Jean Christian Barry, Roderick Hill and Jasminn Johnson in the world premiere of “Tornado Tastes Like Aluminum Sting.” Theater can flood the senses, dousing us in sights, sounds, vibrations — and maybe a whiff of Chanel No. 5 from a perfume fancier in a nearby seat.
It’s a mode of life that caused friction when they were growing up in Kansas and their accounts of synesthesia sparked disbelief from uninformed acquaintances. But in better moments, dot aut’s world feels almost mystical. “All these colors and music and this sort of intangible, capacious, global, delicious magnification — I’ve always felt that it lifted me up and out of my body,” they say.
The show’s designers, who include scenic designer Britton W. Mauk and co-projections designers Caite Hevner and Paul Lieber, help evoke CB’s synesthesia. In the scene with the humming-wood line, for example, CB touches various furnishings and the audience hears what the character hears.