Clutch Blazes Into Boulder And Burns Out Rapidly

"Clutch (hang on)" is going up at Boulder, Colorado's Nomad Theater this weekend, February 26, 27, 2010. The program for the event is sparse, and indicates the work is a collaboration of Bianca Cabrera, Emily Lawrence, Jessica Perino, and Marlene Strang. The work apparently includes those people as performers, plus Matt Drew, Hailey Gaiser, Soliel Chappelle, and Charlotte Schnieder. The program gives no indication of the names of any of the works, of who the performers are, or what music is used. Bios of the artists seem to provide only how the artists perceive themselves - or want to be perceived.

The show begins in the parking lot around a parked car, with lights on and stereo blaring, continues through the theater lobby, and eventually finds its way to the stage via entrances from numerous locations. On that stage a man continuously plays with a red, remote controlled, toy car - apparently setting up some sort of background for skits about seducing women with red cars. Unfortunately that set-up is so extensive it totally exceeds any performance life. In fact, the lack of performance life becomes the most salient feature of this show, in that almost every segment goes way beyond tolerance. Almost every performer has "presence." But, a show this long (something like an hour with no intermission and starting over 20 minutes late) takes a whole lot more than presence. The show is largely a series of "dance-skits" that feature dancers with adequate - surely not stunning - dance technique, and mediocre choreography filled with gestural nuances that are either inside jokes, or unintelligible to even an educated audience. The many "lifts" and/or partnering sequences seem deeply rooted in contact improvisation, and the many "roll over the back" sequences add to the short performance life. All of this totals up to a bad "Fringe Show," or a undergraduate student exercise.

The Clutch collaborators do deserve a lot of credit for getting themselves out there - no doubt with lots of work and considerable expense. Their Friday show had a reasonable audience that responded in ways that seemed "typically student," i.e., scream whenever your friends are up there. That is good, and always gives performers satisfaction. As Clutch matures and grows, maybe their work and audiences will also.

Donald K. Atwood

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