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Silent film. Vaudeville. Dance. Mime. Tom & Jerry cartoons. What do these seemingly divergent worlds have in common? Each informs and inspires the unique theatrical artistry of the Chicago's Silent Theatre Company.
Artistic Director Tonika Todorova founded the company in 2005 for the sake of remounting a single show, Lulu - a black and white theatrical piece inspired by a 1929 silent film, Pandora's Box. When the show closed after its Chicago success and a bicoastal tour, the company decided to keep going, experimenting in the silent style that began it. On stage as in life, Todorova admits, "There's a sort of taboo of being nonverbal. But, that friend you have that doesn't say much? When he opens his mouth you know you have to listen."
Harnessing this energy, the group starts from a place of silence, of physical storytelling that Todorova describes as "visceral more than cerebral." If the story demands, actors will use spoken dialogue, and other tricks like the title cards in Lulu or a recorded narrator in the current Carnival Nocturne at the DCA Storefront Theatre help fill in any narrative gaps. For the most part, however, performers communicate solely through the power of their physical gestures and nonverbal acting. "The rehearsal process is more like dance than theatre," Todorova explains. "The actors are their own playwrights, and they write in actions."
If this occasionally causes some ambiguity, Todorova is not overly concerned. While always striving for clarity and precision in their physical expression (she compares a sloppy gesture to mumbling onstage), Todorova insists, "Not all questions need to be answered." In a theatrical world, she adds, "You don't need to know why the rules are followed, you just need to know those are the rules."
The result of this experimenting and this physical storytelling is the creation of theatrical pieces that invite new audiences to the theater. "People growing up with [the hyperactivity of] internet and movies, people who don't speak English, people who are deaf..." Todorova gets excited as she lists the diverse demographics moved by Silent Theatre Companies work. "I mean, hey, we're not all gonna bat a thousand all the time, but once in a while I think we can really change someone's life."
You can learn more about Silent Theatre Company by checking out their website, reading their blog, watching video on Youtube, following them on Twitter, or becoming their fan on Facebook.
Benno Nelson
You can read more of Theatre In Chicago contributor Benno Nelson's writing at The@er (http://the-at-er.blogspot.com)
Full Storefrontal
Read the other articles in Benno Nelson's "Full Storefrontal" series that focuses on small theatre companies around Chicago on the Full Storefrontal page.