From November 13–23, The VORTEX offered a rare kind of theatrical experience: intimate, sensory-rich, and brimming with imagination. In the Pony Shed, a small outbuilding that seats roughly twenty audience members, the regional premiere of Morgan McKenzie Kauffman’s DORA’S GENTLY USED DREAMS STORE unfolded like a dream itself; unusual, tender, and full of hidden treasures waiting to be discovered.
Kauffman’s script introduces us to a shop where dreams that have been outgrown, forgotten, or set aside are gathered and made available for new dreamers. The premise is whimsical yet grounded in emotional truth; an exploration of memory, longing, and the deeply human practice of clinging to hopes or letting them go. Dora, the shop’s odd but perceptive proprietor, curates jars of dreams with care, humor, and a surprising authority that makes the metaphor feel vividly alive.
Under the direction of Faith Sanders, the production makes excellent use of the Pony Shed’s modest size. Embracing the constraints, Sanders gives the performance an economy of movement and intimate staging that feel tailor-made for such a close audience-performer relationship. The center aisle serves as a kind of runway for stories and dream enactments, bringing Dora’s world quite literally within arm’s reach. This allows the audience to feel folded into the action as guests in the shop, a sense of invitation that is crucial as the play unfolds, creating a space where imagination is shared and gently guided…