Who took in Radix Theatre’s Assembly, part of this year’s PuSh Festival.

Ashleigh: If you are looking for motivational seminars in Vancouver, a quick internet search shows [...]]]> Your Plank Panel seeking motivation:

Ashleigh Dalton who likes to assemble puzzles, IKEA furniture and food such as lasagna
Rachel Scott who likes to assemble complex relationships, yoga sequences and logic traps

Who took in Radix Theatre’s Assembly, part of this year’s PuSh Festival.

Ashleigh: If you are looking for motivational seminars in Vancouver, a quick internet search shows as many as four occurring in this city on any given day. Assembly, presented by Radix Theatre as part of the PuSh Festival, began as most other motivational seminars, with the arriving participants (audience members) greeted, provided with nametags and shown to a hotel conference room, but became so much more. I don’t think any of us knew what quirky introspective fun we were in for. There was a hum in the conference room before the seminar started as people chattered over electronic-samba-meets-elevator-muzak background music, readjusted their nametags and waited for the expert-panel to take their stools at the front of the room.

Rachel: The concept was really fun. Since you mentioned the music, let me highlight that the sound design, by Stefan Smulovitz, was fantastic. Some moments were absolutely hilarious: the “electronic-samba” sound that you noted, or the over the top groovy yoga music that suddenly came on during an “audience introspection” moment. As the show evolved, the sound design became more subtle and evocative, which also helped our experience to evolve. The other technical elements of the production – Sean Lang’s video and photography, Itai Erdal’s lighting design – were similarly important in helping the audience feel where they were in terms of mood. During the piece, we did travel through several disparate and lovely worlds. The technical elements helped me stay oriented.

Ashleigh: Assembly is presented as an artistic exploration of “themes of wholeness and fragmentation, gathered around contemporary notions of body, mind and soul.” These notions were explored in varied and often bizarre ways that drew heavily on audience participation and engagement. I look at Assembly as having three segments: the self-improvement seminar, the surreal scene in the other room, and the actors’ monologues. Perhaps these three segments can be associated with the mind, body and soul, respectively.

Rachel: I hadn’t thought of it that way, but that’s a lovely way to describe it. It also could be seen as a classic birth, death and rebirth story. In the first phase, we are greeted with an identity. In the second phase, we enter the (tunnel, womb, birth canal – insert metaphor here), then we are re-birthed again as these new beings. But instead of evolving, the layers fell away. To be cute, they dis-assembled. The speakers let down their masks. We started with these charismatic, but ridiculous, motivational speakers and wound up connecting to some very personal stories. What was also interesting was that there was still a thru-line: there were still pieces of the motivational speakers in the final “human” monologues. But instead of presenting us with anecdotes of “we have the answer, you do not,” there was a feeling of connection and intimacy.

Ashleigh: I found the connection between performer and audience started right off the bat, when the actors asked everyone in the audience to think of, and call out, their deepest desires. A willing audience played along and revealed what they really wanted: more money, a woman to love, a cupcake. I was sold on the show the moment that the actors started incorporating random audience members into the seminar, calling them by name.

Rachel: That was so much fun. They really did put a lot of responsibility into the audience’s hands. There was a blurring of performance and reality, which I suppose there is in any motivational seminar! It felt as if anything could happen. I was made really aware of the “rules” I imposed upon myself to stay in my seat. The space seemed able to accommodate a lot of improvisation and misbehaviour. What did you think of the performances?

Ashleigh: I enjoyed all four actors, as they created the perfect characters – slightly clichéd and very much over-the-top – for a motivational talk. Emelia Symington Fedy particularly shone for me, with her contrast of tough chick attitude and her astonishing openness and vulnerability.

Rachel: I thought they all did a fantastic job. Not only did they strike this perfect comedic balance between absurd and real in the first section, but they were incredibly accessible in the final section. I think one of my favourite moments was Katy Harris-McLeod’s interpretive dance.

Ashleigh: My favourite moment of Assembly was when the four actors took turns saying what they hate about each other, and then what they love. Fit in amongst the parodies and fragmented stories, their words had a touching honesty that made the segment both funny and poignant. Real feelings and desires seemed to be revealed.

Rachel: Yes, the writing had the capacity to be both absurd and moving. Assembly was developed in four stages over the last three years. Under the stellar direction of Paul Ternes, I believe that the text was collectively developed by the performers themselves. There were only a couple moments that didn’t work for me. When our version of Tony Robbins, Andrew Laurenson, first says, “this is bullshit,” I didn’t really buy the switch. I think that was a hard corner to turn. And then there was the musical number, which didn’t have as much punch as it probably needed. But these are very minor glitches in an otherwise compelling and imaginative journey. Everyone should go see this. It rocked my socks off.

Assembly, Granville Island Hotel, Conference Room; Produced by Radix Theatre Society; Performers: Katy Harris-McLeod, Andrew Laurenson, Billy Marchesnski and Emilia Symington Fedy; Direction: Paul Ternes; Scenography & Graphic Design: Andreas Kahre; Sound Design: Stefan Smulovitz; Video Design: Sean Lang; Costume Design: Robyn Volk; Lighting Design: Itai Erdal. For more information assemble yourself here, you’ll be glad you did.