“Time is a Color…” Worth Appreciating

By Flo Mano with Wes Hessel

Sunday was the Chicago debut at Avalanche Theatre for the opening of the world premiere of “Time is a Color and the Color is Blue” by Melanie Coffey at the magnificent Bramble Arts Loft. Avalanche is a new company founded by Zoe Sjogerman and Alexander Attea with their vision for promoting new plays and playwrights, creating innovative, diverse, and unconventional work to push the boundaries.

Entering the theater, we’re immersed in a shimmering ice cave made of recycled materials, setting the tone for this environmental story with depth to evolve. Two tattered figures appear whispering, in a mystical ritual, potion-making ceremony; they use their hands on the surface imprinted in red. A red light surrounds the cave.

Enter glaciologist Whittaker (Alice Wu) in search of the oldest known cave painting – a storm ensues and she is trapped. Her team – Bridget (Marina Logan) and Jackson (Brian Nicholas Carter) are at their lab, frantically trying to get her location, the communication cut off. The lack of oxygen puts Whittaker into hypoxia and her mind spirals into her past – meandering thoughts of her sister (Stephanie Fongheiser), mother (Sabine Wan), and close friend (Gabriela Diaz). She battles feelings of love, guilt, forgiveness for hurting her loved ones, herself, the cave, and the earth, portrayed by the two figures – Tilda (Harper McCoy) and Milly (Mary Mikva).

This is all excellently executed under the direction of Zie Sjogerman, with scenic design by Michaela McCabe and Ab Rieve, lighting by Nathan Keller, composer Eva Mattioli, and production manager/sound designer Alexander Attea. The story intertwines the fragile balance of emotional impairment to ourselves and damage which has environmental consequences, ending with a bang… I highly recommend it. Just as time seems to be running out for Whittaker, your chance to see “Time is a Color…” will end May 24th. So for tickets or more information, journey to www.avalanchetheatre.com.

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