I love iLove:!

Congratulations to iLove for selling out on a Monday evening! More than just sold out, people were sitting on the floor, people were turned away! And how very sad for them that they had to miss this beautiful piece of theatre.

Beautiful has been the only suitable word I can find to describe the show. It is also thought-provoking, inspiring, philosophical, creative, and well-performed, but those are only aspects of the larger creation. Since I have watched it from backstage, once again I see from a slightly different angle than the rest of the audience. This show is not just performed, but also deeply felt. The Satori Group are not just actors, or writers, but creators in a very holistic sense. Even when individual characters leave the stage, the artists themselves are still present in the words and actions, the lights and music that still remain. I'm sure that there must have been disagreements about subject matter or direction at some point throughout the process, but I have only ever witnessed Satori as a group earnestly united in their purpose with a genuine faith in each other that spreads to those around them.

My favorite part of the show is the breathing- it starts out with just two characters on stage, drawing deep breaths together, and then those breaths are joined by others, offstage. The room swells with the communal intake of breath, and then gently releases, and again. I can't resist joining in as I sit on my box tucked behind the curtain. The connection between these artists- with each other, with their audience, with the complex topic they present- I want to be a part of it for those brief seconds when it all becomes simple.

Other shoutouts to Lora Beth Barr's fabulous white dress (it twirls!), Adam Standley's impressive ability to maintain repetitive dance moves while the Fringe officials laugh at him during their curtain speeches, and the return of the white canvas that is now being used in its third season of NSC shows.

iLove: has only three more performances left- go see it.