Jan 29 2008. Artsy Schmartzy muses about 8 1/2 x 11.

Yin and Yang

Yin was sitting in a filthy and illegal performance space on Friday night. Yang was having to wear a bow tie for the Saturday night show in the suburbs.

Yin was reaching for a few extra bucks to toss into a battered jar so the actors could all buy themselves a cheap beer after the show. Yang was a classy pre-show reception with good free food and an unending supply of drinks.

Yin was noticing that if I had to pee I would have had to announce it to all the performers and audience by walking across the stage to the one toilet in the building. Yang was a polished and principled performance facility with things like good hand soap in the bathroom and access for wheelchairs.

Yin was wondering if the junior high school was missing those burnt-orange curtains hanging across the rickety stage. Yang was freshly vacuumed carpeting under my feet and no gum stuck to the bottom of my chair.

Yin was coveting the grungy sofa that I could have sat on if only I had shown up earlier to grab one of the unreserved seats. Yang was a reserved seat on the aisle shown to me by an attentive usher.

Yin was a melting pot of people glugging cups of gas-station-purchased coffee and wearing their hats and scarves when the blast furnace heating the space was shut off so we could hear the actors.  Yang was freshly scrubbed people with the aroma of Zinfandel and veal chops on their lips as they mingled about a spacious lobby.

Yin was raw performance, sometimes unsteady direction, and theatrical design inspired by hardware store-clip lights and duct tape. Yang was accomplished acting reaching a level of expertise I’ve seldom seen, framed in a gilded picture of scenic virtuosity.

Yin was a night full of new works bristling with thrilling ideas. Yang was a fresh look at something I thought was beyond new discovery.

Yin was full of flaws, rough around the edges, and a completely compelling argument that there is something exciting happening in Milwaukee because of a group of astounding young artists fully immersing themselves in the grand idea of creation.

Yang was expertly conceived, shockingly well executed, and total proof that there is great reason to say that Milwaukee is a city with some of the greatest artistic offerings in the world.

I haven’t stopped thinking about Yin.  I haven’t stopped thinking about Yang.

Thanks Yin and Yang.  It was a weekend I will not soon forget.

(Click here to learn more about the yin, and click here for more about the yang.)

Published Jan 29 2008, 11:38 AM by Jonathan West