The Mutables - Here Arts

The Mutables centers on one’s ability to have a voice.  In part 1 of this exploration, a character (Marie Lloyd Paspe) falls through a door and finds herself in a world with a chorus of Ielel, mythical beings akin to the Sirens/Furies/Bacchae.  Paspe’s character discovers that she cannot make sense when she speaks. The Ielel ‘speak’ as they move their bodies and sing.  She begs the Ielel to help her, but they do not help her get her voice back.  I was taken out by the conundrum that a character is stating how she cannot make sense when she speaks; yet I as a viewer see her as making sense because she is speaking English and I understand this.  Therefore, there was a suspension of disbelief for me here.  In part 2, the operatic narrator (Rocky Duval) makes patriarchal statements such as mother wanting her to marry.  While the piece is not a conventional narrative, I found myself struggling to connect with Kat Mustatea’s text in regards to the relationship between parts 1 and 2.  As for the implementation of the body-mouth, I was unsure of what the Ielel were saying in the first part, and perhaps this was because they were speaking their own language.  Only in the second part could I make out some words that the Iele were saying.  Paulina Olivares costuming was interesting and other-worldly in shape and deconstruction.  The set is a series of squares that are intermittently lit up, highlighting very specific areas of the stage.  These are lit by Christina Tang’s design, which reinforced an other-worldly feel.  Both, along with the text and sound from the body movement give a strong distancing effect.  While I found this piece difficult to access, I want to commend the use of the body technology and was fascinated with it.  It would be great to see more theatrical development with this technology. #theMutables #hereArtsCenter

The Mutables

Here Arts Center

145 6^th Ave.

Running time: 45 minutes

10/08/25 – 10/12/25

(off-off Broadway review)