Ben
Brantley

June 21, 2015

The common wisdom is that once magicians reveal the secrets of their trade, the magic disappears. But that’s hardly the case with the uncanny coven of young sorcerers who operate under the name Manual Cinema. Currently in residence at the 3LD Art & Technology Center in Lower Manhattan, this Chicago troupe is conjuring phantasms to die for in an unclassifiable story of spectral beauty called “Ada/Ava.” And its creators allow their audience to see exactly how they’re doing what they’re doing, which is nothing less than turning substance into shadow and shadow into substance. Such self-exposure, instead of diluting the strength of the illusory, only enhances its hold on our hearts and minds. One feels rather like a child being entertained at night by a storytelling parent who casts silhouettes on the wall with the bedside lamp and a pair of hands. The source of those moving images is in plain sight — it’s just Mom or Dad. But somehow this awareness only strengthens the reality of the alternative world that these clever, powerful grown-ups have created for our delight.