Vindlevoss Family Circus Spectacular!
Animal Engine
Carrie Brown and Karim Muasher
What a totally ridiculous premise. Anthropologist Penelope Vindlevoss is the only surviving member of her expedition. She has discovered and tamed the zombie who ate the rest of her party.
Edward, the zombie, longs to be human. He must perform a test to become one--the test is of course to perform a CIRCUS. If he succeeds in three acts, he can be a human. If he fails, she will have to kill him.
Yes, completely outlandish--but it works. Both the characters are alive, charming and totally in the moment. Penelope sports a huge bushy moustache that continuously causes her discomfort, Edward is distracted by the temptation to eat the audience--they play these moments with us in a warm and joyful way. We are happy to take this journey with them.
We are completely appalled when Edward fails and Penelope actually attempts to kill him--but he is a zombie--he is already dead!
Well played!
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Cabaret #4 Hosted by Summer Shapiro
Cabaret
Host Summer Shapiro
Summer started us off with her slow, intense and very funny entrance. She wasted very little time getting right to the acts:
Barb and Helen--Aimee German and Anna Zastrow as a Country Western dancing duo. They start out having a great time with each other. They are both enthusiastic to perform; Amy seems to know what she is up to, but Anna looks like there is nothing but wood between her ears. The dance devolves into a competition and then a knock-down, drag out fight. It is great to see this kind of big slapstick.
Adina Ballerina--does the entire Nutcracker Suite in 7 minutes. I love how she uses actual choreographic quotes from the Christmas classic.
Mary and Harry--play a short bit from their full length show. There is a great deal of risque behavior here that encourages the same from the audience. Their physical work is strong and clear.
Mik Kuhlman--Dressed in her huge black coat and "elegant" crown, Mik is clearly the King. She subtly encouraged someone to take her arm, properly!, and guide her to the center of the stage. there she proceeded to melt to almost a flat puddle of coat, and then rise again. Very fun and funny.
Angela--Ishah Jansen-Faith as Angela, a mop-haired enthusiastic country girl who has taken a break from nursing her three babies to come and "paint our souls." Charming.
Zero Boy--his verbal acrobatics are legendary. He took us on a journey that including many explosions and fast cars .
Hilary Chaplain as a very pregnant opera singer who tries to maintain her arias as she goes into labor.
Amy G--gave us beautiful three part harmony on the kazoo. I leave it to your imagination how she manages to play three kazoos at the same time.
Host Summer Shapiro
Summer started us off with her slow, intense and very funny entrance. She wasted very little time getting right to the acts:
Barb and Helen--Aimee German and Anna Zastrow as a Country Western dancing duo. They start out having a great time with each other. They are both enthusiastic to perform; Amy seems to know what she is up to, but Anna looks like there is nothing but wood between her ears. The dance devolves into a competition and then a knock-down, drag out fight. It is great to see this kind of big slapstick.
Adina Ballerina--does the entire Nutcracker Suite in 7 minutes. I love how she uses actual choreographic quotes from the Christmas classic.
Mary and Harry--play a short bit from their full length show. There is a great deal of risque behavior here that encourages the same from the audience. Their physical work is strong and clear.
Mik Kuhlman--Dressed in her huge black coat and "elegant" crown, Mik is clearly the King. She subtly encouraged someone to take her arm, properly!, and guide her to the center of the stage. there she proceeded to melt to almost a flat puddle of coat, and then rise again. Very fun and funny.
Angela--Ishah Jansen-Faith as Angela, a mop-haired enthusiastic country girl who has taken a break from nursing her three babies to come and "paint our souls." Charming.
Zero Boy--his verbal acrobatics are legendary. He took us on a journey that including many explosions and fast cars .
Hilary Chaplain as a very pregnant opera singer who tries to maintain her arias as she goes into labor.
Amy G--gave us beautiful three part harmony on the kazoo. I leave it to your imagination how she manages to play three kazoos at the same time.
Big Shoes, Short Tales
Big Shoes Short Tales
Michelle Matlock
Directed by Amy Gordon
Michelle takes simple autobiographical stories and animates them using little but lights, some sound and her marvelously expressive self. We are invited in immediately; it is clear that she is having a fabulous time and she is ecstatic to be sharing it with us. She can do or say anything, we love watching her.
With a brilliant smile, totally proud of her prowess, Michelle twirls a rainbow ribbon, and stops to talk to us of her first visit to NY. Thus begins the tale of Michelle's journey to become an artist: her struggles, her pleasures, her discovery of her true identity.
One of my favorite moments is when, totally dejected, she calls her mother, to ask for money. She does an elaborate warm up to get prepared. She laughs almost uncontrollably as she listens to her mom--you can tell there is big love coming at her. Then she gets serious and asks for the money; she is rewarded with the promise. The second time she calls mom, the pattern repeats. It is even funnier this time, because we know what is coming.
Michelle is a wonderful storyteller.
My only complaint is that is was over so soon. What a great start on a full-length one-woman autobiography. I cannot wait for the next ten or twelve chapters.
Michelle Matlock
Directed by Amy Gordon
Michelle takes simple autobiographical stories and animates them using little but lights, some sound and her marvelously expressive self. We are invited in immediately; it is clear that she is having a fabulous time and she is ecstatic to be sharing it with us. She can do or say anything, we love watching her.
With a brilliant smile, totally proud of her prowess, Michelle twirls a rainbow ribbon, and stops to talk to us of her first visit to NY. Thus begins the tale of Michelle's journey to become an artist: her struggles, her pleasures, her discovery of her true identity.
One of my favorite moments is when, totally dejected, she calls her mother, to ask for money. She does an elaborate warm up to get prepared. She laughs almost uncontrollably as she listens to her mom--you can tell there is big love coming at her. Then she gets serious and asks for the money; she is rewarded with the promise. The second time she calls mom, the pattern repeats. It is even funnier this time, because we know what is coming.
Michelle is a wonderful storyteller.
My only complaint is that is was over so soon. What a great start on a full-length one-woman autobiography. I cannot wait for the next ten or twelve chapters.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
A Few of My Favorite Things
A Few of My Favorite Things
Jeroen Bouwhuis
When the first thing a performer does is to shoot every audience member one at a time with a mime handgun, you know you are in for a wild ride!
This mad, yet precise, physical storyteller takes us on a journey through his day. His boring job transforms into a rock concert, a basketball game ends in shooting, he finds his girl with another lover, a date with an audience volunteer leaves our hero disheveled and distraught. You would think this hoodlum would be repulsive, but he is charming, his contact with the audience is intense and personal. The world Jeroen creates is a chaotic and violent place--even the cutlery can be cutthroat--he must be proactive, take control.
Synchronized with his sound track, Jeroen moves lithely, his movement and mime are crisp and crystal clear. It is impressive that he comfortably commands the stage while just walking it in a circle, feeling no need to DO anything, as long as it is in time with the soundtrack. That walking takes on many meanings, for all that it seems so simple. I left questioning my own response to the violence--why did I laugh?
A strong, high-energy show. I wish it were playing another time so you can go see it.
Jeroen Bouwhuis
When the first thing a performer does is to shoot every audience member one at a time with a mime handgun, you know you are in for a wild ride!
This mad, yet precise, physical storyteller takes us on a journey through his day. His boring job transforms into a rock concert, a basketball game ends in shooting, he finds his girl with another lover, a date with an audience volunteer leaves our hero disheveled and distraught. You would think this hoodlum would be repulsive, but he is charming, his contact with the audience is intense and personal. The world Jeroen creates is a chaotic and violent place--even the cutlery can be cutthroat--he must be proactive, take control.
Synchronized with his sound track, Jeroen moves lithely, his movement and mime are crisp and crystal clear. It is impressive that he comfortably commands the stage while just walking it in a circle, feeling no need to DO anything, as long as it is in time with the soundtrack. That walking takes on many meanings, for all that it seems so simple. I left questioning my own response to the violence--why did I laugh?
A strong, high-energy show. I wish it were playing another time so you can go see it.
Locked Up
Locked Up
Sophia Knox-Williams and Cara McClendon
SEE IT!
Sunday Sept 21 7 pm
You will thank me later.
What a rollicking clown show. Our two heroines are convicts. They don't let the bars of their prison contain their imaginations. They create their whole world with their bodies and voices, using two oven racks and two milk crates, they evoke a prison with intimidating guards, a flood, and a prison break.
Tiny (Sophia) is tough and angry. Tall (Cara) is not so smart and not so tough, and very pleased with herself. Their clear relationship gives their play a great dimension. Cara and Sophia joyfully shared their sorrows, fears and triumphs with the audience. They also shared their pleasure in discovering that they could create outlandish private parts by sticking their hands in special places in their orange jump suits.
With a bit of editing and more performances, this show will really shine.
Sophia Knox-Williams and Cara McClendon
SEE IT!
Sunday Sept 21 7 pm
You will thank me later.
What a rollicking clown show. Our two heroines are convicts. They don't let the bars of their prison contain their imaginations. They create their whole world with their bodies and voices, using two oven racks and two milk crates, they evoke a prison with intimidating guards, a flood, and a prison break.
Tiny (Sophia) is tough and angry. Tall (Cara) is not so smart and not so tough, and very pleased with herself. Their clear relationship gives their play a great dimension. Cara and Sophia joyfully shared their sorrows, fears and triumphs with the audience. They also shared their pleasure in discovering that they could create outlandish private parts by sticking their hands in special places in their orange jump suits.
With a bit of editing and more performances, this show will really shine.
Cabaret Hosted by Deenie Nast
Cabaret Hosted by Deenie Nast
She is self absorbed, selfish and superior. Deenie is not shy of telling the truth as she sees it or sneerily demanding what she believes is her due. She may be mean, but I love her.
Punctuating this evening with musical numbers from her long-past hit movies and a medley of hits from the American Songbook, Deenie kept us laughing between the Cabaret acts. Why do I find this so funny? Perhaps it is the total commitment to this picture of the aging celebrity, complete with alcohol and prescription drug abuse and intense desire to win and keep our adoration.
Deenie did not mince words with the Big Boy with a lollipop who was the stagehand--she sent him offstage as fast as she could.
A conscript from the audience served as a stand in for her missing nurse, Minnie. Deenie treated her with the same dismissive and demanding attitude that probably sent the real Minnie packing. The "new Minnie" was adorable--helpful and cooperative, even accepting Deenie's offer to partake of the intoxicants.
Yes, the acts in the Cabaret were memorable too:
Locked Up--a fun excerpt of the upcoming show. Two convicts proudly creating indiscreet body parts by inserting their hands in their orange jump suits.
Jeroen Bouwhuis--one man's mad, intense and fatal battle with cutlery. I am eager to see his entire show: some of my favorite things.
Animal Crackers--three charming and quirky chorus girls dancing a tightly choreographed number inspired by the animal kingdom. I would love to see them develop the relationship amongst the trio.
The Donovan Ensemble--brining us a refreshing Carmen peppered with popular song. See their show later in the Festival.
Flash Rosenberg drawing her "rationalizations" of our suggestion. Taking the concepts and transforming them into cartoons that push the boundaries of imagination.
Dimitri Hatton--a feckless fellow from France in epic slapstick struggles with darkness and a lightbulb.
Fun times for all.
Pompo and Pipo
Pompo and Pipo
Z Smith
Directed by Jenni Kallo
Z Smith
Directed by Jenni Kallo
Pompo's inhabits a trash heap. Her wistful desire to make a home from her world filled with trash, compels her to create rituals and systems. Her announcements of, "to the kitchen," or "to the bedroom," send her tiny distances in reality but far into fantasy. Each place has a particular set of junk and a series of actions that define it. About a third of the way into the show she began to really include us and I was drawn into this world and empathized with her yearning.
The importance of Pipo, a silver urn, in the life of Pompo and the arc of the show only becomes clear about midway through. I wish she had addressed the object more clearly right from the start.
I loved her escalating series of fantasy meals, the newspaper folded into airplanes ridden by finger families, and into birthday hats, the creative use of bottle caps, all lovely, traditional ways that a clown transforms her environment.
Z has made a courageous choice to address longing and grief. Pompo and Pipo is a tender and moving show. It needs only more performances and some difficult editing.
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