Monday, April 9, 2018

Day 275 Mummenchanz-Imaginative Swiss Theater Troup


My blog inspiration book, Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book recommends that we “use [our] imagination”.  Mummenchanz is an imaginative Swiss theater troupe  that really thinks outside of the box. I saw them once in the 1980’s and I was amazed with their ability to use ordinary objects in very extraordinary ways. It was a visual explosion of acrobatics, mime, imagery, puppets, lights, props and more.  I have waited three decades to see them again and I could not wait to experience their recent Pittsburgh show, You and Me.



Reflection

 Mummenchanz  has the ability to entertain and make you laugh as they push the limits of creativity. A towel attached to a mask was crinkled into varied facial expressions. A floor to ceiling  fabric balloon was pulled inward to smile, to frown and to come alive.  Rectangular  blocks formed two “beings” that interacted and belonged together.  It’s like using a common sock to make a puppet but Mummenchanz makes things come to life in such  inventive ways.      


The show had  vignettes of action that told mini stories. I particularly enjoyed how they used  long fabric and black-lights to mimic the ocean and added props for exotic creatures. Mime techniques of  rapid movements and pauses conveyed playfulness and even impatience in some of these creatures.  Violins with painted eyes were used as masks and produced audience  laughter as the violins interacted as a couple.


 The show is really “creativity on steroids” but it is not a “big production”.  The performance was a bit too intimate for the space of  the Byham theater in the absence of  music or sound effects but in any venue, Mummenchanz still  remains a unique imaginative experience!   
(watch  You and Me here).


Go toTrustarts.org  for other events sponsored by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Spiritual Reflection 
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8)