The Collector

Last night, Patrick and I had a rare night out. For those of you who don't know him, Patrick is the Executive Director of a non-profit literacy organization by day, but by night he is very involved in a number of local arts organizations: sitting on boards, directing and producing and curating art stuff all over the city. (Really, it's a sort of Clark Kent situation.) Anyway, his latest endeavor has been bringing The Collector, a multi-media puppetry performance piece by Animal Cracker Conspiracy (directed by Lisa Berger), to San Diego. Last night was the world premier at 3rdSpace, a fabulous artist club/gallery/performance/work-space in University Heights. I went with an open mind...not having seen puppetry of any sort since the kids were little. (I've always found puppets a bit creepy.) But The Collector was fabulous. Definitely creepy, but also quite beautiful. It primarily explores our obsession with objects as well as our relationship to these objects (how they define us, how they can destroy us). However, it's not only about consumerism, but also about possession. (For anyone who has read Grace, you know that this is a thematic thread that runs throughout the novel. I'm fascinated by our need to own, to accumulate, possess, to keep things: objects, people, memories.) There's also a monkey CEO, ominous old fashioned cameras, a bird-lady shaman, and incredible sound created by Margaret Noble. Go see it!!