Stage Scene
'Monkey on My Back' carries an addictive element

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Michael Harada "Monkey on My Back" 8 p.m. Thursday; 8 and 10 p.m. Aug. 17 and 18 The ARTS at Marks Garage, 1159 Nu'uanu Ave. $18 ($12 advance) 528-0506, 737-0306 Also: Because of the adult nature of the performance, parental discretion is advised for children under age 13.

That powerful, overwhelming sense of lost control is the focus of "Monkey on My Back," the latest show by local performing company Monkey and the Waterfall at The ARTS at Marks Garage next week.

Innovatively incorporating masks, stilts and dancers, the performance explores the nature of addiction in its many forms to a depth that provokes thought and stimulates discussion.

"It began with some wild inspiration," said Ben Moffat, one-third of the company and drama instructor at Windward Community College. "Addiction — everybody has them. It's human. There's mild ones and there's strong ones. But I think it's safe to say everybody has an addiction."

Theater is Moffat's choice of addiction, having been involved in different aspects of it for more than 30 years. He moved to Hawai'i in 1983 to study Asian theater, which, he feels, can transport audiences and transpose reality. He received a master of fine arts degree in Asian theater and directing from the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

"I can tell you (my addiction to theater) is a strong one," he said. "And it's hard to break. It intoxicates you. You get withdrawals when you don't do it."

Directed by colleague Yukie Shiroma, the 75-minute production doesn't follow a linear storyline but is carefully constructed as a collage of images, characters, colors and emotions.

"It's a bit oblique," he said. "We don't like to spoon-feed our audience. We're more abstract theater and more literal than most modern dance.

"And yet," he continued, "it's not vague. It's very clear and speaks to people. It's one thing for an artist to say you should make your interpretations (of the work). But it's another to embody a question that people respond to in certain ways."

Great art poses the question well. And this company's method of posing questions is different enough to be interesting enough to be worthwhile.

This comes from the beneficial combination of Moffat's puppet and mask work, and extensive knowledge of Asian theater; Shiroma's powerful sense of modern dance and choreography; and Michael Harada's stunning visual artistry.

The company, which has performed in Europe and Asia, has been praised as enchanting, vibrant, colorful and entrancing by critics.

The impetus for "Monkey on My Back," which deals with the mature topic of addiction, evolved when too many people labeled the troupe a family-oriented performing company.

"We were getting pigeonholed by presenters as doing children or family work," Moffat said. "We just create pieces and people started seeing them that way. But we always felt there was more depth to them."

The clever incorporation of modern dance, puppets, masks and stilt work can turn one story into many — the allure of theater dance.

"I wanted theater to show the inner life and use theatricality in a very expressive way," Moffat said about his decision to explore theater dance instead of realistic theater. "This is, in a sense, surrealism, where it tries to express what's going on under the surface."

Instead of sets that look like the inside of an apartment, for example, this brand of theater asks the audience to imagine, to think, to be engrossed by the movements on stage. "The audience's imagination is fully engaged and involved," he added.

Be careful: It could become an addiction.