{"id":27235,"date":"2023-07-07T16:34:29","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T23:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=27235"},"modified":"2023-07-07T16:34:30","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T23:34:30","slug":"sf-mime-troupe-breaks-down-citys-doom-loop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/07\/07\/sf-mime-troupe-breaks-down-citys-doom-loop\/","title":{"rendered":"SF Mime Troupe breaks down city\u2019s doom loop"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Avatar by\u00a0MARK RABINE<\/a><\/strong> JULY 6, 2023 (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/
SFMT cast of Breakdown<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco has long been portrayed by right-wing politicians and press as a den of iniquity. In \u201cBreakdown,\u201d the San Francisco Mime Troupe satirizes that portrayal. It\u2019s a story about a story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve all heard the story time and again, by Fox, DeSantis, Carlson and others, often echoed and amplified by local media and City Hall, to wit: \u201cSan Francisco is a city under siege from battalions of homeless, drug-addicted zombie barbarians, aided and abetted by a subversive fifth column of elite progressives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a story about a story, \u201cBreakdown\u201d has its pros and cons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the pro side, it\u2019s easy to recognize, parody and draw laughs from what I presume was an elite progressive audience on July 4 at Dolores Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the con side, a story about a story often calls for some nuance and a relatively complex plot that can be difficult to follow in a park distracted by dogs, volleyball players, odd tattoos, vendors of margaritas and edibles. So when \u201cthe story\u201d gets confronted by \u201cthe reality\u201d of the Tenderloin, the musical breaks down into loosely linked scenes, then wanders and finally ends with a sigh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plot problems, for the most part, do not get in the way of the music, dance and one-liners sprinkled through most of the script. In his manifesto \u201cGuerrilla Theatre,\u201d Mime Troupe founder R.G. Davis said that alternative theater such as the SFMT must \u201c[k]eep the caliber of performances high \u2014 any lack of skill will lose audiences.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the direction of Michael Gene Sullivan, the performance level is as high as any theater in the area. The sparkling music and lyrics by Daniel Savio cover most of the script\u2019s dry spots, and the five-person cast (playing multiple roles) communicates the fun they are having to the audience. The actors play their roles with generally good timing as they take on the Mime Troupe\u2019s signature genre \u2014 call it Farcical Realism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A feature of this genre is to humanize some characters (workers, women, people of color, etc.) while stereotyping others (white male bosses, politicians, etc.). \u201cBreakdown\u201d tinkers with this formula, but mostly holds to it. For actors, it\u2019s more than merely a matter of changing costumes. The cast is to be commended to the degree they pull this off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mixed genre also challenges a coherent story and the development of a compelling plot. \u201cBreakdown\u201d does better with the farce than it does with realism, which is reflected in too much exposition and added minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The blending of farce and realism, especially in politics, seems as San Francisco as the fog. But to bring these two elements together successfully on stage requires another level in terms of skill and dedication (and luck). The Troupe has been at it for nearly 60 years, and keeps struggling to get it right. Good for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over halfway through the performance, my brother said, \u201cThis is the best Mime Troupe ever,\u201d and I agreed. By the end, we both felt it needed work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, that will happen over the next couple of months as the Mime Troupe takes its show on the road. Here\u2019s the schedule<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBreakdown\u201d returns to Dolores Park on Sept. 4 and we will find out what the Troupe has learned. Expect the (more or less) final product to be professional and entertaining, but will it get tighter, will it get wittier, will it get sharper? We\u2019ll see.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MARK RABINE<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

markrabine@yahoo.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Rabine has lived in the Mission for over 40 years. “What a long strange trip it’s been.” He has maintained our Covid tracker through most of the pandemic, taking some breaks with his search for the Mission’s best fried-chicken sandwich and now its best noodles. When the Warriors make the playoffs, he writes up his take on the games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0MARK RABINE JULY 6, 2023 (MissionLocal.org) San Francisco has long been portrayed by right-wing politicians and press as a den of iniquity. In \u201cBreakdown,\u201d the San Francisco Mime Troupe satirizes that portrayal. It\u2019s a story about a story. We\u2019ve all heard the story time and again, by Fox, DeSantis, Carlson and… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[358,736],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27235"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27235"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27236,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27235\/revisions\/27236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}