Kevin Lynch and Cecilia Wallace give their reviews of Naked Stages at Pillsbury House + Theater, playing until Saturday, Nov. 18.

“In Search of Her” bursting with passion

Despite the fast-paced 40-minute show time, Yoni Light’s self-written performance of “In Search of Her” was full and bursting with passion.

“In Search of Her” at Pillsbury House + Theater was developed through a seven-month fellowship called “Naked Stages” which provides early-career performance artists with the time, resources and mentorship needed to bring their visions to life on stage.

Learning alongside Light were her cohort members snem Desellier and Dakota Blankenship.

Light told a detailed story of the start of her presence on Earth ending with her transition to Black adulthood through the movement of her body and one brief song.

While only three minutes of music may seem brief, Light didn’t need words to tell a layered story.

The emotion Light held in her dancing was enough to evoke a visceral reaction from some of the audience members as she told the story of the magic in her bloodline through not only her own knowledge and movement but the awareness and experiences that come with being a Black woman.

The set was minimalistic upon first impressions, but she made up for it with the video installations shown throughout the production.

Light displayed pre-recorded videos of shadows depicting her growing up to reveal her rise to black womanhood and more that enhanced the ambiance of the show.

All around, “In Search of Her” is a multi-faceted coming-of-age story that tells the impactful tale of a woman finding her inner goddess as her dances progress in maturity throughout the show.

Although the performance had one artist onstage, Light alone had a successful execution of dramaturgy, which makes me making me excited to see what the future holds for her creative career.

Cecilia Wallace can be reached at wall1238@stthomas.edu.

Naked Stages’ “Why Am I Here?” offers surprise, vulnerability

While Dakota Blankenship may refer to their Naked Stages performance, “Why Am I Here?” as a musical ritual — a description conjures images of stuffy singing and muted choreography — the moment when Blankenship glides onstage in a pair of light-up roller skates, they signal to their audience that the following production is about to be anything but stuffy.

In a breezy hour, “Why Am I Here?” tells a cosmic, spiritual story about love and purpose, blending in audience participation and musical sequences to create an undeniably impactful overall experience, one that Blankenship credits to their desire to “embrace doing too much” in the production’s program.

The intricately crafted scenery is an early indicator of the vision that Blankenship, a fabric artist themself, infuses into the performance, and the meaning that is gradually formed by the seemingly random variety of colors, textures and patterns present in the backdrop is a testament to the intuitive emotional storytelling at the heart of the piece.

The down-to-earth production provides some interesting effects; when Blankenship emerges from backstage draped in a life-sized set of textured styrofoam wings, its noticeably inauthentic nature forces the audience to tap into a more innate emotional appreciation for the scene in addition to admiring the beauty behind its craftsmanship.

Conversely, its high-concept narrative may not be anything to write home about, and the sparse moments of audience participation aren’t integrated to their fullest potential — often necessitating a jarring halt to the action to explain — but the cathartic sense of camaraderie they invoke amongst audience members when executed well is impossible to undervalue.

This is where “Why Am I Here?” truly shines; Blankenship’s imaginative blend of hand-crafted style and spiritual themes is impressive on its own, but the performance’s best bits are when it successfully lulls its viewers into focusing and reflecting more about themselves and those around them than on the actual content of the show.

It may not be very technically profound, but it remains an incredibly honest and affecting piece all the same, one that displays a great deal of courage and sincerity — not to mention some pretty wicked skating skills — on the part of Blankenship and all involved.

“Naked Stages 2023” runs at the Pillsbury House + Theater until Saturday, Nov. 18.

Kevin Lynch can be reached at lync1832@stthomas.edu.