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.

~~~

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The Real Thing featuring Synge Maher & David Nelson

Art imitates life.  Life imitates art.  Often times -for the life of a playwright- the lines are so blurred that it’s almost impossible to distinguish realism from hyper-realism or acting from genuine feeling and emotion.  When fact and fiction can no longer be untangled it isn’t always easy to recognize if the words you’re hearing are being spoken from the heart or simply being recreated from a scene plucked from the past.   Somewhere amid all this, one would hope to find The Real Thing.

Written by Tom Stoppard and first performed in 1982 The Real Thing hardly shows signs of being a 30 year old play; in fact Boomerang Theatre Company’s production directed by Cailin Heffernan now playing at The Secret Theater in Long Island City is vibrant, cunning, engaging and smart.  It brims over with the kind of energy that makes live, independent theatre so absolutely vital and important, and throughout the 2 hour show everything comes together to make what amounts to a gift to the audience.

The play centers around two British couples who are bound by marriage but straining against those binds.   Who exactly is married to whom isn’t directly obvious at first as Stoppard creates a slight of hand by giving us a play within a play as the first scene.   It’s enjoyable and weighty with plummy words and an idiosyncratic male lead, but it does teeter dangerously close to having the ability to turn grating should it go on for too long.  No sooner does the needle veer into the red does the scene end and the next scene reveals (slowly at first, which is the charm of it) that what was just witnessed was a play written by Henry (Aidan Redmond), one which is then poked at by his wife Charlotte (Valerie Stanford) and Max (David Nelson) who only moments before played husband and wife.

Max’s wife Annie (Synge Maher) soon arrives to round out the foursome and as the two couples chatter and regroup it becomes clear that Annie and Henry have been having a searing love affair, one which Annie insists they make public so that they can move on and be together.

What ensues over the next hours is a clever weaving of pure human need at it’s basest.  Love rises and falls, and with it – trust.  Marriages unform and reform, strong, then weak as passion is no longer enough to keep nagging thoughts away.  And, as promised, the first scene is played over and over again in various forms as each character finds themselves imitating the art that was either a foreshadowing or an homage to these lives.

The Real Thing featuring Aidan Redmon & Synge Mager

Through it all, Stoppard finds ways to display wonderful moments of thoughtfulness that come across as neither pedantic nor preachy, simply as the kinds of conversations people have when they are at the crossroads – not once but several times over.

Cailin Heffernan’s direction is marvelous; so many of the defining traits of the main characters are unpleasant, and their motives are selfish, however Heffernan summons a duality in each character so that they are always understandable, always relatable – if not in deed then at least in motive.

The entire cast is amazing. Aidan Redmond’s Henry is absolutely fantastic. Here is a man who struggles with his inward demons, often casts them off onto others, and yet still has the ability to take a moment and guide his daughter through the minefields of early adulthood.  Redmond plays Henry with the kind of sneer that makes you want to leave your phone number tucked into his back pocket – even as you walk away muttering about how conceited he is. Synge Maher as Annie and Valerie Stanford as Charlotte play their parts perfectly – each wed to him and wife to him — differently because they themselves are as different as can be.  Yet each the perfect balance to Redmond and just what he needs at a particular moment of his life.

Special mention goes to Zach Calhoon who plays Billy – he plays the young man vying for Annie’s affections with all the acting back-flips that any actor would use when trying to impress his co-star; and while the part is meant to be showy Calhoon pulls it off without overdoing it.  He is a joy to watch.

With just a few shows left, The Real Thing should not be missed.  Playing at The Secret Theater, don’t let this show be a secret too long.

~~~

Boomerang Theatre Company presents
THE REAL THING
by Tom Stoppard; directed by Cailin Heffernan

The Secret Theatre
4402 23rd Street
Long Island City, NY 11101

Click Here for tickets

________________________________________________________________

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1001 Nights

Sometimes you just need a break from all the Fringe going on all around you.  Alternately, maybe you’re just looking for some good guacamole and chips with a side of laughs.  Or you just want to hang out with your friends at the bar downing some beers with the cozy feeling of a room full of happy people laughing their butts off in the next room at something you can’t quite hear.  Whatever you’re into, I suggest you find the answer at The Creek and The Cave – a surprising find (for me, at least) in the shadow of the Pulaski Bridge in Long Island City, Queens.

“Every month at The Creek host Eugene Ashton-Gonzalez brings together the wittiest writers, comedians, and actors from around New York to tell shocking, hilarious, and intimate tales of their lives at 1001 Nights.” While I can’t vouch for EVERY MONTH I can say that I went last month and was immediately won over – by the friendly set up of this bi-level bar/restaurant/lounge . . . by the casual atmosphere, and the feeling that the place was hip and cool (but not *too* hip or cool) and by the overall feeling that I would be welcomed back whenever I decided to come again – even though I’m far from a neighborhood gal.   But the true gem of the evening was the show I’d come to see.

First of all – the price is right.  It’s free.  And that’s no cover, no 2 drink minimum . . . as far as I could tell you could wander in off the street, pull up a chair, enjoy the show, and leave again.  But Don’t DO THAT! 1) It’s not very nice and 2) Laughing makes you thirsty.  And trust me, if last month’s show was any indication, you’ll be laughing a lot so you’ll need a drink.  Second of all, the four stories I heard were chock full of personality, history, embarrassing moments, and humor.  Each storyteller was so good all I wanted was more, more, more.

The good news is, if you’ve never hear of The Creek and The Cave you can let 1001 Nights act as your initiation.  You’ll want to go back for more nights of comedy.  Luckily, there are many other themed evening to choose from, you just have to look at the calendar.

But I suggest you start with Friday the 20th so that you can get back to Fringing your way around the city for the rest of the weekend.

~~~

Phone: 718-706-8783718-706-8783

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SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK



HALLOWEEN HARVEST FESTIVAL
2009 Theme: GLAMROCK! SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2009
11 AM – 2 PM / FREE

Join Socrates Sculpture Park for the 9th annual Halloween Harvest Festival. This FREE family and community event celebrates Halloween and the fall harvest with creative activities in the dynamic setting of Socrates Sculpture Park.
See a live concert by New York’s own, Audra Rox and become the rock star of your dreams with the help of Socrates Sculpture Park artists (all costume making materials will be provided and will be FREE of charge); join a Giant Instrument Jam with Freestyle Arts Association; get glamorous with Transformation! Facepainting by Agostino Arts; try harvest foods from Sage General Store; picnic in the Park; or just watch the fun! Socrates will also host its 6th annual Canine Costume Contest at 1pm (registration at front gate).  Your dog can win fabulous prizes for being the cutest, scariest, best dressed, or most glamorous!
ABOUT SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK:
Socrates Sculpture Park was an abandoned riverside landfill and illegal dumpsite until 1986 when a coalition of artists and community members, under the leadership of sculptor Mark di Suvero, transformed it into an open studio and exhibition space for artists and a neighborhood park for local residents.  Today, it is an internationally renowned outdoor museum and artist residency program that also serves as a vital New York City park offering a wide variety of free public programs. The Park’s existence is based on the belief that reclamation, revitalization and creative expression are essential to the survival, humanity and improvement of our urban environment.

DIRECTIONS:
Socrates Sculpture Park is open 365 days a year from 10am to sunset and is located at the intersection of Broadway and Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City.

BY SUBWAY: Take the N or W trains to the  Broadway stop in Queens and walk eight blocks along Broadway toward the East River.  For detailed directions click here or visit www.hopstop.com (for public transportation) or www.mapquest.com(for driving).

SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK
32-01 VERNON BOULEVARD (AT BROADWAY)
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11106
TEL: 718-956-1819  FAX: 718-626-1533
WWW.SOCRATESSCULPTUREPARK.ORG
EMAIL: INFO@SOCRATESSCULPTUREPARK.ORG

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