Theater for the end times. Uncumber Theatrics believes in activating audiences. Audiences are our co-conspirators.
26/03/2024
"Equally beautiful and bizarre ... a reminder of what the medium of live theatre is capable of." -- 'Burgh Vivant
Gus and Yaga’s—A Review of Ask Baba Yaga
By: Joseph Szalinski
Bloomfield’s not the place I typically go to consult wise, Eastern-European beings that exist beyond time. That’s usually up in Polish Hill. But everyone’s favorite Slavic sage, Baba Yaga, is hosting a Q&A in Pittsburgh’s Little Italy. Held at the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination, Ask Baba Yaga is an adaptation-of-sorts of the 2017 book by Taisia Kitaiskaia (with permission from the author) from Uncumber Theatrics.
Billed as a “staged reading (among other things),” this production boasts plenty of puppetry, masterminded by Emily Schubert, Ayne Terceira, and Frank McDade, with the titular old-world oracle being the most notable technical marvel. Equally beautiful and bizarre, the odd detail in its design would even beg Diogenes to behold. Operated by a revolving assembly of puppeteers/readers (D.T. Burns, Nicole Gallagher, Courtney Jenkins, Abigail Lis-Perlis, Liz Roberts, Emily Schubert, Ayne Terceira), and voiced by Lori Howsare, the imposing creature looms ominously while she doles out advice to the curious crew/cast as they bang on typewriters and make their inquiries. There are also skeleton puppets that complement Baba Yaga’s responses with their own movements and mannerisms, manipulated by a variety of puppeteers as well. In addition to the puppets, human performers take the stage in shifts, typically accompanied by a prop and/or a particular physicality as they cross in front of the audience.
This production occasionally becomes immersive every so often, following a “change of the season,” when the floor is open to anyone daring enough to ask a question. Every audience is different, and one can expect things from the profound to the profane and everything in between. People desperate for truth will readily volunteer; sillier folk will be goaded by an awkward silence. Either way, Baba Yaga responds with a pre-written response that is then selected and read at random, forcing those there to justify the response or reject it.
The Irma Freeman Center for Imagination is a wonderful venue for the arts. Not only is it already near some cultural staples, but it’s also part of a community that cherishes creativity. The pairing of an art gallery with a stage fosters an environment that is conducive to innovative thought and expression. Theatre can only benefit by the embracing of unconventional spaces and unconventional projects.
Uncumber Theatrics is a bold, cutting-edge theatre company that puts on unique and mesmerizing productions. While a show like this is atypical in that it eschews narrative and the like, it is a reminder of what the medium of live theatre is capable of. By indulging the audience’s questions, an experience beyond mere entertainment is shared.
Ask Baba Yaga continues its run at the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination in Bloomfield March 28-30
