Quick Review of "Descent of the Goddess Inanna" by the Independent Eye

Remaining performances are May 16-17 and 23-24 at Sebastopol Masonic Center.
373 N Main St., all at 8 p.m. Tickets are $18 general, $15 for students and
seniors. For reservations, www.brownpapertickets.com. For information, call
707-824-4307. www.independenteye.org

Review by Michael Nelson

After seeing Independent Eye's short piece "Freeway" at a the March guild
meeting, I was greatly looking forward to seeing more work from this
accomplished company. Apparently other guild members felt the same as at
least 5 of us from the guild independently gathered with a nice sized crowd
of other theatre goers in Sebastopol's Oddfellow's Hall last Saturday to
watch guild members and Independent Eye principles Conrad Bishop and
Elizabeth Fuller, along with 6-7 other performers, presenting the oldest
surviving human tale (5000 years old) about the mythic journeys and
experiences of the Sumerian goddess Inanna.

The play begins in present day in a mental institution in Trenton, New
Jersey, where Frances (played by Elizabeth Fuller) is dealing with some
strange events happening in her head (or are they?) Elizabeth is a marvelous
actor and, as Francis, the only non-puppet character in the play, was a
pleasure to watch. In the beginning we share with her the mental confusion
that has put her there, and begin to learn small revelations as she either
recalls or reveals them. Soon things begin appearing in her possession that
she can not account for and that her near life-sized puppet attendant, Frank
(very convincingly played by Cliff Stevens) confiscates, as these items
definitely are not allowed in patient's rooms. Various denizens and
deities begin to appear (a collection of half to life sized puppets) and we
begin to suspect that France's madness may be her growing awareness of
divine events asserting themselves through her. The mythic tale, like many
myths, has some ritual and symbology that the ancients would have revered
but that a modern playwright might have omitted; but this occultism gave the
story the very mystical feel; we can't completely understand everything at
first glance, but it is important to the gods and their followers.

Francis's world is enclosed in a large, fabric black box stage which serves as
her room at the mental institution as well as the staging area for the
puppets. The puppets are very well done and quite effective, with good
puppetry skills and acting being displayed, as well as a very uniform
design. The goddess Inanna is particularly well portrayed with a lovely and
majestic looking puppet, given limited but good movement and wonderful voice by Courtney
Arnold. Among the mythic characters, the Gatekeeper stood out as a more
modern, wisecracking character, a top hatted skeleton with dark glasses that
reminded me of Grateful Dead album covers. He brought welcome humor to the
play, but also some questions as to whether this characterization really fit
the story. Another humorous figure was Enki, the god of wisdom, who doesn't
know it all, and knows that he doesn't (and that's wisdom, isn't it?)

A most effective device used in the play was the appearance of the shadows
of the mythic characters on the back drop; marvelous shadows that seemed to
have a life of their own, moving in ways that the puppets did not. The well
done chorus voices and singing really helped to transport us to the mythic
realm, and at times Elizabeth's character, Francis, sprouted an additional
pair of arms, something she seemed unaware of. The staging itself, while
very nicely giving us a feel for Francis trapped in her little room, left me
feeling that the gods were too confined in the little black box. Somehow I
felt that the gods would have been beyond that little space and while the
shadows on the rear curtain helped (but were still contained) I was very
relieved when the god of Wisdom appeared high above the stage.

On the down side, the environment for the show was less than divine; the
Oddfellows hall was hot and smelled like old dog (Valerie thought mouse),
but as the rest of the run will be in a different hall, perhaps that will
improve (if not, I suggest some Sumerian incense.) Unfortunately the show
was not raised, nor audience raked, which meant that in the third row in the
center there was a good portion of the show I could not see, including much
of Elizabeth's wonderful performance. This left me feeling it was a
challenge to connect with the show, which I regret. As the next venue will
not improve in that aspect, I suggest either arriving early enough to sit in
the first 2 rows, or bring your own bar stools and sit in the back (which
would have been a very good seat, as the hall was not big enough to make
that very far back from the action, and all of the puppets are big and
easily read.)

This is an ambitious production, very nicely and interestingly adapted, with
beautifully designed puppets, and very good acting. The actors reach out and
pull the audience into the mythic world, so that by the end we are surprised
to realize that these old deities, like the moon, may still be causing the
spiritual tides to ebb and flow, even though we no longer think of or
acknowledge them. If you are interested in serious adult puppet theatre, it
is not too far to Sebastopol (and don't forget your bar stool.)