Review: MNEMONIC Leaves a Deep Impression at Anacostia Playhouse

A small leaf and a black blindfold are your introductions to the world of Theater Alliance's production of Mnemonic, written by Complicite. While one is trying to figure what the blindfold and leaf are for (after all, this production does have full frontal male nudity), Carlos Saldaña, who plays Virgil, comes on stage to eloquently explain what exactly memory is. He describes it as an "unstable map." Saldaña leads the audience into their own "unstable maps" using their blindfolds and leafs. With our own explorations over with, we met Virgil (Carlos Saldaña) who is struggling to keep himself together due to the prolonged absence of his love, Alice (Teresa Spencer). Piece by piece, Virgil and Alice's stories are pieced together along with the interjection of the discovery of the Ice Man. Theater Alliance's production of Mnemonic, directed by Colin Hovde, is not just a story of migration, but of who we are as humans.

Saldaña's performance as Virgil is haunting to watch as he is wrapped up in memories of Alice. Even though Saldaña never interacts with Spencer's Alice physically onstage, he still manages to channel Virgil's frustration, but still obsession with Alice with such an intensity as he hangs on to his distant memories of her. Spencer performance as Alice is carried out with vigor. Everything from Spencer's frantic movements and tone embodies Alice's internal struggles with her past and her uncertainty about her own identity. The rest of the ensemble (Michael Burgos, Elena Day, Vanita Kalra, Jonathan David Martin, and Jon Reynolds) compliments with Saldaña and Spencer's performances. Burgos, Day, Kalra, Martin, and Reynolds juggle numerous personas and languages with such ease. During scenes requiring choreographed movement, the actors are in total sync especially during a scene in which Reynolds, Spencer, and Saldaña use a bed as a centerpiece for a whirlwind of legs and arms.

While the cast is quite memorable, the production's artistic direction is just as impressionable at times. There are moments when the projections become overwhelming such as a scene in which numerous landscapes are flashed onto a background as the actors slowly move across the stage. In this case, the projections overwhelm the actors in this scene to the point where one begins to focus on the images rather than on the urgency of their movements. One of the set's main focuses, a clear tarp, is used as a curtain to obscure a scene in which Spencer and the rest of the ensemble re-create Alice's memory of working at a bar during her journey across Europe. This scene beautifully utilizes light, shadows, and the actors' movements to reconstruct Alice's memory. The rest of the set, which consists of the furniture of Virgil's home, a rock, and a chair, are re-used throughout the production and are able to be moved quickly to construct a scene. The movement directed by Dody DiSanto is well choreographed. The movement within scenes amplifies the scene and adds an extra layer of dramatic effect.

Mnemonic is a recollection of memories and fragments that are worth watching over and over.

Running Time: About 2 hours with no intermission

Theater Alliance's Mnemonic runs until April 9, 2017 at the Anacostia Playhouse. Tickets can be purchased here.

Pictured: (left to right) - Vanita Kalra, Jonathan David Martin, Jon Reynolds, Michael Burgos, and Teresa Spencer in Theater Alliance's Mnemonic. Photo by Teresa Wood.

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