A few recommendations for viewing the Riverside Ensemble's latest "theatrical poem," "In Between."
1) Forget the character names listed in the program - they won't help greatly. Indeed, Joe Pesce's protagonist - or at least the focus of the flurry of stage activity about to erupt before you - is called "Nameless One."
Other players recognizable to those in-the-know about Albuquerque theater are Byron Laurie, Kerry Morrigan, Marya Errin Jones and Julie Etheridge, here in the roles of Fire, Air, Earth and Water, respectively. Fire doesn't act particularly fiery, air ain't too airy, et cetera. Never mind the names.
2) Expect the unexpected. From scene one - details of which will not be revealed here - this ensemble keeps the audience on its toes, dividing stage time between an abstruse netherworld and one of everyday contemporary life seamlessly.
Perhaps more so than they ever have, the Riversiders use "In Between" to incorporate innumerable stage sub-genres, marrying standard drama to wordless movement forms, modern dance choreography to slapstick humor and blank verse to Marvin Gaye music. Get ready for a whirlwind of energy.
3) Pitch out any hope of literal explanation. Indeed, the Air character speaks purely in a nonsensical tongue and her meaning must be divined in ways more ... abstract. Yet, without the benefit of Websterian English, the setting and central conflict of "In Between" is made clear to all audience members within minutes of the play's introduction.
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4) Wait. The connections between apparently disparate events and the maddening mystery of just what the hell "Air" and "Fire" are endlessly arguing about in their babblespeak all come to life with a sledgehammer blow at the conclusion.
For a troupe that doesn't work with the confines of a traditional script, this production by director and ensemble member Kristen Loree sports one of the tightest new scripts seen in our city for months.
So, one question remains.
If the characters aren't really saying what we hear, if their actions aren't meant to be taken literally and if the main characters have names that only deceive - well, what is "In Between," anyway?
Again, the tantalizing program merely teases. "...We distill and boil down to the essence/ the ingredients have been collected over a period of years/ and finally mixed/ as if for the first time/ here today," read the "direction notes" within. Okay...
What it is, performance-lovers, is quite simply pure theater, lovingly made by a true bunch of professionals. To find any fault in "In Between" would be pointless and most likely fruitless. These players are the real deal, folks.
One final tip for would-be investigators of "In Between."
5) Enjoy!
