As audience members walked into the dark, small room to see “Silent Shout,” they were greeted by nine cast members who created music without words or instruments. This musical expression served as an exercise to get the crowd actively involved by making heads nod and feet tap.
The most noteworthy element of the hour-long play was the absence of words and facial expressions, as each character wore a mask that covered everything but their eyes for their scenes. With the absence of language, every movement and sound effect served as an important sequence in the story.
“Silent Shout” was created and directed by Katelyn Bowen, a Cal State Long Beach theatre graduate, along with a cast of CSULB students.
It was presented on January 21 and 22 with free admission by Alive Theatre and held at The Farm, an intimate building located at Third Street and Atlantic Avenue. Alive Theatre, founded by CSULB alumni in 2008, hosts plays to allow additional artistic outlets for the community.
The small confines of The Farm created an intimate crowd that basically amounts to a living room and kitchen that was turned into a theatre stage. For a play that features no words and soft sound expressions, the atmosphere was perfect for the crowd to see and hear what was going on.
The play revolved around nine characters who acted out individual sequences, while the other cast members produced the sound effects. These sounds came from banging on drums, rustling a set of keys, opening doors and splashing cups of water.
The most compelling scene featured a man getting into a boat and rowing, as cast members sat to the sides of the stage splashing jars of water to simulate the rowing noises. The man cast a fishing line into the water, and then had his boat flood and capsize, leading a struggle to stay afloat.
While the absence of words made it difficult to follow and limited much of the connection between the characters, the sounds created were excellent and clever.
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