Hope Mohr takes company to new heights in ‘Manifesting’

Blessed be the rare postmodern choreographer possessed of a sense of humor.

Hope Mohr is a member of that rare breed, and her new dance theater piece, “Manifesting,” which premiered at ODC Theater on Thursday, June 9, is an amiable romp and a chapter in an artist’s ongoing debate with herself.

A melange of interspersed songs (Beth Wilmurt), skits and dance, “Manifesting” suggests that manifestos both weaken and fortify artistic resolve.

Mohr loads the dialogue with excerpts from famous manifestos by Yvonne Rainer, Antonin Artaud, Tristan Tzara and others; they are periodically quoted to bolster the weak of will.

White animal masks repose on tables to which the performers retreat in a state of resignation when they’re not cavorting like refugees from a menagerie.

Without manifestos to sustain them, the dancers, all in red, black and white, trudge across the space or roll on the floor.

There is no background music; accompanying throughout are sound designer Theodore J.H. Hulsker’s ringing telephones, busy signals and looped recorded messages.