Plenty added to the mix in production of ‘Earth’
The Vortex these days is less a theater and more a subterranean lair for its latest production, “Earth.” The theater’s repertory company, under the direction of Bonnie Cullum, is getting dirty, quite literally — the eight performers sing, move and recite in 17 tons of dirt.
The sensory experience, as with all Vortex Repertory Company productions, transports the viewer to another world. The smell of freshly upturned earth, the cool sensation on the skin from ground moisture, and the visual transformation of the space (a mound of dirt in which three women are half buried, encircled by rock-shelves and bare-branched trees hanging from the ceiling) make for a memorable experience. Anne Marie Gordon’s scenic design and Cullum’s conception of the production allow for audience members to choose whether they’d like to sit barefooted in the dirt or in traditional theater seating.
The action is a combination of recitation, movement, singing and playing music, all with a focus on preserving and worshipping Mother Nature.
The company members are strong singers — the most powerful sections of the one-act show are when they sing to the decisive beats of live drumming. In a segment titled “Warriors of the Earth,” lyrics by assistant director Sara Sutterfield Winn are sung in unison by the company; the audience is encouraged to sing along with the help of lyrics published in the program.
Much of the production is dedicated to recitations drawn from writings ranging from a third century BC tablet to poet Emily Dickinson, from 15th-century Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch to naturalist John Muir, and from Englishman Lewis Carroll to American philosopher Henry David Thoreau, among many more historical figures and writings, plus original writing by the cast.
While the cast is given character names in the program, these recitations do not contribute to character development — in fact, you’d hardly know there were characters if you didn’t take a gander at the program. The variety of spoken-word source material is too numerous to allow for coherent character development, or even a discernible plotline.
Segments of interpretive movement accompany the recitations, but these come off as cheesy more than anything else. Much of the movement seemed improvisational, especially when the company was moving simultaneously. There was a certain monotony to the movement as well as to the recorded music, especially in the middle section of the program; this portion was book-ended by more focus on live drumming and singing, which had a more memorable impact upon this viewer.
The last line of “Earth” — “There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground”— certainly summarizes the variety of source material and mediums involved in this homage to our planet, and emphasizes the celebratory nature of the work.