Ciar O’Mahony
I took Clutch to the theatre with me to see A Christmas Carol and could not
have asked for a more excitable reception. A Christmas Carol, being a very family oriented play, had
attracted an audience of all ages and small children were everywhere. All I had to do was show a couple of
children what was inside the little wooden box and dozens of children were flocking over through
the narrow aisle of seats attempting to see and touch what was inside. My lengthy explanations of Terra/Form
and the concept of Clutch Gallery were condensed into more digestible ideas for those under age eight. "Clutch was
a gallery" I said, "All of the things inside were works of art by different
artists..." I had never considered what Clutch would
be like in the eyes of children, but they are as valuable as any other audience. The intrigue
and enthusiasm were palpable from some but disappointment could also be felt
from others, hoping for something slightly more Christmas-oriented. Small hands grabbed at work and I
became more of a care-taker of Clutch than anything. I spoke with a couple of
other people as well, the person sitting next to me, and other play-goers casually. Clutch became a miniature theatre in
the rows of another as well as a garden and a gallery. It felt strange to be a small part of a
large audience who had come prepared to witness a spectacle while also carrying
a spectacle of my own. A Christmas Carol is a play that has been performed in Chicago for over 50 years now and is
an established part of the city's theatrical history, Clutch is a project that
is now establishing itself as a tiny pillar in the Chicago arts community and
maybe they will intersect again at a future time.
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