Stage Review - Animals Out of Paper (ReAct/Pratidhwani)
Stage Review - Animals Out of Paper
Presented By: ReAct / Pratidhwani - Seattle, WA
Show Run: April 19 - May 19, 2024
Date Reviewed: Sunday, April 28, 2024
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
Metaphor. Defined as a figure of speech that makes a non-literal comparison between two unlike things, or a thing regarded as something representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract. Theatre is filled with metaphors, in fact it’s one of the favorite tools used by playwrights, and even directors when designing and presenting a show. Many theatrical metaphors utilize something physical to represent an aspect of life, it could be love, loss, or practically anything else. In the case of Animals Out of Paper, the 2009 play by Rajiv Joseph running on stage at 12th Avenue Arts in a co-production between ReAct Theatre and Pratidhwani, the metaphor in play uses origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, to represent both the control that one exerts over a life as the paper is folded into a particular shape, and the loss of that same control upon its unfolding. In this case, life unfolds like the deconstruction of an animal made out of paper. The ReAct production, under the direction of Julie Beckman, runs on stage through May 19, and is being presented in tandem with its companion piece/sequel Letters of Suresh, also on stage at 12th Avenue Arts.
Animals Out of Paper focuses on Ilana, an expert and professional origamist who is undertaking a project to help develop a foldable heart mesh, something that can be inserted into a body and unfold to help protect the heart. She’s got photos and diagrams of hearts strewn about her windowless studio to help her understand what she needs to build her design. In the meantime, it’s Ilana’s heart that is in the most need of help. Having gone through a divorce and wallowing in the added lonliness resulting from her aging dog running away, Ilana has become a veritable recluse. That is, until her studio bell rings and an unknown voice comes across her speaker asking to be let in. The random individual is Andy, a high school calculus teacher and one of Ilana’s biggest fans, who tells Ilana that he’s there to collect her dues for the origami society that he is also the treasurer for. The reason for his visit is a bit of a ruse, as what he really wants is to have one of his students come under the tutelage of Ilana, to have her help this student, Suresh, grow his ability in folding. Suresh is a genius, with so much raw intellect that things come easy for him, he just needs to be reined in a bit. He also needs to be brought down a peg or two, as his intelligence comes with a certain amount of disrespect for authority and strangers, notably Ilana. There is a reason for his behavior that becomes clear as the story, yes, unfolds. But that’s not all that happens. This meeting between Ilana and Andy kicks off a series of events that will test all three of the characters in the show in ways they can’t possibly imagine. Andy and Ilana find the love they desperately need, Suresh finds the mentor that will help him grow, but like a piece of origami, as their relationships unfold, the control that each of them had on their lives goes by the way.
Director Julie Beckman is using two casts for this production, an orange cast and a purple cast. The downside for me, at least, is that I can only review one of the casts, in this case the orange group. The upside is that more actors get a chance to play these characters, and that audiences can see the show more than once and have a completely different theatrical experience each time. For this orange cast, Ilana is played by Duygu Erdogan Monson. Ilana seems to me to be the most challenging character in this play, she’s surely the most complex. Coming into the story with what some would call “baggage”, she has holed herself in her studio and is at an impasse in her project. But when she meets Andy, played here by Daniel Christensen, Ilana begins to open her heart and transforms into someone who, for the first time in a long while, begins to have hope. Duygu plays this role very well. Her clear annoyance upon meeting Andy, who is overly enthusiastic about meeting his idol, is excellently portrayed. She brings a humor to this annoyance that speaks to the humanity of the portrayal. The best part about Duygu’s performance, though, is the layering that she depicts. There’s an underlying sadness that exists even among her happiest moments. It’s a very strong performance, as is Daniel’s Andy. Andy’s best quality is his good heart and positive attitude. Perhaps what sums up Andy’s personality the best is the way in which he counts his blessings, literally. He carries a book with him in which he writes down each blessing in his life. In one key scene early in their relationship, Ilana asks Andy why there are painful things in his journal and yet he claims that he’s never been hurt. Even these are blessings to him, the eternal optimist. Daniel’s performance provides a good deal of humor in the way he plays this, yet he never crosses over into annoying, which makes the audience understand why Ilana would be intrigued by him. His portrayal is not all about the laughs, though, there are some tender moments, and some heated ones, each handled nicely by Daniel. He’s a character you want to root for.
Rounding out the cast is young Suresh, the hip-hop artist genius who can perform origami simply by visualizing how to do the folding of the paper. Suresh is played by Akul Sood in the orange cast. This is Akul’s first role on stage, and it’s clear that while there is talent there, some experience is required for him to build enough confidence to get out on stage and provide the emotional depth that this character requires. His performance during the Sunday matinee skewed a bit flat, without the feeling that makes Suresh the complicated character that he is. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad performance, and with experience, Akul’s talent will be fully realized. It’s just not there yet.
From a design perspective, there’s a lot to like here. The set, designed by Brandon David Riel, carries the origami theme as well. It’s creatively done, all white, itself resembling paper that has yet to be written on, the story doing the writing. There are two primary locations in Animals Out of Paper, Ilana’s studio, and a hotel room in Nagasaki, Japan. The hotel room is creatively done, no spoilers, but there is some unfolding that takes place there as well. Rob Falk’s lighting work accentuates that starkness that is the paper white set, and the sound design from Rob Witmer and Sandra Huezo Menjivar is generally simple, but effective. Sound is one of those things that doesn’t get a lot of attention when it works, as it does here, but the minute it doesn’t, that’s when it is noticed. In this play, the buzzers work when they’re supposed to, and the voices come in when they’re supposed to. It just works. Finally, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the actual origami that fills the stage at 12 Avenue Arts for Animals Out of Paper. Yes, there are lot of animals made out of paper, and they’re all wonderful. From designs by Nguyen Hung Cuong and Park Yong Woo, the majority of the folding was done by Kevin Lloyd, with additional support from Kevin Kissinger. The work is stunning.
Animals Out of Paper is the first of a pair of plays written by Rajiv Joseph running simultaneously on stage at 12th Avenue Arts, co-produced by ReAct Theatre and Pratidhwani. Directed by Julie Beckman, it uses origami as a metaphor for life, showing what can happen when we let go of the control we have over our lives and let events unfold, and how the experiences that transpire may just teach us a thing or two about each other, and ourselves. It’s well constructed, and nicely presented, and definitely something that is worth taking the time to let unfold in front of you.
Animals Out of Paper, a co-production presented by ReAct Theatre and Pratidhwani runs on stage at 12th Avenue Arts in Seattle through May 19. For more information about the show, visit https://www.reacttheatre.org/ or https://www.pratidhwani.org/.
