Blamed: An Established Fiction, written by Callie Prendiville-Johnson and co-musical composition with Wesley Chavez, is a demonstrative narrative of different collections of stories from cultural histories and legends alike. Under the direction of tag team Brandon Bruce and Aubrey Sanders, a cast of seven wonderfully talented ladies not only take the stage, but they also take turns between being the narrator and being the main character of the story.
For Blamed: An Established Fiction, there is no big and elaborate set piece, rather there are two ladders, three huge baggage chests, two barrels filled with a curious assortment of items, and an easel with a huge notepad. In the back corner, Music Director Matthew Hays and musician Kai Demedicis play guitar, piano, and a few percussion instruments. From humble beginnings comes amazing, specific music.
Blamed: An Established Fiction starts with the cast slowly coming onstage, chatting and laughing, which then becomes dancing and cheering to music. Such merriment continues and grows until there is instantaneous silence. We begin with Pandora (Courtney Ramos portrays this character, as well as many others) and the infamous opening of her box. But rather than releasing all of the world’s problems, she instead releases a plethora of women’s stories, all of which share a theme of women and the condemnation they face for mistakes they made or wrongs they were dealt. Co-director and performer Aubrey Sanders exclaims as whispers and pieces of paper emerge at the opening of the box and show: “Whose words are these? What stories are these?” The apparent confusion continues until someone proclaims that they found the beginning.
The beginning in this regard is Eve, with her own equivalent of releasing the world’s problems with the first sin and that fateful apple. This section is not a novelty in terms of the story, but it is innovative in the method of conveying the story through sock puppets. Following Eve is a brief synopsis of Lilith (Rylan Benson), the suspected first wife of Adam who was replaced because of her bold and independent nature from Adam and by extension, God (though this segment went on sans sock puppets).
After going through the story of Lilith the Harlot, we enter Ancient Greece and the tragic story of Medusa (Adalyn Enslen). Already a poignant tale, its power is increased by the incredible light design by Kayenta Technical Director Paul “Beatle” Ring. At the end of this Grecian segment, as Medusa’s powers and loneliness are described, she slowly turns to look at the audience and we are blinded by lights, a modern-day equivalent to being turned to stone, perhaps.
The Marie Antoinette segment of the narrative, Mercedes Murguia as ‘Marie’ is described as Little Antonia, a beautiful, playful youth who loves being with her sisters. Murguia and two other members of the cast play with a rope, but as Little Antonia changes into Marie Antonette, the rope she played with becomes the rope that turns her into a puppet—a marionette.
On and on the stories and the theatrical marvels unfurl, so much to enjoy and experience. The fact that so many characters and stories are conveyed through seven incredibly talented women is impressive–there are so many moments of breathtaking dancing, heart stopping fight choreography, and incredible moments of connectivity and beauty–it’s inherent that it all be seen and experienced.
Each segment ends with all the women hugging one another–symbolizing the cameradie and solidarity found within the close-knit friendships that women create.
Blamed: An Established Fiction ends as we make a full circle moment with Pandora and her box. As the cast gathers the scattered pieces of paper for her, they each kiss the pages they gathered before returning them to the box. As if to say, “Thank you. Thank you for hearing and telling my story.” Finally, every story is collected, and Pandora shuts the box. The lights go out. The story is over. But is it really?
With only three performances this weekend, this reviewer highly recommends seeing this marvel of collaboration between music, dance, technical theater magic, and storytelling while you still can.
Blamed: An Established Fiction is a production of Tumbleweed Theatre Company presented at the Center for the Arts at Kayenta, located at the Kayenta Art Village (881 Coyote Gulch Cir, Ivins, UT 84738). There are only three performances (June 28-29) with evening shows starting at 7:30 PM and a matinee show on June 29 at 2 pm. Tickets range from $10-$35. For more information, go to https://kayentaarts.org/
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