New Works

Very fun festival!  I enjoyed the festivities.  Here are 2 plays I'll put up...

Poof!! In Movement:  Okay, I have to admit that I really enjoyed this piece.  It isn't what I first imagined when reading about it, but it really opened my mind about performance.  I do think it would have helped if there were hallucinogens of some kind administered to the audience to better appreciate the concept, but even without that everyone seemed entertained.  This piece was performed in what looked like a racquetball room in Gregory Gym, and the audience sat above peering onto the court while sounds were played from a stereo serving as dialogue.  The concept was to intertwine dance with installation art, so the dancers would be dressed as part of the Dr. Seuss looking landscape and then come to life and interact with one another.  It was so ridiculous that at first I just laughed, and then I found that, without any words or music, or even gestures really given that they had no arms or legs or faces, these creatures conveyed emotion and a story.  I loved it!  I felt that it was something Yoko Ono would appreciate.

Dream Sequence:  What I like about this play is the concept and how it was brought into being. I am working on a scene in my acting class with one of the performers and was intrigued when she talked about the process.  I have used some of my dreams as inspirations for scenes in class, and one of my favorite authors, Stephen King, often writes his dreams (too bad for him).  I like that the cast members were personally involved with script development.  I actually kind of wish this wasn't done so I could have the idea and try it out myself!  I like ensemble pieces where everyone contributes personally to the work, it really adds another dimension to the show.

I included these two shows because I really liked how unconventional they were, especially Poof!!  It's fun to see a variety of new plays that evolve in different ways when the artists have full creative control over their projects.  In a way I think it is more fun than the regular lineup (of Neil Simon by a community theatre troupe in a church somewhere in Texas).