ITJA Critics' Workshop First Draft Review: Aunt Leaf
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ITJA Critics' Workshop 
“Aunt Leaf”-Review first draft
By Emily Brown
This show moved me. I was so impressed by all the unique voices, and characters. “Aunt Leaf” is an exploration of ghost story with influence from dia de los muertos. Everything was so unique and one of a kind. From the first moment that the actress, Indira Pensado, started making noise in the blackout I had chills. I have never seen a one-actor performance before. This one was so good, that it has set a pretty high bar for any future shows for me to see.
One thing that really stood out to me was the rabbit, Giddean, even though he was just an acting block. Something about the way that the actress really brought life to that acting block really made the rabbit real for me. Each character was so real, and so distinct, that I didn’t even need the actress to say which person was talking.
I also loved the different physicalities, and how there were so few technical elements. The set and lights worked so well together to make such an interesting gobo-esque pattern on the floor. I didn’t really understand the concept behind the costume, however it was visually appealing and “fit” with the pseudo fantasy world that the show was set in. While the lights were good, I did sometimes find them confusing, and I’m not sure if it was intentionally disorienting at times (i.e. making it brighter and warmer when she talked about it being midnight).
The only complaint that I have about the show was that an audience member had her phone on during that silent blackout and it made noise. Other than that, I loved this show. (Note, this is one of the drawbacks of live theater, and a risk that every show takes on).
This show has left such an impact on me, and I am so sad that there was only one chance for people to see it at KCACTF. But I am so glad that I decided to do it.
To say that “Aunt Leaf” was an amazing one woman show would not be enough credit to Indira Pensado who’s talents continued to wow the audience well after she had taken her final bow. The show was otherworldly and captivating using sounds and unique voices created completely by Pensado to create and bring to life six different characters. It is not often that an audience gets to witness an actor alone on stage with only and acting block. It is even less common for an actor to have such a large presence where the stage never felt empty but was actually bursting with life.
The audience was captivated by Pensado and the story she was telling. Not only she able to tell the story through the eyes of six characters, she was able to do so while seamlessly slipping in and out of Spanish. Despite the occasional language barrier for some members of the audience it was never a struggle to understand the story and what was occurring. The highly descriptive language of the play was portrayed not only by word of mouth but also by gesture and body language which helped tell a story which surpassed the confines of any singular language.
At the end of the performance, Pensado was greeted with a much-deserved standing ovation from every member of the audience. Upon exiting the theatre and on the bus ride back to the hotels there was an overwhelming amount of positive endorsement. Many of the performance’s audience members were discussing the production and stating how Pensado was “amazing” or that the performance left them “shook”.
Currently, “Aunt Leaf” is still in rehearsals and is fast approaching Tech Week. With all the positive reviews from the audience tonight it will be interesting to see how the show continues to grow and progress in the weeks ahead.