Commune with Nature in ‘After the Flood’ (Review)
Control Group Productions creates a site-specific celebration of the environment in a city park
Every Control Group Productions show is different from the previous one, but what’s common among them is their unique ability to gently guide participants to a place of introspection. After the Flood is perhaps their strongest call to action yet, dropping participants into the middle of a city park to tell the details of its rich history, then calling on them to realize their own duty to protect and preserve the land that they live on.
Most Coloradans are already acutely aware of this responsibility, but how often do we ruminate on it? We recreate the outdoors all the time here, but how often do we dig into the history of the spaces we occupy? Do we ever stop on the trail, take a seat, and just sit to listen to Mother Nature speak?
After The Flood brings Denver residents to a lesser known (yet totally stunning) city park, then creates space and makes time for them to reflect on its bounty and beauty. The 80-minute show consists of guided foot travel through the park with stops at 10 different locations. Some stops invite participation from the audience while others present choreographed movement sequences from the actors. A few spots in the show rely solely on oral delivery, and one has no performative aspect at all; you are simply meant to sink into nature and meditate on what surrounds you.
Control Group Productions is known for utilizing the “egg beater” format for their shows, dividing the audience into smaller groups and then shuffling them through a series of vignettes. They’ve opted out of the egg beater approach this time but the content of After The Flood remains similarly non-linear. In a previous interview, Control Group Productions Creative Director Patrick Mueller told me, “If you are fixated purely on finding meaning through the story, you’re missing most of what happens over the show.” While that statement was about a different production of theirs, it applies to this one as well.
This isn’t a bad thing. The non-traditional format encourages non-traditional thinking allowing participants to find their own meaning in the message. The resulting experience is partly rooted in historical context, but largely left open for interpretation about what’s happening in the present day, with room to imagine what the future holds.
The all-natural set design and minimal costuming gives the show a cohesive aesthetic that’s appropriately neutral, earthy and raw. The interactive portions are also befitting: rhythmically rubbing rocks or drumming sticks; donning a necklace made of tree bark and inscribing something meaningful to you on it; vocalizing and harmonizing vowel sounds as part of a group offering to Mother Earth.
Seeing a show like this takes a certain amount of physical exertion (lots of walking, standing, and batting away bugs) as well as a fair amount of mental energy to process and commit to the content. That ultimately makes for a richer, more transcendent work of art, but one that might not be comfortably accessible to everyone. To that end, Control Group has done a spectacular job of setting audience expectations via pre-show communication, including a drawing of how to arrive prepared for the evening. They’re also offering a reduced ticket price for students, seniors, artists, and anyone else in-need — further testament to their dedication to accessibility in all its forms.
After The Flood runs through June 19th at Reynolds Landing in Littleton, CO. Tickets are $27–43.
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