For more information, read Physical Theater Festival Chicago 2019 – Preview.
As if on cue, a seriously disabled child in the audience seemed to moan in pain. Later we would wonder if he had the stuff of genius portrayed in this story.
It was an appropriate soundscape for the wordless re-enactment of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking’s life—the contrast between his brilliant mind with no limits and the prison of Lou Gehrig’s disease that we watched step by step take away his physical agency.
One of the five performers was Stephen Hawking, sprawling on the stage, fighting the palsy paralysis of his hands, and giving flirting smiles to the women in his midst. Intermittently, the other four dancers were these cameo roles in his life—nurses, academic colleagues, adoring audiences at lectures. More though, their balancing acts created graceful kaleidoscope like forms that we were to feel were the subatomic particles of Hawking’s theories and discoveries.
Physical Theater Festival Chicago Hosts Diverse Storytellers
In this writer’s view, the more you knew about Hawking –his life and scientific views- the more you could follow along in this wordless story. And, the more you know about subatomic particles the more you might be thinking – OH, these are entangled particles, OH, that’s a black hole, etc. If you come in cold without any foreknowledge expect to be lost. Unlike the Out of Balanz opener of this year’s festival, this was a wordless presentation, though aiming to be equivalent storytellers.
Aura CuriAtlas Physical Theatre are local Chicago talents and teach circus arts, dance, theater including a Summer Training Intensive that they are promoting at the festival.
For more information visit the Aura CuriAtlas Physical Theatre website.
For more information on the Physical Theater Festival Chicago read “Physical Theater Festival Chicago 2019 – Preview”.
Photos courtesy of Aura CuriAtlas Physical Theatre
About the Author: Amy Munice
Amy Munice is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Picture This Post. She covers books, dance, film, theater, music, museums and travel. Prior to founding Picture This Post, Amy was a freelance writer and global PR specialist for decades—writing and ghostwriting thousands of articles and promotional communications on a wide range of technical and not-so-technical topics.
