Extra Credit It's Dark Outside

"It's Dark Outside" is BYU Off the Map's presentation by Perth, Australia's traveling theatre company.  It is a marvelous show that mixes elements of media arts, puppetry, and physical acting in order to tell a story of an old man who's deteriorating mind leads him to have adventures in the woods.  The variety of different types of elements used in this production made it, for me, a masterpiece.  The show starts our with a feel of western adventure, communicated to the audience by the music and the western landscape projected onto the scrim.  An actor wore a headpiece of an old man and interacted with objects in his house that were moved by other performers dressed in black. Throughout the rest of the show, white cotton often "floats" away from his head, representing his thoughts and memories that are slipping away from him.  These cotton "fluffs" were manipulated by the performers to become animated characters and animals that interacted with this old man.  The theme of the western adventure was kept at shadow puppetry was used, showing a mysterious figure trying to catch the "wanted" old man.  This theme was also kept with a tent, manipulated by puppeteers to become a living tent companion for the old man, and he rode this tent like a horse throughout much of the production.  Projected animations were also used to show the old man's travels.  The delightful variety of ways in which the artists were able to tell this wonderful story was dazzling.  I was impressed especially by the 3-dimensional-looking shadow puppetry, which made the lights as if it were a camera.  It was also a lovely look at dementia and losing a loved one, presented in a way that kids could understand and adults could relate to.  This theme of love and loss was represented beautifully through the puppetry and objects used, and this piece was a moving story that the audiences of all ages could connect with.