Creativity given plenty of space
Mary Houlihan, Stage
Chicago Sun Times
Published March 7th 2003,

Scottish playwright David Greig's 1997 drama "The Cosmonaufs Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union" is not an homage to politics or the collapse of the Soviet Union. Instead, in 42 short scenes, this enigmatic play with the quirky title attempts to demystify the complexity of contemporary life. Greig, who is in his early 30s, has been little produced in this country but is widely known throughout Europe. He is the author of more than a dozen plays, many created in collaboration with his experimental Glasgow-based troupe, Suspect Culture.

But "Cosmonaufs" is a work he wrote straight out of his head, not worrying about staging and such concerns. Thus, the play is technically demanding and not a first choice for many companies. However, Collaboraction artistic director Anthony Moseley had no such problems tackling Greig's poetic play. "Actually, Sean Graney and l bounce stuff to each other all the time," said Moseley, referring to the artistic director of The Hypocrites theater company. "He liked the play and sent it my way. It seemed the perfect show for Collaboraction. It takes someone foolishly ambitious to do this show. But the trick of the show is to not get sucked into the technical possibilities and not let them take over."

With its many scene changes and the outer Space element, the play is complex with design possibilities, not to mention the challenging human element of actors quickly moving from one scene to the next. "There's a bit of a hypnotic spell to it," said Moseley, who is directing the production.

Hovering above Earth are two cosmonauts who have been stranded and forgotten for the last 12 years on a Russian space station. Their story links to several other characters on the ground, including one cosmonauft daughter who is now an exotic dancer, an un-happy Scottish bureaucrat and his puzzled wife, a Norwegian diplomat, a pregnant policewoman and a scientist who once built rockets but now dedicates himself to investigating extraterrestrial life.

"These are tender human souls trying to find a connection," said Moseley. "The big challenge of life today is how do you find harmony in your life while dealing with a World that is trying to make things faster, quicker but not always easier." Filled with a landscape of the celestial, the design for "Cosmonauts" could quickly go into overdrive. But Moseley's goal was to rein in the technology, which includes projections, ambient surround sound and satellite images. "We are trying to master technology by using it in a simple and beautiful way and not turn into MTV," said Moseley. "Our intention is to use simple strokes and not outrace the visual potential of this play." To that effect, Collaboraction art director Wesley Kimler has been working with set designer Nic Dimond and projection designer Sean Maloney to create the play's multiple worlds, which include outer space, a Scottish home, a London bar and the French countryside, among others. As a backdrop, the 16-by-24-foot projections range from lozenges of color to NASA footage of satellite images of Earth. A space module ("a funky and junky tin can") floats above the stage on which tractable floor-to-ceiling panels allow for quick scene changes. Moseley believes that theater speaks directly to the desire to step outside the worlds of voicemail, e-mail and the Internet and interact face-to-face. "Theater speaks to the human connection. It shares a time and place with an audience that comes together to esperience a beautiful slice of a playwright's mind," he said. "Theater remains a critical tool of the human esperience." The nearly 6-year-old Collaboraction has a history of pulling diverse artists into its fold. Kimler, a company member since 2000, is a Chicago artist with no theater background. Other collaborators have included filmmakers and musicians also new to theater. For "Cosmonauts," musician Scott Gibbons, who assisted on the digitally altered sound design for Romeo Castelluccfs "Giulio Cesare" last year at the MCA Theatre, is collaborating with sound designer Joseph Fosco. These artists add a fresh perspective to Collaboraction's creative process, said Moseley. "They bring in ideas that are foreign to theater and make us think about our decisions in a new way. l think we worked with up to 600 different artists in 2002. We've created quite a nice extended family that is part of the key to our success. That cross-pollination is the mortar of our community. It's both simple and complex and it keeps things interesting."