What I liked
The sound and lighting design was incredibly well done! There was just the right amount of both to help build out the world without distracting from what was going on onstage. The sound effects for the different ship controls and the light from opening the viewing window screen are just a few examples of the simple additions that helped establish the space.
What I didn't like
The long dialogue between Mina and Caleb while they investigated all the different systems manually was a bit uninteresting to watch. It slowed down the pace of what I felt like was a pretty high-stakes situation, so it read as a little unnatural to me. The moment where the gravity fluctuation interrupted their conversation was interesting and I liked how that reestablished the threat, but then it sort of went away again.
My overall impression
Strange Beings was great! I was amazed how such a simple set sucked me into the world immediately, and the story was carefully crafted to slowly bring us deeper and deeper into Mina and Caleb’s relationship. Both Victoria Gluchoski and Joshua Verges gave incredibly grounded performances that never felt overdone but perfectly human in their minimalism.
