Phobias | press release & ticket information | photo gallery | reviews
From Carl F. Gauze at Ink19.com
I used to fear Modern Dance, but the electroshock cured that, so I thoroughly enjoyed this thematically conceived evening of dance and motion. John DiDonna's Empty Spaces Theater covers some very eclectic ground, but the thrust into dance is a pleasant surprise.
Their dancing explored sixteen of our best loved fears, from Topophobia to Coulrophobia. Not all of these were interpreted strictly as dance, but some as spoken word (Fear of Strangers) or even as small skits (Fear of Flying). The strongest dance number was the opening Freak Out sequence, where the entire cast came on stage, pressed their noses agianst the 4th wall, and broke down. A young woman knelt shivering in front of me, whimpering. I did what I always do in that situation; I ignored her as hard as possible. Other noteworthy segments include Fear of Heights, which involved the cast balancing on cheap chairs, and the Fear of Eye contact segment, where John Bateman attempted to stare me down. There's an overhead projection cueing us to the phobia about to appear on stage, which cheated us out of guessing the fear itself. At least they could have used the correct medical term, which would have challenged the audience.
The females on stage were the real dancers, and I wish I could sort them out well enough to discuss them individually but the program was a bit ambiguous. The three males were easier to sort out; I've seen all of them on stage around town. Dancing wasn't their strength, but they gave some balance to the cast, particularly for the Fear of Intimacy number. As the fears ran out, there was a quick wrap-up called "Helping Hands" which showed some interpersonal attempts to defuse the fears. That's all well and good, but if there's a monster under my bed, I don't want to meet it, no matter how friendly it might be.
“I thoroughly enjoyed this thematically conceived evening of dance and motion. John DiDonna's Empty Spaces Theater covers some very eclectic ground, but the thrust into dance is a pleasant surprise.: - Carl Gauze, Ink 19 Arkiculture