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NextNOW is the Final Arts Festival of the Summer

Posted on September 9, 2016

For many of us, summer means hot evenings out attending arts festivals. Music fans travel hundreds, even thousands, of miles to attend big music festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo. And locally, the DC area has the Capital Fringe Festival, the more traditional Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and more.

As summer winds down, there’s one final festival where you can soak up both the waning heat and pop culture: NextNOW Fest. Produced by the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, NextNOW Fest includes two days of concerts and performances September 9th and 10th.

If you’re concerned about the cost of the Uber to and from College Park for the festival: all events are free. You read that right: FREE.

Musical group Black Masala will be performing a free show Saturday evening at NextNOW Fest. Photo by John Shore.

Saturday 5:30-6:30 pm you can catch local group-on-the-rise Black Masala. Alternately tagged dance, funk, and soul, Black Masala plays a hybrid of gypsy punk (popularized by Gogol Bordello) and New Orleans street jazz. Their new album drops October 30 so expect audience favorites and soon to be favorites.

Later Saturday night is New-York-based, Japanese-born, Mitski. Rolling Stone called Mitski’s recent album “one of 2016’s most striking.” Her songs draw on emotional themes like romance and identity, with an ethereal/nostalgic 90s alt-pop feel; think: The Cranberries mixed with Celine Dionne. “I tend to be flung around by my emotions,” Mitski said in a recent interview with NPR Music.

Musical artist Mitski — performing a free show Saturday night at NextNOW. Photo by Ebru Yildiz.

More established acts will be performing at NextNOW through The Clarice’s Artist Partner Program, including Bandaloop. The San Francisco-based Bandaloop—who are celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2016—have danced on the side of skyscrapers in India, christened new buildings for Hermes and Virgin Galactic.

Bandaloop. Photo by Atossa Soltani.

The San Francisco-based Bandaloop—who are celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2016—have danced on the side of skyscrapers in India, and christened new buildings for Hermes and Virgin Galactic. For NextNOW, they’ll take to the air in The Clarice’s Grand Pavilion throughout the two-day festival. Check the NextNow website for more details on when to see the self-described “pioneers in vertical dance performance.”

Megan Pagado, lead curator of the Festival and associate director of The Clarice’s Artist Partner Program, described NextNOW as central to The Clarice’s mission. “It’s a priority for us to create an environment that celebrates the creativity of our campus community and facilitates active exploration of the arts,” she said.

As Washington begins to wave farewell to the sweltering days of summer, don’t miss the emerging and established artists of NextNOW Fest.

Full event listings and tickets for some events are available at The Clarice’s website.

This article was originally posted on DC Metro Theater Arts.

The Circus Isn’t Coming to Town (But It’s Already Here)

Posted on August 26, 2016

With the recent announcement that The Big Apple Circus will be ending public performances, circus lovers might be worried about where to get their clown fix. No need to worry: the DC-area is home to an array of accomplished clowns, mimes, and physical theatre companies.

Local theater artist Elena Day is likely DC’s most famous clown. Currently working with the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil, Day is recognized for creating one of the Cirque’s signature characters: the Green Bird from La Nouba. When she’s not on tour, Day performs and teaches for local companies including The Studio Theatre Conservatory and The Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning through the Arts.

Photo courtesy Elena Day –http://www.elenaday.com/.

Day believes clowning has a universal appeal. “Perhaps this is because the style is often based in physical comedy and situations, specifically involving failure,” she said. “We can all relate to these situations that involve failure and overcoming that failure…. People need to laugh [a]nd the quality of laughter that clowning evokes is emotionally connected.”

Local theater artist Matthew Pauli founded DC’s Clown Cabaret in 2010 with fellow performers Karen Beriss and Rich Potter. The mission of Clown Cabaret is to teach audiences about clowning and to provide clowns a space to practice their craft. The company hosts monthly shows at the Fringe Arts Space that are an opportunity to catch new acts.

“We really want to put as many different styles of clowning out in front of people as we can,” Pauli said. “We occasionally teach classes, but mostly, we let the variety of performers who come to us with their material carry the message.”

Several local theater companies, including Happenstance Theatre and Faction of Fools, have made serious artworks integrating the traditional clowning form Commedia dell‘Arte. Using Commedia dell‘Arte, actors improvise based on established character types signified by masks.

Faction of Fools associate artist Annetta Sawyer first encountered Commedia far from her current home in DC, growing up in Italy. “My cousins would perform the Commedia characters for us,” she said. “I’ll always recall how my neighbor laughed out loud during a school play and I realized – I could make people laugh!”

Preview Party at the Baldacchino Gypsy Tent 2010 Capital Fringe Festival July 1, 2010 Photo copyright 2010 by Paul Gillis Photography

Photo copyright by Paul Gillis Photography

Sawyer says that the relationship between the audience and the clown performer is key: “[W]hen the audience responds – it’s great! We conspire together! There’s so much room for so many feelings in clowning.”

While the news of The Big Apple Circus folding its tent heralds change, local performers like Elena Day, Annetta Sawyer, and Matthew Pauli aren’t discouraged.

“This work will never die,” Sawyer said, “There’s too much wrong with the world. At least laughter is somewhat of an antidote.” Pauli agrees. “I may sound a bit hokey when I talk about this,” he said. “[B]ut I really do believe that there is something wonderful about the connection that clowning can create between people.”

Pauli also insists that clowning is more prevalent in popular culture than audiences realize: “There are people who say that they hate clowns but love Will Ferrell. Ferrell is a clown, plain and simple. He just doesn’t wear the circus makeup.”

Day added, “It’s hard to run a circus company in America [because] we don’t have the governmental support other countries have. [The closing of The Big Apple Circus] is a big loss for the audience, and all the folks who’ve worked on or in a Big Apple show.”

This article was originally posted on UrbanScrawl and DC Theatre Scene.

Fat Kids are Harder to Kidnap reviewed

Posted on July 18, 2016

If you’ve seen Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind—the innovative devised theater work by Chicago-based company Neo-Futurists—then in a significant way you have already seen Fat Kids are Harder to Kidnap. You will notice the same clothesline with numbered fliers, menu with play titles, and looming timer upstage. Even the language of the curtain speech is roughly the same. However, this similarity should not scare away audiences: Fat Kids are Harder to Kidnap is fun, despite being derivative in every sense of the word.

Very much like the Neo-Futurists’ piece, Fat Kids is based on a simple premise: the performers will put on 20 short plays in 30 minutes. The audience assists the five-person ensemble by selecting scenes/plays from a numbered handout that correspond to the numbered fliers on the clothesline. The audience shouts a number and the actors perform that play.Fat Kids differs Too Much Light in that the plays are teen-friendly, including bits about apps, parents, and the video game Call of Duty.

The performers are largely good but Ross Nasir is a clear standout. She performs a memorable parody of Beyonce’s hit “Irreplaceable” with perfect R&B warble, and is hilarious as a frustrated video game player. She sells one of the performance’s rare high-concept plays. She most fully embodies the energy which all of the performers have throughout; they’re having a great time and you will find it easy to join in the fun.

Fat Kids has a few small, but significant flaws. Allowing that the piece is intended for younger audiences, some of Melissa Sim’s joke writing feels stale. Young audiences will appreciate the lightness of the humor, but they will certainly hear jokes they have heard before. As the troupe is based in Singapore, some of the cultural jokes in pieces like “Singapore in Jeopardy” (for example) simply don’t land well with American audiences.

Fat Kids are Harder to Kidnap might be a hard sell for Fringe audiences because it’s brief, oriented toward young audiences, and offers material that patrons may have encountered before. But the explosive energy of the performers and delightful integration of the audience make Fat Kids worth a viewing. The performances of Fat Kids occur in the upstairs Fringe space making it a convenient refresher to enjoy between more adult shows.

This piece was originally posted on DC Metro Theater Arts.

Elephant in the Room reviewed

Posted on July 17, 2016

Elephant in the Room at the Capital Fringe Festival

There is an ancient Indian story that tells the tale of blind men unknowingly encountering an elephant. Based on which part of the elephant they touch, each man proposes that the animal is something else. Elephant in the Room, from San Francisco-based physical theater company Right Brain Performancelab, presents a similar experience for audiences. Depending on which part of the performance you relate to most you may walk away with a different understanding of what the piece is about. That ambiguity, and the refined clowning of the performers, makes Elephant in the Room a treat.

The story is organized around the invisibility of the elephant and a conceit that actors and audience must work together to get the elephant to materialize. Two clowns (Jennifer Gwirtz and John Baumann) conduct and guide the mimed and sung vignettes, all of which allude to the Elephant’s meaning. Sometimes it seems she (the Elephant) symbolizes American apathy. Sometimes it seems she represents the meaning of life. It may be that she stands in for something about the performer and audience relationship. It’s never entirely clear, but seeking out meaning in the vignettes is a fun mental game.

Gwirtz and Baumann have great energy, a quirky sense of humor, and are powerful physical comedians; they’re especially strong in their dealings with the elephant, working together in mime to show the elephant growing and shrinking out of thin air. The pair has been creating experimental physical theater since 1998 and that long-term partnership is clear in their chemistry.

On reflection, it’s amazing that Elephant in the Room uses only one or two props, with no sets. Right Brain Performancelab is brilliantly creative about transforming costume pieces, and their own bodies, into useable props. The world they create with words, music, and movement feels just as full as more traditional theatrical productions. Elephant in the Room adds a healthy scoop of dark philosophy to the typically light fare of clowning.

Elephant in the Room is precisely the kind of show one expects at the Fringe. It’s quirky, and somewhat impenetrable, and the experimental energy is delightful. The performances are professional-grade, but the performers tell you at curtain call that you should find them at the bar. Some may feel around this show and find themselves disappointed, but others will discover they have found just what they were looking for.

This piece was originally posted on DC Metro Theater Arts.

Elizabeth Bruce’s Theatrical Journey

Posted on July 14, 2016

A phone rings. The voice on the other end reports that there’s an emergency: a teddy bear has broken its leg and needs to see a doctor right away. Thankfully, the phone was answered by teaching artist Elizabeth Bruce and her young students are now on the case.

This scenario is one of many “journeys” created by Bruce through her Theatrical Journey project at CentroNía, an award-winning educational organization in Columbia Heights, where she serves as Community Arts Producer. Theatrical Journey use the arts to develop problem-solving skills in students aged three through five. The students solve scientific problems in pretend play scenarios: “journeys.”

As summer reaches its middle, American parents and students alike begin to think about returning to school for the fall. Simultaneously, the U.S. Department of Education is working to finalize statutes for implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the 2015 national education legislation that will impact student teaching and curriculum across the country. Just as policymakers are considering a new approach to public education, unconventional educators like Elizabeth Bruce provide a window into a potential future.

“I have the best job!” Bruce exclaims in a Columbia Heights coffee shop.

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Hunt’

Posted on July 10, 2016

Jean P. Bordewich’s political drama Hunt turns back the clock to a divisive time in American politics – the early 1950s of Joseph McCarthy – but the characters and issues resonate in today’s political landscape. A passionate, high-profile Republican who blames minorities for America’s looming downfall. A powerful Democrat too focused on his own ascent to address pressing issues behind the scenes. Well-meaning politicians are caught in bi-partisan crossfire.

Hunt excavates the true story of Senator Lester Hunt (a solid Terry Loveman), who was blackmailed by McCarthyites Senator Styles Bridges (Scott Cummings) and Senator Herman Welker (Gary DuBreuil) in 1953. The Senators’ leverage against Hunt was the initially quiet arrest of his son Buddy (Brice Guerriere) for solicitation of a male undercover cop. Over the course of the play Hunt wrestles with whether to fight the system or give in, receiving help along the way from his insightful wife Nathelle (Suzanne Martin, in a sharp turn) and a kindly reporter (Michael David Anderson).

Despite some shortcomings in the script, Hunt benefits from strong performances. Director Kristin Shoffner manages an expert ensemble that fit well in the period setting. Anderson and Guerriere have a believable rapport, which brings some relief and humanity to the story’s development. Suzanne Martin is delightful to watch as the Senator’s wife, carefully balancing support and strategy. Cummings and DuBreuil are frightening as politicians who embody the banality of evil. Terry Loveman in the title role feels every bit the Wyoming politician: strong, principled, but still insecure at his core.

Costume Designer Julie Cray and, presumably, Shoffner, did strong work on the production design. The costumes and set are 1950s Americana, smartly simple enough to weather the notorious 15-minute Fringe pre-show load-in. Similarly, Lighting Designer Colin Dieck creates moments of thrilling drama using a modest light plot. The work of Composer Josh Harty and Sound Designer Niusha Nawab is complex, weaving original music and sounds from nature into popular songs and news reports from the period.

Audiences coming to the Flashpoint for Hunt will leave with a new perspective on history and, perhaps, even a new understanding of the present. With a disturbingly relevant subject, fabulous performances, and impressive design, Hunt should be near the top of every Fringe itinerary.

The piece was originally posted on DC Metro Theater Arts.

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Concrete Devotion’

Posted on July 9, 2016

Fringe performances tend to fall into one of the following categories: shows that make you cringe, shows that make you feel, or shows that make you think. Concrete Devotion, from well-established company Motion X Dance DC, offers three contemporary dance premieres with emotional heft and visual dynamism. It manages to make you feel and think while avoiding that other common Fringe experience.

The first two pieces – “Kindred” and “It’s On Her” – tackle illness, physical and mental respectively. Lauren Carnesi’s choreography for “Kindred” smartly utilizes weight-sharing to portray how disease can make the body weak and the community strong in supporting the ill. Sammi Rosenfeld’s “It’s On Her,” however, is the stand out of the concert. An exploration of mental illness, the staccato rhythm in the music and movement envelop the viewer in the fever pitch of mania. Concrete Devotion closes with a featured piece of the same name that follows a couple as they balance shared professional life with the intimacy of their relationship. The choreography is beautiful at moments – two dancers slowly walking away from each other, for instance – but in places retreads its own imagery (without additional impact.)

The ensemble on the whole is strong, but could be more cohesive; there were many moments when the dancers seemed to be out of tune with one another. Christopher Saunders, the only male in the ensemble, was a standout also for his strong solos, including an emotional performance in “Concrete Devotion.” Otherwise, the ensemble was balanced enough that all dancers could shine.

The technical elements of Concrete Devotion are intriguing and may be one of the central selling points for the performance. Film of the dancers talking about their personal lives, designed by Stephanie L. Dorrycott and projected throughout, gave each live piece emotional roots. The unsettling imagery in the film of dancers lying on their sides on the floor and running along the walls is striking. The puppet designed by Rachel Adler for “It’s on Her” could successfully play a variety of emotions and added depth as a “character.”

Concrete Devotion will transport you to a cerebral place of emotional contemplation. It’s honest expression of sickness, mental illness and relationship trouble could certainly inspire a fulfilling trip to the Fringe bar.

This piece was originally posted on DC Metro Theater Arts.

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