Life's Illusions: In the End Good Outweighs Bad

by Kyla Cathey

"Life's Illusions: An Evening of Mime Theatre," a series of vignettes directed by Nancy Lyon, was presented in the Black Box at Olmsted Theatre on February 11th and 12th. I was intrigued when I heard that the show would feature mime, but while most of the pieces showed skill, the evening as a whole left me more bored than captivated.

Lyon introduced the show, saying that many of the actors were trying their hand at mime for the first time. It showed, in the spasmodic head bobbing of Amanda Abbott in "Bird" (my brain aches in sympathy) and Rachel Smirnoff's poor performance in "The Gown." I still have no idea what "The Gown" was about, other than sewing and trying on a gown. Was Rachel Smirnoff supposed to be fat? Did she rip the dress? Was she daydreaming about a non-existent boyfriend? Who knows?

Others, such as "Faux Pas," "The Meeting," "Earthquake," and "The One That Got Away" did show technical skill, but were pointless and uninteresting compared to many of the other pieces.

Nevertheless, the night wasn't a complete waste. There were some amazing high points to the show. Dan Ciba hilariously portrayed a student whose sleep is fitfully interrupted by a fire alarm in "Earle," and later had the audience hysterical with "TaDa!"

Ray Munoz also stood out in several pieces, the best of which was "The Wall," poking fun at the invisible box that is often associated with mime. "Cowboys and Indians" stole the prize for funniest vignette, however, when cowgirl Jennifer Stephens interrupted a close and exciting chase to put another quarter in her mechanical horse.

The pinnacle of the evening was the beautiful, creepy, and riveting "The Drowning," in which a girl dreams about being drowned by a gang, then wakes up to find water engulfing her bedroom.

The show featured some funny and touching pieces, which somehow managed to outweigh the bad ones, if only barely. Overall, while "Life's Illusions" was mediocre, the good pieces mostly made up for the time wasted on the bad.