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| CIF
2001 Supplement
Reviews Land of the Karaoking Improvisors Upright Citizen's Brigade's ASSSCAT Whose Chorus Line Is It Anyway?
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Shhhhhhh! Silent
Movie Review by Jeff Catanese Festival
Coordinator Jonathan Pitts chose not to present his own directorial
offering "Silent Movie" on the Festival’s main stage, or
even in the showcase at the Playground, but perhaps he should have.
In a simple formula that relies on mime and expressive skills,
"Silent Movie" showed to large extent the uses of those
specific talents toward making people laugh. It
is very easy to wonder what was so funny in the 1910’s when movies
burst on the scene sans dialogue, but in the studying of that style,
this show seems to discover what was funny then, and what still is
today. The heightened
facial expressions and big movements of the style were not an impediment
to the cast, but enabled them instead to turn small asides into extended
physical bits (or lazzi for those Commedia d’ell Arte aficionados).
The
envelope involved two vaudeville performers showcasing some of the fine
moving pictures “of the day.” The
two musical numbers they performed (scripted and rehearsed) were sharp,
appropriate and funny, with one of them drolly lamenting that great
president, Teddy Roosevelt. The
technical support for the films themselves was transporting.
It was easy to believe you were witnessing an art house
retrospective with all of the actors in black and white costume and
make-up, the piano serving up suitable accompaniment, and the lighting
being provided by an old projector, which could also be heard constantly
in the background. The
plots and characters of the films were equally fitting. The
performers had certainly done their homework and had a strong
understanding of slapstick humor, as well as the values and manners of
the 1920’s. Though the
small playing space provided a few moments of overcrowded scenes,
overall the performers respected the areas of focus and were easily able
to create subplots, and even to flesh out the most minor of characters. In
addition to giving Silent Movie a more prominent showcase at the improv
fest, Mr. Pitts should take it to film festivals as well.
It represents some great efforts, well spent.
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