight out of an Italian giallo horror flick. Faces like cracked and weather-stressed wood float around in attack formation; but computer-guy is unafraid and strikes back with high-flying kicks, video-game-inspired martial arts and capoeira-like tumbling. They were able to defeat the dreaded embrace of “doom-scrolling,” but will you?
“Portal,” with Lookingglass Theatre Company/Photo: In The Black Photography
Less scary but equally touching was when a simple letter sent to a loved one develops into an Astaire/Rogers dance duet. To the sound of a nimble mandolin, the couple perform “Flashdance”-inspired lifts that have legs flying in every direction. In the age of fast-as-thought communication, the handwritten word is still the most powerful form of communication.
The program concludes with two pieces that are relatable no matter your age. An actor in a playful blue dress reaches for their doorknob but can’t… quite… go outside. The anxious recluse mounts up the courage to go forth, but now what? A gaggle of speed-walkers whisk by, and the recluse bravely joins them, trailing behind at first, then keeping pace, then entering their post-workout conversation—even offering a witty quip of their own! As a cynical adult, I expected the group to turn on the recluse, to become antagonists that create conflict… But they don’t; they accept the stranger as a new friend. As adults, we say it is hard to make friends, but maybe the problem has been in our heads the whole time.
The final act features a ribbon dancer with “The Sky” printed on their chest. Lean and muscular, The Sky is a sight to behold—so why is nobody looking up? The Sky smacks bystanders’ phones out of their hands and puts on a dazzling display of in-air twists, splits and tumbles; the crowd below gazes up as if seeing The Sky in a new light. When was the last time you looked up to the sky and marveled at its beauty?
“Portal,” with Lookingglass Theatre Company/Photo: In The Black Photography
The benefit of interpretive dance is that there is no spoken narrative, and the spritely movements are interpretable by people of all ages, languages and backgrounds. There are fun activities that break up the acts, like paper folding and anonymous admirer letters that the audience shares with one another (a good-humored bald man sitting next to me laughed when his anonymous letter read, “I love you, stranger. You have nice hair.”) Expressive dance capably performed in a natural setting (or a park auditorium in case of rain), a free price tag and a forty-five-minute run time make “Portal” an exceptional choice for summertime family fun (or for anyone who needs to get off the computer and out of the house).
Lookingglass Theatre Company’s “Portal” will perform on various dates and locations: August 8, 5:30pm, at Columbus Park, 500 South Central; August 10, 3pm, at Gage Park, 2411 West 55th; and August 11, 5pm, at Tallmadge Park, 927 Noyes Street, Evanston. Performances are free to the public. For more information visit lookingglasstheatre.org.
