Thick House (San Francisco, CA)
Adapted from a Sufi fable called "When the Waters Were Changed." Khidr, the Teacher of Moses, tells all that water not specially hoarded would be vanish from the Earth and be replaced with a water that would drive men mad. Ecstacy | a waterfable is the story of the one man who took Khidr's advice.
Event summary prepared by the Goldstar Editorial Team.
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The last date listed for Ecstacy | a waterfable was Sunday August 16, 2009 / 5:00pm. (view all dates)
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Golden Thread Productions presents ReOrient 2009 - The First Ten Years. The annual festival of short plays exploring the modern Middle East celebrates its tenth anniversary with two separate programs and nine total plays. Comedies and dramas feature topics including love, international relations and the clash between the Middle East's modern culture and its ancient traditions. See below for a full schedule. Learn More
It is NOT your usual affair and for many perhaps too far out there; but to those with a yearning for meditative-connection while in-dwelling with life, this could be pure ECSTACY - just let go of all you can and float down the river with them.
It was fantastic and I shall return again and again - it's more ritual than theater.
I gave these tickets to my friend and was told that this is experimental theatre with no linear storyline. It was interesting but might not be catered to some people's taste.
I loved this, but not everyone will. If you like linear, plot driven narratives, you'll be scratching your head. However, if you enjoy performances that don't have a central point, but showcase a range of experiences and interesting characters (loved the feisty, foul-mouthed grandmother!!), then this is your cup of tea.
Created by a group of artists with varying Middle Eastern heritages, Ecstasy uses songs, dance, music (one guy plays 6 different instruments and sings beautifully), and drawings to bring to life an ancient one paragraph Sufi fable. The piece provides total immersion in a world of sounds, textures, and borrowed tales that represent (as the Turkish born/raised director states in the program notes) "...the only play...that truthfully and artistically speaks to my own experience of where I am from."
75 minutes, no intermission; you can't get a bad seat in this small theatre, but everyone is escorted in at once, so be prepared to wait in the lobby until close to curtain time and don't be late; although it's a 'fable', I don't recommend it for children.
I really wanted to like this. The ensemble is engaging and earnest. The production values are strong, especially Jarrod Fischer's lighting. In the end, I really have no idea what this was about. The pacing was flat. There was no tension or dramatic conflict. I didn't understand the relationship between the characters. For me, it wasn't drama or a fable, and definitely not ecstasy. The characters did talk about water, though.
This was more thoughtful fare than I usually indulge in...plebian that I am...and there were parts of it that I enjoyed and parts that left me shaking my head over and wondering just what was going on. The music and mystical dancing were very enjoyable, however; definately go with someone as this is the sort of performance piece that you will probably want to discuss with someone to help each other fill in the blanks!
Upon entering the small theatre, I entered the mood of the event through the music and chanting. Beyond that, the story was somewhat confusing and repetitive. I loved the chanting and the work of the man with multiple instruments, and would have preferred an hour of that even though it would have been more a meditation. We were given a summary of the Sufi fable as we left the theatre upon conclusion.
Thick House is a wonderful, intimate venue. Very suited to this production. My date and I enjoyed the performance. From other reviews, I wasn't prepared for the strong narrative voice. I was prepared to let the voices wash over me and the chorus ensemble and music was captivating. I would and have recommended this production to others.
I liked the fable part. But, the story was ruined with all the modern additions and foul language that didn't go with the story at all.
Interesting concept. Decent performances by a small cast. Experimental, non-linear piece of disparate vignettes. I wouldn't call it a must-see, but I usually like to get out and see what the city's smaller theaters are up to.
Intriguing, creative, well-acted play. I recommend reading all the info on this website about the play, the Sufi fable it takes off from. It seemed very obscure at times, but was captivating and a great evening. See it w/ friends and go out and discuss it afterwards. Excellent theater.
Ethereal and strangely enjoyable~
Creative staging, fine acting, and presented to keep you intrigued and, at times, mesmerized. Don't miss this one !!
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Thick House is an intimate theater located on San Francisco's Potrero Hill.
Website: http://www.goldenthread.org/
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Golden Thread Productions is proud to present the world premiere of ECSTASY | a waterfable, a new play commissioned to Bay Area theatre artist Denmo Ibrahim and directed by Evren Odcikin. In ECSTASY, stories are written in water, spells are cast through washing, and to drink either creates your life or rips it from you. In this dangerous water world, three uniquely lost characters struggle to remember and pray to forget. A man devotes his life’s work to a tragically simple task. A young woman is haunted by past images not her own. And an elder, submerged in a flood of old pictures, fights to remember a story that slowly seduces her into it. Inspired by 9th century Sufi fable, "When the Waters Were Changed" and created through a year-long development process with the Water Project ensemble with the generous support of the prestigious New Works Fund Grant, Zellerbach, and Wallace Gerbode Foundation, ECSTASY | a waterfable is visceral, physical storytelling at its best.
The ancient Sufi story "When the Waters Were Changed", the inspiration for ECSTASY, recounts a time when Khidr, the teacher of Moses, warned that all water that had not been specially hoarded would disappear. It would be renewed with different water, which would drive men mad. On the appointed date, the world dried up. There was a period of waiting. And when the waters came again, only one man heeded the call, only one remembered the warning. In ECSTASY, the essence of his struggle bleeds through three times of existence –the ancient, the mythic, and the modern.
Weaving elements of text, live music, and ensemble imagery, ECSTASY culminates in an interactive ritual of remembering and forgetting. In an attempt to address omens – personal, communal, and global – this visually stunning, non-linear waterfable unravels through an intensely collaborative, highly stylized performance where three divided worlds discover they are bound irrevocably through lineage.</p>
Golden Thread Productions is dedicated to theatre that explores Middle Eastern cultures and identities as represented throughout the globe. Their mission is to build an organization that consistently produces the highest quality theatre about Middle Eastern culture and to establish a dynamic artistic community and an expanding audience. And to make the Middle East a regular part of the American Theatre Experience and make theatre a regular part of the Middle Eastern community's cultural experience.
