{Creators: Genevra Gallo and Connor Kalista
At: NeoFuturarium, 5153 N. Ashland
Phone: (773) 275-5255; $12
Runs through: June 28}
Who knows if I'll receive a blaring horn, signaling the wrong answer, or the ding of a merciful bell, indicating a right answer, as I write my own interpretation of the NeoFuturists' latest journey into the absurd, inspired by the phenomenon of the game show and our fascination with them.
My first challenge is to try and describe Game/Place/Show. If I do an adequate job of it, I hope I'll win something, like an iron (Mary Proctor, preferably). Game/Place/ Show is an evening of interactive entertainment (if you prefer your theater-going experience to be on the passive side, this is not the show for you … you will get roped into participating, whether you like it or not). By taking the audience through several game-show inspired experiences, you may draw your own conclusions about the commentary the clever NeoFuturists are making on game shows. From being herded into the NeoFuturarium 'kitchen' and playing a game similar to Simon Says with one of the evening's numerous 'hosts,' to being split into smaller groups and participating in games like 'Why Shouldn't I Fire You?' to finally ending up in the venue's theater to watch a version of a game show that might have been penned by Samuel Beckett, you're in surreal territory. The climax of the evening features all the trappings of popular same shows, including a smarmy, self-absorbed host (an on-target caricature by Jay Torrence), vapid, smiling models (Emily Albright and Dana Cruz), and two teams chosen from the audience to compete against one another for a mysterious grand prize (the conceit here is that the 'audience' contestants are obvious plants, much to the relief of us non-thespian folk). The final portion of Game/Place/Show is the one that really works, because it effectively lampoons game show culture. In spite of its absurdist trappings (the questions the contestants must answer are queries about their sex lives, humiliating experiences, and more that have no right or wrong answers, although an offstage judge determines whether they are or not), this portion of the show catches us up in the mentality of the contest. Even though the people are plants, the questions are lunatic, and the banter is stilted and stylized, we still can't help but be drawn into what will happen next to the contestants, the folks who are stand-ins for ourselves. At least I think that's the premise. The fact that the show just peters out, with no end (the game show simply continues while the audience walks out) also says something about the infinite interest we draw in our fellow man's triumphs and humiliations. Is that right? Do I win a prize?
Should you see Game/Place/Show? If you don't mind being herded through the hoops of game show land like so much cattle (and this part is accurate … I've been to a taping of The Price is Right), if you liked being called upon in class, and if you have an appreciation for whacked-out pop culture, then yes. The NeoFuturists may not always succeed in getting their subtext across (and with this effort, that subtext is paradoxically elusive and overly underlined), but I credit them for always having an original idea, couched in a brand new way of saying it. Although I think Game/Show/Place's appeal would be more for a younger crowd (high school and college age), it's a good try, worthy of a nice consolation prize.
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