I saw it: YOU should see it. Unfortunately, the run is over, but the beauty of the evening is suggested by this photo gallery from Brooke Vandever Photography. And much more detail about the performance itself and its back-story is recounted in Scott Easterday’s interesting “Seven stories of ‘SEE SAW'” review at the KCMETROPOLIS site.
What you’d have seen is a fine example of a kind of serious, yet playful interdisciplinary collaboration at which Kansas City’s currently burgeoning performing-arts community excels. The element of slowly-unfolding surprise was one of its finest features: the appearance of a flock of a half-dozen gorgeous baby-goats was most surprising to me. (And though they were mesmerizing, the humans were not upstaged!) Making your own kind of sense of how it moves you was one of See Saw‘s greatest pleasures.
And a garden of pleasures it was, albeit one where each of its personnel spent a majority of their time as frankly deadpan stage technicians, garbed in groundskeepers’ overalls and ostentatiously weary of their tasks: tending an island of bright green sod, sprouting a bumper crop of trophies; dressing and undressing set and performers alike, sometimes in the background and sometimes quite intrusively — all beneath the shadow of a giant eponymous see-saw that comes into play later on.
Our creative stage-managers were musician Mark Southerland and choreographer Jane Gotch, who blossomed into episodic performance throughout. Their stagehands did the same, with three numbers featuring the always remarkable Shay Estes in song, dancers Tuesday Faust and Shawn Hansen, and musicians Mike Stover and Matt Tady. In the background, visual artist (and sometime dancer) Peregrine Honig rounded out our creative crew.
The rest of the work, though our tasks were both pleasant and surprisingly rewarded, was done by the audience. What creates magic moments? How — and how swiftly! — are they undone? And here I have to say you had to be there to make your own sense of the See Saw experience. You’d have seen, smelled, heard and felt what I mean, though it’s hard to say what might have resonated most with you. If you attended, please feel to weight with with your own comments, below.
You’ll have another chance to join the flock and see some of the See Saw collaborators — and more —for yourself this spring (though I can’t guarantee the goats will be there). Mark, Jane and other musicians and designers wil create an even more elaborate installation/performance: make sure you hear about it by checking this pace. Or better yet, “friend” Jane Gotch on Facebook, and she’ll keep you in the loop. She’s one worth following!
An Installation-based performance by Mark Southerland and Jane Gotch
Friday-Monday, October 22-25 at La Esquina — www.charlottestreet.org
Kansas City Performs! 
Fabulous See Saw performance-shot gallery by Brooke Vandever Photography’s Photos now available on Facebook.