Charles Smith’s “My Arm Is Up in the Air” at OtB

There’s a good chance you already know this, but just in case you don’t let me do you a favor: Charles Smith is one of the most interesting performers in Seattle. Armed with wry, intellectual wit and a mesmerizing command of the English language, Smith, (also of The French Project), is a fascinating presence on stage–whether or not you have the slightest idea what he’s talking about. Smith’s solo performance My Arm is Up in the Air has been in the works for several years and finally has its world premiere this weekend at On the Boards (through Monday 3/28, tickets $20).

If you’re a regular at On the Boards (and if you’re interested in cutting-edge performance, there’s no good reason for you not to be), you may have already seen parts of My Arm is Up in the Air workshopped at OtB’s short performance showcase 12 Minutes Max in 2009, or at the Northwest New Works Festival last June. It’s worth seeing them both again in their completed form. Do the shorter pieces coalesce into a coherent whole? I’m not sure. Did I care? No. This is a short but packed performance that is often puzzling but never boring.

My Arm is one of those performances that defies easy explanation. It’s a circuitous web of language and ideas, sudden sharp turns, and screeching halts. There’s a take on a high school valedictory speech that’s so funny I almost inhaled my cough drop; a pair of former child actors; a Robert Frost poem; and a bizarre boat tour, all interspersed with video and live music performed by Smith on a hammered dulcimer, an autoharp, and a bowed psaltery.

People whose tastes are more aligned to the traditional straight theatre being put up a few blocks east on Mercer by the Rep and Intiman might find this show a frustrating experience, but those seeking a little more adventure will find much to enjoy here. Smith, under the skilled direction of Matthew Richter, has crafted a unique and engaging take on modern language. At some point in the first few minutes, while I was pondering the ways that grammar and complex sentence construction can mask a certain superficiality of purpose on the part of a speaker, I decided to stop trying to analyze and just experience. My Arm is Up in the Air is a good show to do that with: I’ll be thinking about it for weeks, and I’m betting you will too. Just be careful with those cough drops.