Review: (In)Stablility written and performed by Paul Budraitis. Performance text structure by Paul Budraitis and Sean Ryan. Directed by Sean Ryan. Music by Ollie Glatzer. Lighting design by L.B. Morse. Now through February 7 at OTB. {Note: the show is “Wait List” only. Contact OTB to be placed on it}
Paul Budraitis wrote and stars in "(In)Stability" at On The Boards.
“Only Connect” – E.M. Forster
E.M. Forster’s epigraph to his masterpiece, Howards End specifically was relating to the class divides in Edwardian England but can also be applied to his overall humanistic view of the world in general. Seattle theater artist Paul Budraitis’s new solo piece, (In)Stability takes a similar approach to Forster’s worldview. People must connect with each other, or risk the consequences. Utilizing multi-layered methods of storytelling that incorporate specific sound effects, music, lighting and powerful images of iconography, Mr Budraitis weaves a tale of a cold world, the confused individuals that inhabit it, and their powerlessness in learning how to connect with one another. It’s a twisted tale, that’s frequently very funny, occasionally terrifying and not afraid to be confrontational with the audience and their perceptions of connectivity with a work and its performer. It didn’t always succeed for me, as a piece of theater, but I was never bored by Mr Budraitis’s vision or performance, and I have to admit, it did make me think about things I don’t necessarily like to think about…at times, I had to look away from the intensity of his performance. It was a fascinating and challenging piece of theater…and, frequently, a tough one to take in one sitting. There’s a lot to think about in this work. (You’ll also never walk or drive down Boren between Madison and Pike without thinking about this show.)
I’ve seen portions of this work previously, at the Solo Performance Festival nearly a year ago,but I didn’t remember seeing those pieces until I relived them in this performance. (That’s not to say the work is not memorable, but the fractured nature of performing an excerpt of a piece is hard to relate to the whole and in a new context.) Mr Budraitis is a well trained theater artist and both that training and innate talent are on display in (In)Stability, utilizing methods of physical movement, as well as vocal projection to bring to life the stories he tells. And, he tells a number of tales, from a terrifying physical attack on the streets of an Eastern European city, to a horrific molestation in the sanctity of a bedroom, to a recurring series of encounters with a mysterious young girl with floppy hair on the streets of Seattle that culminate in the final terrifying, but strangely soothing climax of the piece. These stories are interwoven with moments that resemble stand-up comedy, or frantic physical scenes as Mr Budraitis paces around the set, and even angst-y introspective musical moments that teeter on the edge of teen bathos. It doesn’t always work, (the song seemed a bit forced) and the focus wavers at times, and wanders into “Performance Art” cliche, (a heart in a box…really) and a painfully awkward interaction with a front row audience member at one point, but Mr Budraitis’ story telling skills and rapport with the audience are strong and mesmerizing.
Paul Budraitis studied and performed theater in Lithuania for many years and that European, and specifically, EASTERN European training, so firmly rooted in Russian theater theory and practice is apparent in not only his writing, performing and stagecraft but in his world view as espoused by this work. Money, mortgages, things, consumerism…they all stand in the way of achieving a sense of stability and a sense of connection with the rest of the people with which we share the world. Paul Budraitis seems to want us to confront those barriers and to decide for ourselves what we need to do to remove those barriers from the path we take in life. The difference between “Stability” and “Instability” can be a very fine line of measurement.
Or, maybe it’s as simple as “Only Connect”.
