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SMALL THEATER COMPANIES, BIG AMBITIONS; FIVE PRODUCTIONS THAT MAKE A GOOD ARGUMENT FOR WHY SMALLER IS BETTER
It's Sunday night, it's getting late, the headlines are grim, and your schedule for the coming week is hectic. You could use a laugh. You can find it at ImprovBoston, now that SouthCity is in the midst of a return stint of "Mosaic," a frenetic medley of political commentary, social satire, and personal memoir . . . Guests are encouraged to bring a "written donation." Your scraps may end up as contributions to the liberal patchwork of paper that takes shape as the actors -- with the help of some unsuspecting audience members -- cruise through 15 shorts . . . Developed by SouthCity performers, the skits are spiked with the players' insights, putting a personal touch on global concerns. "It's a show about the world we look at, and everything is filtered through who we are as performers," explains [performer] Mike Manship. "It's an asset to let the audience see through to who you are. If I didn't have the hope that people would connect to what we're doing, I wouldn't do it." - The Boston Globe
For you deep thinkers, MOSAIC may provide the missing link between the collage-making Dadaists of old and today's cyberbabies -- between good-old-fashioned artistic inspiration and interactive entertainment, found art and the propoganda of corporate-owned media. For you surface-scratchers, the SouthCity Theater Ensemble's latest production will just be bunches of fun. A collection of scrap materials forms the show's literal and figurative backdrop: it takes place in front of an assemblage of the newspapers, flyers, poems, and other items that informed the original stage pieces. Of course, it also takes place in front of an audience that's equally integral to the performance . . . - Stuff @ Night
If you associate theater with propriety and rhyming couplets, be prepared to have that impression blown to bits by the SouthCity Theatre Ensemble. . . The young, rapidly growing troupe has created a late-night variety show that embodies the fast-paced laughs of 'Saturday Night Live' and the satirical zing of 'The Daily Show,' and has leavened it with a casual funkiness. - The Boston Globe
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" . . . material that embodies the fast-paced laughs of 'Saturday Night Live' and the satirical zing of 'The Daily Show'" (The Boston Globe, 2004).
Between sketch comedy and performance art, improvisation and stand-up acts, musical theater and abstract "theatre" lies MOSAIC: our unconventional take on 18 different social, personal and political happenings of today. Be it song, sketch, parody, puppet show, guessing game: every week, we find freshly creative ways to redefine comedy and shed light on our lives and yours. We can't tell you exactly what combination of originality you'll see any given week, but we can promise this: the show is updated regularly, so even after you love it once, you can come back and love it again.
In the footsteps of modern hits like 'The Daily Show' and 'The Colbert Report,' the humor is not just funny, but edgy; there's a deep underlying satire of the modern day in the show. Audience members often leave the performance not only laughing, but compelled to reconsider the issues around them.
MOSAIC is also highly interactive. Performers interact briefly with audience members between pieces in a variety of ways, often even bringing audience members on stage to participate in pieces.
The standard full show is performed in front of a metal frame on which 18 tiles are arranged, with each tile representing one sketch, song, etc. about some aspect of modern life (see Set List, below). However, the show is easily adaptable and can be performed with very little tech (without the canvas, if necessary). It can be lengthened or sortened from the standard hour, and the pieces are interchangeable, allowing for a customizable show.
MOSAIC completed a successful run at ImprovBoston in May 2006 and was subsequently invited to perform at the Lowell Comedy Festival, then ImprovBoston's "Goonfest" comedy festival, and finally at Boston Playwrights' Theatre this October. The show has received several enthusiastic standing ovations from audiences during these runs and was selected by The Boston Globe as one of "Five Productions That Make a Good Argument for Why Smaller is Better."
It has proved especially popular with younger audiences (18 - 30) anf those of a moderate to liberal persuasion. Recently, it caught the eye of the blog and vlog world, as the show was featured on The Eye (http://www.johnherman.org/theeye) for the week of October 23 - October 29). The Eye is nominated for a Best Documentary "vloggie."
MOSAIC currently enjoys an open run at ImprovBoston's new theater at 7:00 pm every Saturday night.
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