The childhood game of Telephone is the inspiration for the theatrical performance film IN ONE EAR. The set up is one line of poetry which was sent to the first artist who created a piece of work. After two weeks, the draft was sent to another artist who had two weeks to complete their project. Down the line in two week increments. Four artists viewing a draft of a piece immediately in front of theirs. The result, in this case, is dreamy.
Gwendolyn Bennett, a prominent but not widely known poet from the Harlem Renaissance, supplies the opening gambit. In the 1920’s she wrote “For silence is a sounding thing / To one who listens hungrily.”
Christina Liang considered Ms. Bennett’ century old prose to create Hairy Black Hole. She is both the writer and star of this work. At the beginning the song lyrics are familiar: “Going to the chapel and we’re gonna get married.” This bride, all dressed in white, is not quite elated. The silence is deafening. She’s sporting the bling but her mind is screaming. “Look at me. I’ve trapped a man.” The dagger line follows: “I’m worthy.”
Getting married is very rough terrain for this young lady. She visits the toilet and gets sick. Is it wedding day jitters or something more? She shrugs it off but remains embarrassed. “I look like a giant puking cream puff.” Ms. Liang is at the alter but unconvinced about her future. Introspection is front and center as she considers “what if I am not good enough” for this “act of self sabotage.”
Multidisciplinary artist C. Bain took that inspiration and created All Men Are Clowns. In this film, he is running. The tux he is wearing is open and clearly a binding trap to be escaped from. While Ms. Liang’s wedding vision examined (and was angered by) childhood princess dreams, Mr. Bain’s thoughts are more surreal. Through the fantastic his mind will share his own struggles. And dreams. The newspaper and knots imagery becomes a metaphor for exposing one’s truth.
Ashley Grombol’s Ricki Martin came next. This delightful stop motion short was my favorite of the four vivid pieces. On the one hand, the two individuals here share a tight bond. Their ability to celebrate joy together is evidenced by a collaborative relationship. Ms. Grombol takes the Telephone journey into a lighter realm. We see the clouds and know magisterial beauty is attainable.
What elevates – and complicates – this work is a deftly executed aside regarding our throw away culture. Here is an artist emphasizing the use of everyday discarded items as treasures. They provide joy to the two main characters in this story (cookies!) with whimsy and cuteness. The dreams in this work are also fantastical. They are hopeful as well and a nice contrast to the two previous artist’s torments.
Naeemah Maddox, a singer-songwriter, created the fourth and final piece. I Had a Dream is a lament for escape. She sings about getting into a ship and flying away. “The weight is heavy on my mind,” she says, “when you feel you can’t move forward and you can’t rewind.” The song and the performance bring a nice coda to this creative exercise.
At one point Ms. Maddox mentions that she was “born into a world of cosmic pearls.” That little detail binds all of these artist’s worldviews. The wannabe bride marrying her Prince Charming. The suffocating groom. And the non-descript yet joyful couple exalting at the glory of their beautiful wedding cake. How we read the pearls is how we approach life. For each of us, these messages go in one ear and out the other. Inside our heads the imprints are distinct, vital and often haunting. How great would it be to magically turn hard, unyielding truths into a delicious cookie?
IN ONE EAR was filmed at the West Side Theater. These four short films are being streamed for free on the Hunger and Thirst Theater website through March 21, 2021. Take the time afterword to listen to the artist’s mid-creation thoughts.