Mixed
Media Breaks Ground
by Scott Weaver
It
is no easy task to break through the rigidity of art, especially
in the confines of a gallery space. However, A Middle Ground, a
heartfelt mixed-media performance by Ry Russo-Young, breathes new
life into the dreary walls of Fisher Hall. This performance refuses
to depart from the realm of experience, and will leave you unexpectedly
writhing in your seat. Combining theatrical monologues, live music,
digital video and striking costumes, A Middle Ground twists the
well known story of Little Red Riding hood into a modern, autobiographically
based performance.
A Middle Ground makes a provocative comparison between fairy tales
and autobiography, which can both be retold and adapted in a variety
of different ways. In some ways, we are all fairy tale characters
Russo-Young says. We are all innocent and we all have to deal
with fear and desire. Anyones story could be told through
the vehicle of a fairy tale.
Russo-Young wrote the script last summer, and since then has been
researching the history of the Little Red Riding Hood tale, finally
pulling the performance together this semester. Existing in both
the past and the present, A Middle Ground addresses politics and
issues of identity on very personal levels. The allure of adapting
a fairy tale we all knew as children to unearth these issues comes
with many possibilities. Every fairy tale has been retold
and adapted overtime, Russo-Young explains. This version
places Little Red Riding Hood into a modern and personal context
which calls for a variety of media.
The performance is reliant on the interaction between these media.
Film and theater no longer seem to occupy distinct categories, and
even the lines between audience and performance are constantly blurred
and distorted. An original score composed by Clara Latham, provides
not only a beautiful continuity between the assortment of components
but attaches an interesting tension to the entire experience.
As newscaster Bertha Coombs says in one of the digital video segments,
The issues at hand are delicate and volatile. While
recontextualizing a fairy tale can often reveal certain cultural
ideologies, this is not used in A Middle Ground to pose a question
but rather as a point of mutual identification. While the performance
effectively establishes an expressive vocabulary riding between
documentation and myth, Russo-Youngs retelling of her personal
story is cathartic without being selfish. A Middle Ground is not
afraid to depart from the autobiography and move towards a more
general juxtaposition of identity against reality and fantasy.
The performance clearly comes from the heart and is so unapologetically
honest that any notions of A Middle Ground being cliche should be
quickly abandoned. This performance is raw and yet self-consciously
ironic; it is open-mic night and soap-opera at once.
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