Jellyeye
Jellyeye is far more radical. Though it makes use of several traditions, the troupe is a direct descendant of none. And though in the past it’s relied on narrative–most notably in the “drum opera” Avalanch Ranch–it now seems to have moved away from story lines, reveling in the abstract pleasures of pure music and movement. In fact, watching a Jellyeye concert is not unlike watching a very lively performance by the CSO, because for the viewer-listener the music and the performers’ embodiment of it form a single gestalt.
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Another element of Jellyeye’s art, with ancient roots as well as Chicago roots, is its visual appeal. At least as far back as Remains Theatre’s production of Moby Dick in 1982, Chicago companies have relied on magical stage images, and today troupes like Redmoon and the MASS ensemble achieve a good portion of their effects from handmade puppets and musical instruments. Certainly Jellyeye’s handmade drums and gongs enhance their look onstage, but they also use clever lighting, props, and costumes. On this program, Heaven Above Me Sighs Open is filled with luscious stage pictures: Shubat seems to float behind a scrim, above the heads of four men and women in high collars and lit-up hoop skirts who process from the wings in ceremonial trains so long they create a record of the performers’ progress, a web that connects and defines them. Their most characteristic motion–subtly swinging their hoop skirts toward and away from us like giant bells–seems to embody a rhythmic, repeated acceptance.
