The Essentialisn’t

Roughly a third of the way through The Essentialisn't (great title), writer-director-performer Elisa Davis quotes Wikipedia:

“Essentialism is the view that every entity has a set of attributes that are necessary to its identity and function."

To a large extent essentialism is a more formal way of saying stereotyping. While both are based on shallow, inaccurate ideas, both are frequently embraced (not always consciously) by many people. Many, many people. The practical result of essentialism is that someone may feel that they know a person who they have never met, assuming that the person indeed possesses those preconceived attributes. Essentialism is a foundation of racism, sexism, and homophobia, and it also informs the thinking of many (many, many) good-hearted, non-hateful people. Like me, and very possibly you.

Photo: Daniel J. Vasquez

Davis pairs her dissection and dismissal of essentialism with a simple, powerful question, "Can you be Black and not perform?" Her answer is also simple and powerful: "No."

And there is a third aspect to the show: Black women's hair. It's discussed and used as costumes, and its images run through the show. 

Photo: Daniel J. Vasquez

This might suggest that The Essentialisn't is dry or preachy, but it is anything but. Davis has written a series of songs and performance sketches (for want of a better term), some straightforward, some allusive, some heartbreaking, many funny. From bobbing in a large glass box of water, roughly the size of a standalone shower; to fighting the stereotype that all black women can sing by dissecting/destroying "And I am telling you, I'm not going"; to providing an insight of what freedom might mean to someone long enslaved; to a three-way tug of war over a long braid of hair, Davis offers emotions and humor and humanity, and challenges our view of the world--and her own.

Davis's electronic soul score is effective and often beautiful, as is her voice. Her performance skills are excellent. Her bravery underlies all she does, as she takes us on an often painful journey.

The physical presentation is evocative and engaging: soundscape and sound design by Rucyl Mills, lighting design by Cha See, video design by Skye Mahaffie, and scenic and costume consultation by Peter Born.

Photo: Daniel J. Vasquez

There is much to admire here--in fact, I suspect that pretty much everything here is worth admiring. But here's the catch: the speed of the presentation and the quality of the sound design made much of the show unintelligible. I needed to read the script afterward to totally get what I had seen.

In general I think suggestions to artists from outsiders are tacky, so I instead have a request for Davis et al: would you consider adding words to the projections? Not closed captioning per se, but, rather, enough words to clarify what is being said. It would help the audience follow what is going on, and, really, we don't want to miss anything.

Wendy Caster