- A Musical Cyclonic Explosive -

 Paras Rathi 

A Critical Review on Bombogenesis - A Musical

SFU School for the Contemporary Arts presents Bombogenesis -A Musical- SCA Theatre Mainstage. The term “Bombogenesis” refer to explosive storms which rapidly intensify, mid-latitude weather pattern and strengthening winds. It was a mixture of musical performance along with cyclonic sound effect and contrasting lighting all presented in a Proscenium stage. As an Audiences I was drawn into an imaginative world where the performers gaze directly the at guests and provide high-energy, rousing melodic songs-and-rhythmic movements that eventually turn into love story-at first more subtle, then turning into a fast paced classical drama  based on the plot of film "Sound of Music(1965)".

Personally speaking, though Bombgenesis’s set design and the use of props to illustrate a cinematic movement within the space was my favorite part of the show. Complementing the touchingly romantic melody and buoyantly storyline. It felts like a heartwarming treat of action filled with remix of pianissimo and electronic music. The music is so darn great that even in the few scattered moments when the lead performers and band on stage weren't totally in sync, it ..was still entirely enjoyable.

The show nicely opens with the cast pushing the the lead performer on a dolly track in the first frame from left to the right of the stage, while the actress opening the show with few exhales and spreading the hands to welcome the audience into this magically lit space. It doesn’t suggest who she is or what is her role in the play at first but as the cast picks up the rhythm it is revealed that she is the girl the captain is in love with. Every now and then the establishing scenes inside the large frames we see the moving objects like trees, diner set tables, a world globe, full of nondiegetic sounds of waves and high winds mixed with weird jokes to really establish a narrative path. A few rhymed couplets and Every barely introduced framed character has an individual lines and action to perform. The adopted children played by the femme cast and their low pass filtered voice enhanced the comedic tones of the play. 

As for the characters, there was not one character that didn't evoke a feeling of emotions within the viewers. Filled to the overflow with jokes, characters, for example, Captain Von Trapp played by Steven Yang (Theatre Student at SFU) swept the audience into laughter as they performed up over the stage. The main actress played by Arthi Chandra jolted the crowd with time ceasing vocals and enthusiastic range that was fabulous to watch. A few different characters sparkled in front of an audience, as with all the background actors sing the same song and passing the props by within the frames. The group performers combined with precise, eye catching costumes genuinely made their performances unique.

As for first my reaction in this musical theatre, I was completely surrounded by the aura of the space filled with the thunder lighting sound scape giving a feeling of the depth of illusion pulling me towards these frames on stage (shown in the picture below). Focusing mainly on the sound elements of the show I noticed the intensity of each prop being used on the stage and the direction of the sound it was coming from also felt like a virtual reality film that the audience is experiencing. Bombgenesis catches one conspicuous part of this musical,the extent in which the show stimulates to our humorous senses. The comedy musical tone is booming, filled with mixture of vocals and high energy rhythm.Moreover the lighting elements correspond well with the mood of each scene, popping in ways that always catches your attention towards the front of the stage.

The show additionally pulled at our heartstrings. The acting of the characters together with artistic elements, for example, the lighting and the set made everything feel considerably more real. I for one felt as if I was attracted totally. Along with smooth progress of time and transitioning within the show, which made cognizance of the plot a lot simpler and engaging. 

After the show I got the chance to interview the lead actor Steven Yang about the whole process of Bombogenesis and I would like to share a summarized version of it to get a little insight about his Art. He say’s “It was a lot of hours of our hardwork (around somewhat 350 hours total including rehearsal.The show changed a lot throughout the process, so we were directed to be exactly like the actors from the film Sound of Music that enhances the tension of a psychological drama. The choice to play with the Sound of Music was a hunch from our director, Steven Hill. It had to do with the extraordinary cultural influence it had on our society, as well as what musicals as a form does to the audience. Steven has been quite obsessed with the power of frames lately, as can be seen from this show and our last year's mainstage, Topophilia. He's fascinated perspective, and what the frame does to a viewer's perspective, specifically. This set idea was something we had been throwing around for quite a while, when in the three weeks or so, we had settled on this form. We made the specific choice to only be acting within the frame, as if the frame was what brought the show alive. It really became a machine, something that churned through the different locations and scenes of the movie and sent them through the three frames. This also had the effect of editing the scenes, creating discrete crumbs that the audience had to work to stitch together into a narrative. I think that the strongest thing we've achieved with the show is the amount of memorable, striking and strange images".

Overall the story and the narrative almost felt as a secondary. The more focus was held towards the lighting and musical elements creating a dynamic work of theatre art which blows us away with the cyclonic winds and glitters.

Work Cited 

-Bombogenesis. Directed by Steven Hill. SFU Gold Corp, Vancouver, March 7, 2019. 

-"Events." Events - School for the Contemporary Arts - Simon Fraser University. Accessed April 08, 2019. http://www.sfu.ca/sca/events---news/events.html. 

- "Process of Making "Bombogenesis"." Interview of Steven Yang (Actor) by Paras Rathi 

- US Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "What Is Bombogenesis?" NOAA's National Ocean Service. March 22, 2014. Accessed April 08, 2019. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/bombogenesis.html

- The Sound of Music. Directed by Robert Wise. 1965.