There’s a reason that the second rule of Fight Club is the same as the first rule of Fight Club.  Because Tyler Durden (and by extension, author Chuck Palahniuk) understood that it’s human nature to break rules.  First rule of Fight Club – don’t talk about Fight Club.  Second Rule of Fight Club:  DO NOT talk about Fight Club.  So what did people do?

What does this have to do with August Schulenberg’s new play DEINDE?  Simple.  DEINDE – a sci-fi story of quantum biologists who use a  Dineural Entangled Intelligence Network DEvice [a "clumsy acronym, really, not even a real E at the end"] to “loop in” in order to juice their brains so that they can be smart enough to cure a virus that has been killing the world’s population – begins with four simple rules:

1. When using DEINDE do not think of anything other than work.
2. Do not keep the connection to DEINDE live outside of work.
3. Do not use DEINDE to communicate with each other.
4. Do not use DEINDE to accss the world online.

Sounds so easy to follow, right?  So did “Don’t talk about Fight Club” and we all know how that turned out.

The rest of the play is about how those looped in to DEINDE systematically break the rules as they find themselves becoming addicted to the unnameable and unbelievable power that overtakes them, courtesy of this strange and wonderful and terrifying new level of understanding.

The play itself begins with a chess match – a conventional one –  which then thematically unfolds throughout the entire play, on a much more subtle level.  In the first scene the game is being played on a recognizable board and the notion of checkmate has no hidden meaning or agenda. On one side of the board we have Cooper (David Ian Lee) who plays a very analytic and thoughtful game where he tries to see every available move before he proceeds. However he doesn’t have the intuitive leap to be able to move beyond what is in front of him in order to win the match.  On the other side of the board there is the older, wiser Malcolm (Ken Glickfeld) who is the embodiment of 95 years of trial and error.  This dictates not just how he plays a chess match, but how he moves through life.  While it seems that he is using intimidation and brio to distract his opponent in actuality he doesn’t need this slight of hand – he’s won the game anyway, based on his innate knowledge which comes from something that can’t be taught – something that can only be experienced.  By zeroing in on the fatal flaw of his opponent rather than relying on the limitations of his own body of knowledge, he is able to win the game.

DEINDE featuring Isaiah Tanenbaum, Ken Glickfeld, David Ian Lee, Rachael Hip-Flores, and Nitya Vidyasagar (Photo credit Justin Hoch)

DEINDE works with this theme throughout the play;  constantly pitting two sides against each other with much higher stakes, and a checkmate which implies not just the end of a game but perhaps the end of human progress.  The battle is between information vs. intuition, intelligence vs. maturity, wisdom vs. knowledge.  If you’re paying attention it’s easy to see how the moves will play out – but nonetheless thrilling to watch as they unfold.

There’s a lot of science here – this is, after all, a sci-fi tale, but it’s laid out in a way that is conversational, interactive and engaging.  If some of it goes over your head, well, that’s almost the meta-point.

DEINDE is what would happen if Charly and Sybil had a love child who evolved at the speed of light.  If you remember your high school reading assignments, Flowers For Algernon dealt with Charly (or Charlie), a learning-disabled man who is chosen by a team of scientists to boost his intelligence.  As Charly becomes self aware, and soon hyper-intelligent he becomes disenchanted both with his former self as well as those around him whom he once admired.  Similarly, Jenni and Mac – the young, eager (already brilliant) quantum biologists who undergo the DEINDE process find themselves on this same road – unable to return to the blandness of the existence they had before they looped in.  So they simply don’t.

As they further break the rules they become reliant upon the technology, even as they surpass it.  Those around them,  once considered mentors, colleagues and advisers are now considered troglodytes.  Speaking with them is like ”talking through tar” to Jenni and Mac who are on an accelerated path – always.  Further, as they break rule number 3 they find themselves justifying their own behavior to (and with) each other, as they now are “one person in two bodies” who still speak out loud to each other, but in unison because it “feels grounding, like we’re still human in some meaningful way”.  Further they decide they are there “not … to abolish the law but to fulfill Man’s destiny”.  Yes.  They are THAT GOOD. Or so they think.

But there are consequences for breaking the rules.  Not punishments.  Consequences.

Throughout the play in every way director Heather Cohn balances precision with chaos.  Will Lowry’s set and scenic design is awash in mathematical equations, written in a steady hand and proving the undeniable.  Electronic devices are clear lucite and allow for anything since they are beholden to nothing.  Martha Goode’s sound design brings scenes crackling to life with music that is classical, indicating moments which are very calculated and decisive, straightforward and blunt.  This makes the dischord which begins once the rules are broken all the more salient and pronounced – where things once were clear and ordered they are now explosive and uncontrollable.

Similarly the acting is in perfect balance; a composed and measured Nabanita (Nitya Vidyasagar) is in perfect counterbalance to the (at first) bouncy, youthful, Mac (Isaiah Tanenbaum) and Jenni (Rachael Hip-Flores) who move quickly to manic and frenzied.   Cooper and Malcolm do fantastic work in the middle ground, showing both compassion and tolerance in the face of a technology that is terrifying, wonderful and unquantifiable.

Another strong Flux Theatre Ensemble production which melds science with sentiment and allows the “what if”s to paint a picture of possibility.  Beautiful and meaningful – not to be missed.

~~~

Related Posts:

• Menders: Good Fences Make Good Neighbors – Good Menders Make Great Theatre
• The Seduction Of The 60s Lives On In “The Lesser Seductions Of History”
• 4 Cents Review: Blessings Abound At Jacob’s House
• Delving Into DARK WATER With Diánna Martin
• It’s Time For Mini-Fridge Elevenses With initium/finis!

Flux Theatre Ensemble’s production of Menders (written by Erin Browne and directed by Heather Cohn) currently playing at The Gym at Judson will catch you by surprise – but not all at once.  It will do so in subtle ways, often, and always differently than it did moments before.

First you will be drawn in by the simple aesthetics of the piece, which unfolds with a wisp of mystery but a promise of payoff in the end because, of course, that’s the way all good stories wrap up. Not necessarily with a good ending, or a bad ending, but a powerful ending which simply means one interlude has come to its natural conclusion.  Director Heather Cohn understands how to build the perfect scaffolding around this story, which is a story of stories — each story within it also coming to not a good ending, or a bad ending … simply a powerful one.

Next you will be moved by the poem Mending Wall by Robert Frost which is recited in part by each character in kind as they move about the stage and gather items, disappearing and reappearing from behind several substantial walls that dominate the set (beautifully and cleanly designed by Cory Rodriguez).  You’ll know what they’re reciting if you’ve read your program cover ahead of time — if not, it will come up soon enough and the elegance with which the symbolism is used is exquisite; each time lines from the verse are repeated they catch your ear differently, each iteration vibrating with a deeper meaning of what it means to keep people out, or in, or know precisely which it is that is being done.  I’m sure those who have already seen the show were quick (as I was) to sit with the poem and see it through fresh eyes.

Subsequently you will be captivated by the non-linear story telling, woven so perfectly by playwright Erin Browne, who has a talent for creating not abrupt scene changes nor cheap cliff hangers, but rather recuperative moments of contemplation between stories so that each journey has the necessary amount of time to settle with -and permeate through- the audience.

And ultimately you will be gripped by the strong performances of the actors who so deftly lay this story out to the audience in a way that has your heart beating along with theirs – in love, in fear, in sadness, in freedom, in hope … in despair.

Menders is a story about stories – real stories that have hidden gems of magic, magical stories that have heartbreaking elements of reality – all wrapped up in the bigger story of  what it means to follow your heart versus follow the rules and the consequences of doing either.

The play begins in a society not so different from — and yet completely different than — ours.  Some might say it is where we could be heading if we’re not careful.  It’s either a utopia or a dystopia, based on who you ask, but either way it’s a country that’s walled in, safe … patrolled by Menders.  Their job is to walk the wall and report any breaks or suspicious tracks.  After that their report goes to the Investigators who follow up and the Crew who do the actual mending.  When we first meet a Mender, Corey, (Sol Marina Crespo) she is pleading to an unseen panel of judges; she is broken … yet still believing in the cause, still true to her country.   She is patriotic, even as she has no idea why she is being held or questioned; still true to the system of government that she knows is ultimately right regardless of how wrongly she is being treated.

Sol Marina Crespo & Isaiah Tanenbaum in Menders (Photo credit: Justin Hoch)

A quick turn and time spins backwards; it is much earlier and Corey is in training, all energy and eagerness.  It’s the first day and she’s with her cousin Aimes (Isaiah Tanenbaum) who is also eager, but far more nervous about their new mission.  They are greeted by Drew (Matt Archambault), their trainer who – it seems – is on his last tour as he is about to pack it in for a desk job.  He blames the wear and tear all the walking has done to his feet, but subtle clues hint that there’s a deeper reason here.

Vivia Font & Mike Mihm in Menders (Photo credit: Justin Hoch)

Soon the patrolling starts and it turns out to be surprisingly … dull.  To pass the time Drew tells stories to Corey and Aimes … stories that were “something someone told him once” but Corey surmises “…it was stuff he’d learned as an Investigator – outside the Wall.”  One story is about a gentle, lonely farmer, Jeff (Mike Mihm) who finds a woman in his wheat-field one day – a woman, Lila (Vivia Font) who got there by the power of her own wings – beautiful, shimmering structures that are part of her and have brought her to him.  So entranced is he by her captivating beauty that he does whatever he can to ensure that she never leaves him – even the worst thing he could possibly do to her.  His actions wind up keeping her in a type of prison, by his side but refusing to speak to him. The story of Jeff and Lila is Aimes’ favorite.

The second story, also metered out in small parcels, is about a subway troubadour, Ash (Raushanah Simmons) who comes upon a woman one day, Tam (Ingrid Nordstrom), who never goes above ground during the day because she’s allergic to sunlight.  Ash, like Jeff in his story, is similarly captivated by this woman and boldly takes steps to win her over.  Tam, fragile, skittish, nervous, is not easily won.  Ash even goes so far as to gift Tam with a star she found in the park.  Eventually the two women come to some middle ground and the future looks bright.  This story is Corey’s favorite despite the fact that “every fiber of her being” knows that two women together in a “man/woman” way is wrong.  Like Aimes, she waits out the duller stories until “her” story is told by Drew.

In between telling these stories the action reverts back to the present day, where Corey is still defending herself in an unexplained arena.  She will often go on to explain more of the early days of training.

Criss-crossing through all these interlinked stories – some fabricated (or so we’re told), some re-envisioned, is the main theme of Menders: that every character there is a mender of one sort or another, for every one of them is broken somehow and needs to be repaired in a way that requires attention, love, respect, and diligence. Each of their stories – presented to the audience as either fiction or true account – illustrates that every one of us can be simultaneously broken and fixed — and a mender — which is perhaps why, in the end, there is no actual resolution to any of the stories – not even Corey’s.  She has been on trial for most of it, but perhaps her biggest accuser has been herself; and her biggest entreaty is not on her own behalf but on the behalf of all the broken – for all to be spared and given understanding.  Although, perhaps, even she doesn’t know that.

Matthew Archambault & Isaiah Tanenbaum in Menders (Photo credit: Justin Hoch)

Once again, Flux shows an expertise at assembling incredible actors to bring their productions to life; the team of menders (Archambault, Crespo and Tanenbaum) are the solid core of the piece with Ms. Crespo, as Corey, serving as the pinion that keeps the other stories in play.  She has the most difficult role, needing to convincingly portray fresh-faced and earnest one moment before becoming broken and discouraged the next; confused by the way her dream crumbled.  Matt Archambault (always a formidable Flux presence) as Drew is able to give a still-waters-run-deep snapshot of a man; his choices are subtle but compelling, allowing the audience to look for clues to his truth that he works hard to obscure.

Isaiah Tanenbaum (another Flux favorite) gives dimension to Aimes which elevates the character from a simple yes-man to a touching human being on the brink of discovering the power of secrets that had been heretofore hidden from him.

Vivia Font is downright beguiling as Lila – a woman who, inexplicably, has wings.  She is so believable, and so invested, that her attatchment to them is never questionable.  Moreover, as her character goes speechless for part of her scenes she does a beautiful job of emoting from a much deeper place; so fully expressing Lila’s pain, doubt, and regret with little more than a twitch of her mouth and a downcast eye.  For his part Mike Mihm is able to make Jeff endearing when all outward signs would have you dislike him for his thoughtless actions, and in the end when he pays the ultimate price he breaks your heart as he bears silent witness to his punishment.

Raushanah Simmons & Ingrid Nordstrom in Menders (Photo credit: Justin Hoch)

Raushanah Simmons as Ash and Ingrid Nordstrom as Tam prove to be the perfect yin/yang pair; where Ash is strong, forthright, determined, bold, and even a bit mischievious, Tam is anxious, unsure, quiet … yet curious.  Simmons and Nordstrom are a joy to watch as they peel back the layers of this tentative relationship, dancing a dance with awkward but insistent steps.  They not only have a terrific chemistry, but an estimable knack for getting you to root for their relationship to succeed.

When speaking with Artistic Director August Schulenburg a few weeks before seeing the show he advised “Menders is very ‘Flux’y”. I love that Flux Theatre has so strongly identified their brand that a play immediately resonates as “Fluxy”. And I love that the minute he said that to me I already had a notion of what to expect – and was excited about it.  Now that I’ve seen it not only do I agree – Fluxy! – but I’m once again awed by the talented ensemble that is Flux.  Simply put: this is a beautiful story – told beautifully.  Let it surprise and delight you … and perhaps even mend you too.

~~~

Related Posts:

• The Seduction Of The 60s Lives On In “The Lesser Seductions Of History”
• Delving Into DARK WATER With Diánna Martin
• The Stranger To Kindness: City Of Strangers (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• The Stranger To Kindness: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Emily Owens

These women of the arts hail from different disciplines, but they all have an indomitable spirit and a luminescent spark that makes them amazing human beings who are out there every day, doing amazing work.

Today we continue our series with Emily Owens. Without exaggeration I can say that Emily paved the way for making The Happiest Medium what it is today.  Way back in 2008 when I was a fledgling reviewer and still trying to figure out how to fill a weekly column quota (for another site) publicist Emily Owens contacted me about some shows she was representing.  I was new to it all and eagerly accepted every show that she sent my way.  ”Just you wait,” my husband (and the co-founder of The Happiest Medium) said, “One day you’ll be getting so many offers from so many publicists that you’ll be turning them away!”   I couldn’t imagine what that would feel like.

Well, here we are, two and a half years later and I’m proud to say that Emily Owens and I continue to enjoy a very successful business relationship to this very day.   And, Stephen was right – these days THM gets so many offers to review shows that we have to be very choosy with what we follow up on.   I’m grateful … but overworked and overwhelmed at times by the amount of shows that are happening in Manhattan.  Having a relationship with a someone like Emily —  a publicist I can trust – ensures that The Happiest Medium is always covering the best, newest, and greatest of what’s out there. Emily has been critical in getting me together with some of my very favorite people in this industry, and – I’ll say it again – I wouldn’t be where I am if I hadn’t begun reviewing shows repped by Emily Owens.  Most recently, as the publicist for the Frigid New York Festival 2011, she made it possible for The Happiest Medium to become a Media Sponsor and the relationships we were able to build during that festival were invaluable.  Never mind just plain fun!

I’m in awe of her energy, her intuition and her connections.  And I thank her from the bottom of my heart for what she does not only for me, but for all the talented people who count on her to publicise them the right way, every day.  Now let’s hear her story  …

Talk to me about being a woman who does what you do- just overall.

When you own your own business the business IS you, so everything I do or say reflects on my company in one way or another. From the clothes I wear to what I post on my Facebook status, it all affects how people perceive my company. To that end I’m sure the fact that I’m a woman does play a factor, but its not something I think about as it relates to my job. When I first started out I was more concerned about my age, as I started my company fairly young (I’m 25 now and Emily Owens PR was founded in 2006, you do the math!) I felt for a long time like I had to keep my age a secret, for fear that people wouldn’t take me seriously.

The favorite part of my job is seeing my clients succeed. I know that probably sounds cheesy but its true! The reason I do what I do is to get artists and their work exposure that they otherwise might not get without me. There is so much amazing work going on downtown that people don’t necessarily know about, and I love helping to get that work the acknowledgement it deserves.

Tells us about some of the barriers you’ve encountered.

I knew pretty early on that indie theatre was where I wanted to be, but I ran into a lot of attitude against it. The feedback I received was that press wouldn’t cover off-off Broadway shows and that I’d never be able to make a living at it.

Its still difficult to get the larger media outlets to cover shows being produced off-off Broadway and there are still people I run into from time to time who honestly have no idea what independent theatre is, but I’m much more fulfilled pounding the pavement everyday trying to get my “unknown” clients exposure then I would be if I was working for some big Broadway press agent publicizing “Die Hard: The Musical!” starring Johnny Depp.

The men that you come across / work with / interact with – do they treat you as an equal?

I’m sure my male counterparts are never referred to as the “PR girl” but I’ve always kind of liked being the PR girl! I never want to be treated differently because I’m a woman. In some cases I think people are more likely to hire me because I’m a woman (as opposed to NOT hiring me because of it) but I think that’s almost just as bad. You should hire somebody because they’re the best person for the job, not because of their gender, skin color, or sexual orientation. We’re never really going to be equals until our differences stop being a factor entirely.

You’re so busy!  What are some of your upcoming projects?

• Purple Rep’s Gay Plays for Straight People (and also gay people), April 8-30 @ The Paradise Factory
• Iron Jaw’s Narrator 1, May 11-29 @ The Lion
• The Comic Book Theater Festival, June 2-25 @ The Brick

Emily Owens is a press agent for independent theatre. Her clients include Horse Trade Theater Group, terraNOVA Collective, Flux Theatre Ensemble, Nosedive Productions, The Brick, Rachel Klein Productions, and Purple Rep. Visit her site Emily Owens PR.

Related Posts:

• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Heidi Grumelot
• Yippie! – Revolution On Demand (FRIGID New York 2011)
• There is No Good News – Laughing Until Your Sides Hurt (FRIGID New York 2011)
• FRIGID Hangovers – I’ll Have Another Round! (FRIGID New York 2011)
• Year Of The Slut – It Was A Very Long Year (FRIGID New York 2011)

Liz Douglas, Lori E. Parquet, Becky Byers, & Chris Wight

A few weeks ago when I interviewed playwright Liz Duffy Adams about her new play, Dog Act, now playing at the Flamboyan Theatre, she told me “I love stories about how people recreate social/political systems and civilization in the midst of catastrophe, and protect human culture through the darkest of times. So having the central characters be performers who are the sole source of art in a very dark future seemed exciting to me, and potentially theatrical.”  In a nutshell, this is what Ms. Adams set out to do, and it is exactly what she did.  Under Kelly O’Donnell’s masterful direction Dog Act manages to artfully combine the darkness and desolation of a lost world with the lightness and hope that is the very spirit of the theatre – be it vaudeville or otherwise.

The advantage of creating a world which no one has ever experienced before is that there are no rules which can be broken.  And so, in this world of Adams’ we have a society where it’s possible for a man to exist in servitude as a dog, a society where a Vaudevillian is as sacred and off-limits to the tribe of cannibals as the cows in India, and a world where seasons change at whim, in no particular order, and with no particular pattern.   Tribes have aligned themselves according to rules which simply worked out that way.  Although alliances may be forged quickly, with very little to base them on, you’re playing fast and loose with your future by choosing to trust the hand that is stretched out  before you in friendship.

When we come upon Zetta Stone (played with sparkle, charm and just a bit of mischief by Lori E. Parquet) she is with her Dog (Chris Wight) travelling along the desolate roads on the way to what they hope will be their salvation – in this case: China.  Through conversation we find that their troupe was bigger at one time but the harshness of the wandering life caused their company to splinter; now all that remains is Dog, Zetta, and their determination to get to China.  Zetta is unflinching in her quest, and it is here where she resembles a Don Quixote of sorts (albeit far less mad), not so much tilting at windmills but rather tapping across plains, playing the spoons, and singing upbeat songs of high-hoped hereafter.

Of course, into each life a little rain must fall – and this rain comes in the form of Vera Similitude (Liz Douglas) and her wild companion, Jo-Jo the Bald-Faced Liar (Becky Byers) who are obviously not Vaudevillians but are passing themselves off as such in order to keep moving safely.  Stir these four together, each with their quirks, habits and secrets and the plot begins to bubble up, revealing hidden forks in the road.  Ultimately, where they all end up is precisely where they were meant to be.   But how they get there . . . well, that’s the Dog Act.

Adams’ script, as well as her story, have an innate rhythm and melody which is captured uniquely by each member of the cast.  Whereas Parquet’s Zetta is the smooth, flowing underscore which unites the scenes and holds the play together, Wight’s Dog provdes the deeper, more mournful tones which bring you to the dark spots of this land’s history and culture.  His story is aching and bittersweet – a good man with a bad past.  Douglas’ Vera provides the dissonance – alluring and proud themes covering a side to her character which is not so much evil as it is bent on survival at any cost.  If this means a bit of deception, or even a bit of dissection – well, what’s a woman to do?  And Byers’s Jo-Jo crackles throughout like the crash of a cymbal – she is electric not only when performing her monologues, but even when sitting to the side, muttering.  A bit like Lord Of The Ring’s Gollum, she is the young product of what this new world has created.  Kelly O’Donnell’s intuitive direction intertwines these melodies to orchestrate the landscape of Adams’ Dog Act and deliver a fully realized, perfectly created piece of theatre.

Capped off by Lara de Bruijn’s costumes, which manage to both mimic and create fashion simultaneously, and Jason Paradine’s set design – which includes a wagon that, at times, nearly steals the show – the universe of Dog Act is complete.

For any of you who keep wondering – Is there a Dog? The answer is: yes. Dog does exists. Go to the Flamboyan Theater and see for yourself.

~~~

Related Posts:

• Every Dog (Act) Has Its Day – An Interview With Playwright Liz Duffy Adams
• 4 Cents Review: Blessings Abound At Jacob’s House
• Angel Eaters Trilogy – A Three Course Meal
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Emily Owens
• The Little One – Total Immersion

Liz Duffy Adams (photo by Joanna Eldredge Morrissey)

It’s no secret that as far as Theatre Ensembles go, Flux is one of my very favorites.  Consistently turning out quality work that never fails to leave audiences utterly captivated and amazed, they set the off-off Broadway bar very high – only to sail over it with each successive production.  I’m always expectant when I know a new Flux show is coming around because for me it means  - as a reviewer as well as an audience member – a guaranteed great night of theatre.

Well, I won’t have to wait much longer to get my Flux Fix – because Liz Duffy Adams’ post-apocalyptic dark comedy, Dog Act, will be coming to the Flamboyan Theater (at the Clemente Solo Velez Cultural & Educational Center) on February 4th. Dog Act “follows Zetta Stone, a traveling performer, and her companion Dog (a young man undergoing a voluntary species demotion) as they walk through the wilderness of the former U.S.A. with their vaudeville troupe. They are heading toward a gig in China, if they can find it…and if they can survive to get there.”  Sounds like nothing I’ve ever seen before – and exactly what I’ve come to expect from Flux!

In an interview with Liz Duffy Adams I was able to find out how this extraordinary play found this extraordinary ensemble; how she was able to make vaudeville and post apocalyptic themes mesh, and what undergoing a “voluntary species demotion” actually means . . .

Dog Act featuring Lori E. Parquet and Chris Wight (Photo by Isaiah Tanenbaum)

So many questions about Dog Act that I hardly know where to start! But first I’d like to talk a little bit about Flux. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Flux Ensemble and have been watching their progress for the past several years now. Tell me how you first came to collaborate with this group for Dog Act.

LDA: I met Gus [August Schulenburg - current Artistic Director of Flux] in 2002 at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival; he was there with his play RIDING THE BULL and I was there with DOG ACT. We stayed in touch, and when he told me recently that Flux wanted to produce DOG, I thought it would be a great fit.

Kelly O’Donnell is directing the piece – and she’s a very inventive and thoughtful director. How did her staging of the piece affect it? Were there any moments that changed because of her particular vision?

Oh, absolutely, I’m sure there will be many; we’re only half-way through rehearsals, so it’s a little hard to say specifically. I agree about Kelly being inventive and thoughtful; it’s been a joy to work with her. I’d say that her staging will bring out both the danger of the world and the comedy of the piece very vividly.

Dog Act is set in a post-apocalyptic world. I’m personally always curious about the idea of setting something in a post-apocalyptic world – what was your main reason for putting your play in (what I would expect) is the future? Is there any way it could exist now?

I don’t think this story could exist in the present; I think it’s inseparable from the setting. I tend to go to the future or the past for theatrical settings. For one thing, I like obliqueness of approach; talking about the present through the past or future takes it off “the nose.” Also, I love heightened theatrical language – one of the things I had the most pleasure with in writing DOG was the freedom to invent future dialects; how the different tribes of the play talk, and what that tells us about them.

I also love the idea of juxtaposing vaudeville – a very old-fashioned notion - with post apocalypse  . . . a very futuristic idea. What made you join these two together?

One thing I’m always interested in is the cyclical nature of human history (something my last play, OR, addressed pretty directly in a very different way); the way certain historical moments repeat and echo through the ages. The “vaudeville” in this play is an expansive notion inspired by traveling players from ancient Greece to medieval Europe up through American vaudeville troupes of the early-21st-century, to name just three incarnations. And then I love post-apocalyptic stories, I love stories about how people recreate social/political systems and civilization in the midst of catastrophe, and protect human culture through the darkest of times. So having the central characters be performers who are the sole source of art in a very dark future seemed exciting to me, and potentially theatrical.

Dog Act is about Zetta Stone (LOVE that name) and her companion who is ”undergoing a voluntary species demotion”. I’m positive this is the first I’ve ever heard of any play, story, or writing of any kind that deals with a species demotion. What exactly is that?

The character Dog is a young man who has chosen, for reasons that become clear in the play, to live as a dog; specifically a working dog: a life of humble, loyal service. In the world of the play, where real dogs are scarce, this is a thing you can do.

Without giving away too much of the plot – what is your favorite moment of the play?

That’s a hard question! Well, I have a particular fondness for the play-within-the-play in Act 2, which includes a debased variation of the classic Abbott and Costello routine, “Who’s on First?” DOG ACT won the Will Glickman Award when it was first produced in San Francisco, and it turns out that Glickman (who was a playwright and screenwriter) wrote that routine for Abbott and Costello. So that pretty much blew my mind.

Wow!  That’s amazing –  I can’t even imagine what something like that must be like.  Talk about “meant to be”!

Dog Act is a “dark comedy”. Is that because, as you wrote about a dark topic you were able to find the hidden humor in it, or is this a comedy that just happens to be set during a dark time?

Maybe both. I find that humor tends to enter into my work whatever I do, so I usually think about other things and let the humor take care of itself. In this case I wanted to tell a certain kind of story, set in a dark, dangerous, perilous world, and – since it was partly about theater itself – let it be as ridiculously funny as it wanted to be. If that makes sense.

What is the one theme that you hope resonates the most with audiences who come to see Dog Act?

I hope people in the audience will have a fabulous time, get caught up in the story, feel transported in that theatrical way of being on a wild ride together, and maybe find themselves thinking about the burdens of history, forgiveness, and what it means to be human.

___

I hope you’re all as excited as I am to see Dog Act!  Check back to see my review in a few weeks.

~~~

Related Posts:

• Dog Act – All This World’s A Traveling Stage
• 4 Cents Review: Blessings Abound At Jacob’s House
• Angel Eaters Trilogy – A Three Course Meal
• Menders: Good Fences Make Good Neighbors – Good Menders Make Great Theatre
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Emily Owens

4 Cents Review – When 2 reviewers each give their 2 cents.

Today Antonio Minino and Karen Tortora-Lee give their 4 Cents about Jacob’s House which is playing at The Access Theatre.

Karen Tortora-Lee:

I am convinced of a few things regarding Flux Theatre Ensemble and August Schulenberg after seeing Jacob’s House now playing at the Access Theatre.

1) August Schulenberg is physically incapable of writing a bad play, even under circumstances which – to anyone else – would dictate otherwise.  Also, I’m pretty sure he’s using some sort of magic pen.

2) Flux Theatre Ensemble is so rife with talent and so limitless in their craft that I think were they challenged to produced a show that consisted of nothing more than throwing tissues into the air during rush hour so compelling would their show be that they’d shut down traffic as an audience of taxi drivers, bridge & tunnel gals, and street vendors would all hush to watch them do what they do best.

Do I sound like I’m building Flux up to be more than they actually are?  Perhaps.  But I’m out of metaphors that do justice to this theatre ensemble, and now, this latest play, Jacob’s House, and its back-story (which I’ll explain) have me throwing glitter into the air in praise.  So indulge me while I honor them.

The biblical story of Job has been mined for its metaphors ad nauseum – everyone who’s loved and lost or your sentence here and lost has been compared to Job.  But who would have thought that the gods of Irony would have chosen to snicker at the Folks of Flux by watching as they prepared to produce  J.B. (based on the story of Job) and then test their faith by taking the play away from them?  Yet that is exactly what happened – mid step, with half of the production in full force the news came down that the play could not be done, and thus started the strange road that led to this magical story that became known as Jacob’s House written by August Schulenberg, directed by Kelly O’Donnell and cast with some of the finest actors in the business.

Walking into the Access Theatre is like walking into your grandmother’s attic, rafters and all.  The set, designed by Jason Paradine, immediately transforms the room into a space of secret hiding places and dusty stories, the perfect setting for three children to discuss/quibble/fight over their father – Jacob’s – Last Will and Testament.  Dinah, the oldest of the siblings (Jane Lincoln Taylor) would turn the place upside down if she could, seemingly searching for something that’s been long missing.  Joe (Zack Calhoon) is the middle child who seems to find himself lost in the memories kicked up by the ghosts of the house and Tamar (Jessica Angleskhan) is the snappy, fast talking youngest “child”, part of the family in a more imaginative way, and much more set on the monetary value of everything and just wanting to get the house, the blessing, and get it all over with.

As the three battle out the inheritance, past melds with present and coexists in the same space, spreading out the history of the family that started with Jacob and ended with them.  Color- and gender-blind casting do much to make this a magical tale almost immediately; anyone can be anyone in this story, and once that  rule of “the first rule is that there are no rules”  is established it becomes easy to buy into much of the magical realism that swirls around the theatre.

Antonio Minino:

Unlike Karen, I had never seen a Flux show. I’ve wanted to since I first heard of the company back in 2008, when I collaborated with Flux member Marnie Schulenburg, but my company MTWorks and Flux seem to share the same taste in scheduling.  However, after last night I have been banging my head with inanimate objects for missing 2 years of what, after seeing Jacob’s House, I consider exceptional work.

The word “ensemble” is one used with great liberty in NYC, mostly to categorize a company that uses actors on more than one instance, but a real ensemble is one that shares a same wavelength, that creates a taut line between all the actors, both on stage and off.  And so, in that respect, the cast of Jacob’s House is a true ensemble, and under the direction of Kelly O’Donnell the lines are pulled taut and let loose at just the right moments.

I don’t know if Schulenburg has a magic pen, but he certainly has a steady grip  — this is a well-focused generational play that studies the complexities of one single family during a time of exposed emotional gashes, and after all the greed, muck, jealousy and memories are cleaned off, the blood is thicker than any little old house, or sentimental treasure, as secrets are slowly revealed.

Singling out performers in an ensemble is a bit unfair, especially when the whole cast did exceptional work, not only at delivering their intentions, but also at listening  (one of the hardest tasks for an emerging actor). Having said that — and with my apologies to the rest of the cast — I must highlight the work of Bianca LaVerne Jones and Isaiah Tanenbaum. Ms Jones juggles three characters; showcasing her ample talents and uncanny skill to interpret them with hardcore earnestness. Holding the key between past and present is Mr Tanenbaum who plays the Messenger. He is an imposing presence and the light of the play, even when his message is that of darkness.

Karen Tortora-Lee:

I definitely agree with Antonio, that the secret to Flux’s success — as I’ve seen time and time again, but illustrated so beautifully in Jacob’s House — is how all the arms of talent reach out and clasp each other so firmly.  Director understanding writer, ensemble understanding director, with sound design (Elizabeth Rhodes) and lighting design (Kia Rogers) skimming along the edges with just the right touch, like gilt on the edge of a beautiful book.  One which – I still contend – was written with a magic pen.

~~~

Related Posts:

• Dog Act – All This World’s A Traveling Stage
• Every Dog (Act) Has Its Day – An Interview With Playwright Liz Duffy Adams
• The Seduction Of The 60s Lives On In “The Lesser Seductions Of History”
• Angel Eaters Trilogy – A Three Course Meal
• The 2012 National Newborn Festival Is Almost Here!

Cast - The Lesser Seductions of History (Photo Credit: Tyler Griffin Hicks-Wright)

Watching the Flux Theatre Ensemble bring August Schulenburg’s “The Lesser Seductions of History” to life is like watching seasoned acrobats performing an intricate, balletic routine; one which -in order to succeed- relies on trust, timing, and blind leaps of faith … knowing that your fellow performers are exactly where they should be and will deftly handle the assist, even as they fully commit to the leap they are taking themselves. One miscalculation and the whole thing comes tumbling down, and then forget about the net. But no one here falls;  in fact, they soar. The thrill of watching this seasoned group of actors move between each other and react off one another with precisioned timing is what makes Lesser Seductions so … well … seductive.

Making History

In The Lesser Seductions of History (deftly and beautifully directed by Heather Cohn) Schulenburg takes a huge chance, and invites the audience to trust him right up front. The play starts the way all shows start (please silence your cell phones … the exits are there – and there) but the fourth wall is quickly broken as Candice Holdorf (playing a heighten version of Candice Holdorf before transforming into “One”) speaks directly to the audience about what’s about to happen. Acting as narrator, Sherpa and guru Ms. Holdorf also steps into supporting roles as necessary and moves the simultaneously unfolding plots forward. Before the action even begins she informs us that, like a good cup of espresso or a diamond, telling the story of 10 people during 10 years in just 2 hours will take pressure — and she’s here to provide that.

Scenes are literally layered one over the other around the performance area, sound effects are sometimes shared (creating a ripple that would be served less by a linear story telling, but is captivating here) props can meld seamlessly depending on who you’re focused on; what seems to be a benign counter top in a diner where two characters are conducting an interview becomes the foundation of the bridge another character is about to jump from. With little more than sound cues, lighting change ups and (of course) the actors themselves, you soon find the rhythm of the play and automatically learn where to focus your attention.

The Lesser Seductions of History begins in 1961 with newlyweds Marie (Tiffany Clementi) and her poet husband Issac (Jake Alexander) moving into their first apartment, sisters Lizzie (Christina Shipp) and Anisa (Ingrid Nordstrom) mourning the death of their father (Lizzie’s the screw-up, Anisa’s the scientist), Tegan (Kelly O’Donnell) passing the time in a hotel room trying to not listen to Nixon on TV, Issac’s timid cousin, art student Lee (Isaiah Tanenbaum) taking it all in and transforming it into visual representation, brothers Bobby (Jason Paradine) and Barry (Matthew Archambault) having a better than average catch, since Barry’s good enough to turn pro, and finally, siblings George (Michael Davis) and Martha (Raushanah Simmons) driving cross country. They’re all on the brink — of change, of new horizons, of hope, of hopelessness, of boredom, of discovery — but whatever drives them, they’re eager to get to the next phase. We can see the idealism in some, the despair in others, and there isn’t a character who doesn’t speak to a part of our own ids and egos and make us say “yes … I’ve been there“.

Michael Davis, Candice Holdorf (Photo Credit: Tyler Griffin Hicks-Wright)

Soon enough the “ah-ha” moments start; for each person it’s different and despite the fact that all the characters are realated to each other or joined through fate or friendship, proximity does little to spin them off in the same direction. In fact, they each get spun off in very different directions. Some find their answer in politics, civic affairs and leadership. Others find their answer in art, drugs, sex and music. They experiment, both with their faith as well as their ideas, their sexuality, and their limits. Over a backdrop of events like the dawning of The Age of Aquarius, the inauguration and subsequent assassination of JFK as well as RFK, the Vietnam war, Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, the poetry of Ginsberg and Pulitzer Prize winner Louis Simpson, as well as the more mainstream and musical rhymes of the Beatles, The Doors and The Beach Boys … amid acid trips and riots, Black Panthers and Woodstock, and culminating with the landing on the moon these ten lives have ten journeys that are deeply personal, yet strikingly universal.   To favor one story over another is almost impossible, so interwoven are they, and so necessary to each other’s progression. But without a doubt some of my personal favorite moments lay with the character of Martha (Raushanah Simmons) who starts off as a “good christian woman” who blanches at her brother George’s use of “cuss words” and “sex talk” and moves slowly through stages of trauma, submission and grief to emerge fiercely from the other side, a strong Black Panther who still does the Lord’s work, but with a different fire in her soul.  Schulenburg’s script allows everyone to have their shining moment, and touching scenes of quiet beauty are sprinkled throughout this story like stars.  At different moments I found my heart breaking, at other times – exalting.  And during the rest I simply reveled in the birth of change.

With amazing sound design by Asa Wember who gives life to every hiss and pop as the invisible needle hits the non-existent record and Laren Parrish’s lighting design that transforms the stage into 47 different places, Ms. Cohen’s direction is able to sparkle amid nothing more than a few chairs, tables, and benches.

To be too young to remember the sixties is unfortunate. But to miss August Schulenburg’s The Lesser Seductions of History – which brings it to life again – would be a shame.   So go and be part of history. You’ve got a part in this too … and as Candice Holdorf’s narrator would point out … doesn’t it feel good to be part of something that’s bigger than yourself?

–

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Five Finger Discount

I’ve never been involved in a bank heist but if I were, I could never be tasked with the role of Getaway Driver.  I can’t navigate with any certainty when the car is required to do above 30 mph on a city street.  Ask me to drive at break-neck speed through urban obstacles and then set you down at the end safely and I assure you: I can’t do it.  But Adam Szymkowicz can … and in his new play Pretty Theft directed by Angela Astle he shows us how he navigates those narrow streets and dark alleys like a pro.  In the hands of a lesser writer (or the wrong director) I could see this play crashing into a wall and laying in a twisted heap of shards and confusion.  But it doesn’t, it gets it right every time, and that’s what makes Pretty Theft so appealing.

Captive Audience

The moment you first lay eyes on Dartmouth-bound Allegra (Marnie Schulenburg) you watch as she barely catches her breath, so eager is she to explain to her potential new coworker (and old “friend”) Suzy (Maria Portman Kelly) how utterly worthless and useless she considers herself.  Just as quickly Suzy eagerly tallies the toll it’s taken on her being pegged as the school slut and the boyfriend-stealer; it’s the resume of a lost girl who gets her sense of self based on how other people react to her, despite the armor she puts on in the hopes of convincing people she doesn’t care what they think.  Both girls are troubled but in different ways, and a well-what-the-hell-else-do-I-have-going-on-around-here friendship of proxemics springs up between them.

Allegra and Suzy work together in a group home for troubled adults where their autistic charge, Joe (Brian Pracht), spends his days speaking in Ralph Wiggim style non sequiturs, and taking pretty things from people and storing them in a box he sleeps with in order to make himself feel safe.  We come to find that before he came to live in this group home, Joe was a fixer of things … seemingly mechanical things like toasters and washing machines, though as the play moves forward we see that he is attracted to anything (or anyone) that is broken, which is why he is so fond of Allegra and will only truly respond to her.  He is not the only one who takes things; Suzy will walk away with anything that isn’t nailed down, be it trinkets, her mom’s car, or her BFF’s boyfriend, Bobby (Zack Robidas).

Across the country in an out-of-the-way diner another what-the-hell-else-do-I-have-going-on encounter is working its way towards something a little more as smooth talking “art dealer” Marco (Todd d’Amour) charms the forlorn, lonely and nameless Waitress (Candice Holdorf) to fall for him.  Coffee cup after coffee cup he weaves a tale for her of how (before he “retired”) his passion was collecting beautiful things … and soon enough we get that “art dealer” is just his cute phrase for something a lot darker.

These characters are all wound so tightly that it’s only a matter of time before they all break and go spinning off in all directions … and if you’re not paying attention there are some twirling ballerinas to help layer in the sub-text (Candice Holderdorf again, as well as Cotton Wright who does triple duty also filling in as Allegra’s cold and cruel mother and the group home supervisor, and finally Lynn Kenny who doubles as the Psychiatrist).  Sometimes lithe and lovely, sometimes screeching and twisted, these ballerinas serve as the linchpins which keep everything crazily bound together.

Eventually when the two stories crash into each other, as inevitably they were meant to do, there is a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach as you watch what you can’t believe you’re watching … I won’t give it away  but it’s certainly one of the most disturbing scenes I’ve ever seen played out before me in live theatre.  And then, right before you cover your eyes the steering wheel is given one final expert turn and you’re deposited safely at the end of the road with your heart in your throat but your feet back on terra firma.

Pretty Theft is playing at The Access Theater (380 Broadway, 4th Floor - 2 blocks south of Canal Street) through May 17th. Performances are at 8:00pm Thursdays through Saturdays and 7:00pm on Sundays. To purchase tickets click here.

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My husband’s home town in Michigan is so small that, to them, the word “theatre” is 1) spelled “theater” and 2) always preceded by the word “movie”. And if you want to get to that “movie theater” you’ll need a car — because the closest one is 13 miles away in the next town over. Growing up, if he wanted a theatre experience of ANY kind he needed to head to Chicago.

Meanwhile, New York is so rife with theatre space that you can’t go to a Starbuck’s without being within a stone’s throw of one. Heck … there’s one in the building where I work. There was even a theatre connected to the restaurant I had dinner in last night. If you climb on any mailbox and squint, you can see independent theatre going on everywhere in New York.

I’m particularly fond of theatre companies who put on well crafted plays written by up and coming writers. Johnna Adam’s Angel Eater’s Trilogy is just such a work, and FLUX Theatre Ensemble is just such a company.

I went to see the first installment of the trilogy, Angel Eaters (directed by Jessi D. Hill) this past Saturday, and am looking forward to seeing the second, Rattlers (directed by Jerry Ruiz) later this week. The trilogy wraps up, both for me, as well as for its run, on November 22nd with 8 Little Antichrists. For those who are interested it’s not too late — you can catch any one of the shows before then or, if you’re really up for a full-day theatre experience, you can see the whole trilogy play out before your eyes in one jam-packed day this Saturday. (For more information go to the Flux site).

Angel Eaters, the first play of the trilogy, concerns itself with a poor, depression-era Oklahoma family and their particular take on the circle of life. On one end there’s Death (patriarch Herbert has been “stinking up the living room for three days now”) and on the other end, Life — in the form of an unwanted pregnancy (nothing a little swallow of turpentine couldn’t cure.).

In between these two guideposts lies everything else from faith, to regret, to good ole fashioned hoodwinking. Each character has a different swagger on their walk through life, be it Joann’s (Marnie Schulenburg) religious devotion that swings from babbling innocence to full blow transformation, her sister Nola’s (Tiffany Clementi) caustic cynicism (she’s raised her skirt once too often and hasn’t found salvation in it yet) … or their mother Myrtle (Catherine Michele Porter) who is so blindly bent on resurrecting her husband that she allows herself to believe two sweet-talking carnies (“Resurrection Boy” and his “uncle” Fortune Clay played by Isaiah Tanenbaum and Gregory Waller respectively).

When they claim they can bring back the dead … for the unheard of sum of 50 depression-era dollars … she’s quick to hand over the money, though she holds them to their claim in a rather unorthodox way. Weaving through the story is Doc O’Malley (Ken Glickfeld) whose education of Joann runs the gamut from teaching her to identify and imitate bird calls … right up to teaching her about such bird-related “games” as “A Bird in the Hand” … or its cousin, the one in the bush. Doc is kind enough to reward Joann with some chocolate every time she “wins”.

In between all these characters are links which begin to reveal themselves, and secrets which come to light in the most unusual ways. Let’s just say, it ain’t called Angel Eaters for nuthin’. Overall, it’s a spellbinding piece, full of strange humor, and thoughtful, heartbreaking moments of desperation. The final tableau of the play is both haunting as well as disturbing.

I sat down with Kelly O’Donnell of the Flux Theatre Ensemble who is also the director of the 3rd show in the series, 8 Little Antichrists, to talk about the Trilogy.

KTL: Right now your company is doing the Angel Eater’s Trilogy. What attracted you to this project?
KO’D: We were initially attracted to the project the first time we met Johnna Adams. She brought the first 2 scenes of Angel Eaters to our weekly workshop, which we call “Flux Sunday” and I remember saying “Wow, this seems like the type of play that Flux is drawn to.” It was unique, theatrical and magical. From there, we invited Johnna to our annual retreat where the ensemble worked together with her on the play. After some intense discussions on whether or not we should take on such a massively ambitious project, we decided to just go for it.

KTL: Is this the first trilogy your company has ever taken on? Were there any unexpected challenges?
KO’D: Yes, this is the first trilogy we have ever produced and there were a lot of challenges. The #1 challenge for us was finding a way to maintain our high standards in production value for three separate shows but within the budget of what is normally one show. This was tricky and we had to be creative. There were lots of logistical challenges as well. For example, we often needed three separate rehearsal spaces for each show because they would be rehearsing at the same time.

KTL: You’re director of the 3rd play in this Angel Eater’s Trilogy – 8 Little Antichrists. It’s the longest, as well as the last of the series. While each play can stand on it’s own, is there any added pressure knowing yours is the one that wraps up the whole theme?
KO’D: Not really any added pressure. Each director has had their own challenges with this project and I’m amazed at their work. Jessi Hill and Jerry Ruiz have done a remarkable job with Angel Eaters and Rattlers, respectively. For me personally, the big challenges were “How do we create a gelatenous sustaining foam birthing vat with such a small budget?” and “What is the best way to turn someone into bubble wrap with a nanossaulter?”. When you see 8 Little Antichrists, you’ll know what I mean!

KTL: I’ve enjoyed the first play, Angel Eaters, and look forward to seeing the rest of the arc. Without giving away too much of the plot, what can I expect from these next two plays?
KO’D: Well, you can expect 2 very different plays. Rattlers takes place about 40 years after Angel Eaters and it is a much more intimate and personal play that explores how several people are dealing with the mysterious and brutal death of one woman. 8 Little Antichrists is a futuristic film-noir thriller about the apocalypse that often borders on the absurd. However, both plays follow the same family that you saw in Angel Eaters but in different generations.

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