The Rogue Artists Ensemble, made up of designers and technical folk, sprang from theater graduates of UC Irvine in 2001, and this is its third piece under the umbrella title "HYPERBOLE." The "Rogues" call their style "hyper-theatre" and compare it to music videos, which tells you quite a bit about their capsule approach to theatrical storytelling. The 18 vignettes are self-contained and yet of a piece — each directed by one of a "core" group, including Son of Semele members and led by head Rogue Sean T. Cawelti. Each is set to, and inspired by, the songs of local musicians; the results employ a blend of masks, puppetry of all sorts, computer animation and movement.

Performed at the Son of Semele Ensemble's home base in Silver Lake, the show delivers a refreshing dose of whimsy. In one vignette, a marionette tries to teach a human-size figure some dance steps; in another highly relatable sequence, a hand-puppet sandwich breaks into song and drives its creator to diet and exercise.

The puppetry and music entice, yet the vignettes don't utterly delight. But nor do they, with a couple of late exceptions, fall flat. If there's a single Achilles' heel that limits the execution, it's the human movement. The staging and performances are just not physically exact enough to provide the expressiveness required when faces are masked.

But even if the show doesn't provide any genuine epiphanies, there's a lot of of creative flair here, and a plethora of promise.