the illustrated book of invisible stories

I missed Janice Garrett and Charles Moulton's The Illustrated Book of Invisible Stories back when it sold out at Yerba Buena last spring, so I felt lucky to get to see it this weekend when it returned to the Center for the Arts.  The piece features a continuum of linked vignettes performed by six dancers, three men and three women, who are set against and interact with a living backdrop of 18 women, a literal "movement choir."  Music director Jonathan Russell of heavy metal bass clarinet quartet Edmund Welles composed some of the music and performed live with a group of seven other musicians, and Odessa Chen also contributed her gorgeous voice, beautiful guitar, and heartbreaking lyrics.  Seriously, if you want to see me turn to jelly in 30 seconds flat just play me a bit of Chen's "The Ballad of Paper Ships," which featured prominently in The Illustrated Book.  The dancing was highly evocative too and had many clever and passionate moments, though with Nol Simonse as one of the male dancers it was sometimes hard to concentrate on anything or anyone else.  It's not for nothing the SF Bay Guardian picked that man for a Goldie (Guardian Outstanding Local Discovery) award last fall.