Fringe Fest!

It's that time of the year again.

In my experience, Fringe Festivals are always hit-or-miss events.
I've left venues sometimes wondering why they don't just call them Cringe Festivals. But ultimately the cringe factor is what makes this kind of thing so fun. It's like watching the Oscars and secretly hoping for something unexpected to happen -- like a stumble on the red carpet, an awkward acceptance speech, or a win for a movie that actually deserves it.

Buying a ticket to these events is akin to playing Russian Roulette -- especially if you're new to town and have no idea who anyone is. The key here is to maintain an open mind! Even if it's bad, it's worth it.

Just glancing over the scheduled acts I can honestly say that this year's lineup looks more polished than previous years. Here are some of my predictions of what to expect:

•Bebe Theatre events in the past have run the gamut from comedic, to bawdy, to arty to dull to refreshingly cheese-ball. I love going to Bebe fringe events because I can always expect the unexpected.
•Black Mountain College Museum performances look like they will be high quality and appropriately experimental. You'll get your money's worth but maybe not a fun story to tell your friends later.

•Expect more circus and burlesque acts in the River District's Wedge Building--an intriguing lineup of dance, music, theaterical and interactive performances.

• TONIGHT at the Asheville Art Museum is Pecha Kucha, an entertaining slide presentation to provoke dialogue. $5

Check www.ashevillefringe.org for the full schedule and info on artists.

While fringe theatre refers to theater that is not mainstream, Fringe Festivals are notable for the unjuried nature of the performances. In general, production expenses are kept low and casts are kept small. The original Fringe Festival took place in Adelaide Scotland in the early 1970's as a reaction to mainstream theatre events. Since then Fringe Festivals have grown in popularity and are produced in cities all over the globe, from Melbourne to Minnesota.

Dance is the New Visual Art

DANCE IS THE NEW VISUAL ART
A video installation by Claire Elizabeth Barratt

OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, January 8th

7pm – 10pm
FLOOD GALLERY
Phil Mechanic Building on Roberts Street
RiverArts District – Asheville NC

An installation of multiple videos on the subject of dance and movement.

Videos are all created by Cilla Vee Life Arts director Claire Elizabeth Barratt in collaboration with numerous artists from a variety of disciplines.

Collaborators include:
Kimathi Moore – Asheville NC – composer
Charles Elmer – Asheville NC – videographer
Michael Folliet – Asheville NC – videographer
Dr T – Boston MA – VJ video artist
Walter Wright – Lowell MA – sound artist
Randy F Simon – NYC / Jamaica – videographer
Tatsuya Nakatani – Easton PA / Japan – sound artist
Natasha Royka – Ottawa ON – dance videographer

The installation incorporates sculptural forms created of paper, fabric & wire that serve not only as screens for the videos, but also as devices to shape the space. Sound installation by acousmatic composer Dr. Rick Nance is produced by materials used for the installation.

Claire Elizabeth Barratt is a trained dancer, but she prefers to call herself a “motion sculptor.“ It’s a term she came up with while working as a figure model in New York City art schools for five years starting in 2002. Shifting from one pose to the other, she discovered that the contemplative movement was similar to dance. “Organically, it just started happening in my performances,” she says.
Read more: Motion Pictures; Verve Magazine Jan. 2011.

Paintings (and performance) by Kathryn Temple

Local oil painter, Kathryn Temple flexes her thespian muscles this month in the theatrical production of Ruth at NC Stage Company in downtown Asheville. Her performance deserves the highest accolades, and the play is captivating. Written by John Crutchfield, the play's artistry is what resonated with me most -- from it's minimal stage design and music, to it's original verse and choreography. You can read a more in-depth review of the play written by Allie Marshall for the Mountain Xpress here: http://www.mountainx.com/theatre/article/review_of_iruth_i_at_nc_stage

I'm not here to talk about the play so much as to call attention to the paintings created by Temple that hang in the lobby of the theater. Using a classical realist approach, her work is contemplative with nuanced subject matter and a restrained color palette. White blank sheets of paper hang by wooden laundry clips and blow in the wind in two of the paintings. In another, Temple employs trompe l'oeil to convey letters on paper hanging by thread in a box. The letters spell out a palindrome: "forever of forever of forever of."

The exhibit is concise and powerful. Visit NC Stage Company this month to see Temple's paintings in person.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Temple for an article published in Verve Magazine. http://www.vervemag.com/july-2010/2010/6/28/ruth-or-consequences.html

See more of Temple's work at kathryntemple.com

$10 tickets oh my!

If you've visited Asheville or lived here in the last two years you've undoubtedly seen a big purple ornamented bus driving through the streets of Asheville, sometimes being chased by a nun on a unicycle. This is the magic of LaZoom, a theatrical comedy bus tour. LaZoom is now offering local residents $10 tickets between April 15th- April 30th.

This is a such a deal, I can't wait to get on that bus.

Read more at Pollinate Asheville.

Makeover the Top!

This is the best picture I could find to illustrate the event

In all the years of attending musical and arty happenings in Asheville, the event that stands out the most was Makeover the Top way back in 2006 at Bobo Gallery. What happened was that while two people arm wrestled each other, they were given makeovers. It was free admission and anyone could participate.
Along with video projections of the live event was an announcer, a hostess, and a "green room" for costume prep. There was also a giant fan for that wind drama effect. The whole thing was quite a spectacle though sorely under attended. (I seem to remember it was a cold and rainy Tuesday night in the middle of February.)
I ended up losing my arm battle but I came away with a fabulous new hairdo and makeup I didn't want to wash off.

RIP Cali: a site specific installation

Don't worry, the cat is not dead in this picture

After my beloved cat Cali heaved her last dignified breaths in the privacy of my apartment, I had to figure out where to bury her. Unsure about the laws regarding such matters, I enlisted my friend Courtney to help me dig a hole somewhere remote.

Our first attempt at this failed as the ground was too rooted and rocky to get deeper than one inch. Desperate, we decided to hit a public patch of land where we knew the soil would be softer and easier to get a shovel in.

As we were digging the hole I spotted one of those do gooder neighborhood-watch type ladies circling the property with her dog. They both had their eyes on us.

"I swear to god if she comes over here tell her we're doing an art project or something," I whispered to Courtney.

I put the shovel down and started walking to the car to retrieve my little corpse announcing loudly over my shoulder "I'm just gonna go grab the camera okay??"

From the backseat of the car I watched the woman approach Courtney. They exchanged some words and then the woman walked away.

According to Courtney the conversation went something like this:

Neighborhood Watch Lady: I see you're digging a hole.

Courtney: yup.

NWL: Whatcha gonna put in it?

Courtney: It's an art project for school

NWL: Oh! Like Andy Goldsworthy!

Courtney: yes. exactly.

The lesson of the story is: If you're in a sticky situation and don't know how to get out of it, just tell them it's art.

I wrote this play to make you love me.

With a title like "I wrote this play to make you love me" how could you not go see this show which is currently running at NC Stage Company in downtown Asheville. I realized the other day that 95% of the plays I've really enjoyed or had the most interest in attending played at NC Stage Company. As far as seeing good theater in Asheville - this venue seems the most reliable.
Written by and starring Anne Thibault, IWTPTMYLM is a terrific piece of theater which literally made me laugh and cry. Thibault carries the play with her powerful presence and her timing between vignettes is dead on. Using minimal props and no scene changes, the strength of the piece lies in Thibault's uncompromising script about a struggling actress - Lysette - who is dealing with the emotional woes of her married boyfriend. Along the way, we learn about past love affairs, her emotionally torn childhood, and her Catholic upbringing via really hilarious conversations with her brother.
When I read on the website that "only adults will be admitted" of course I rolled my eyes a little. I was thinking, okay, what does "adult content" exactly refer to - how risque is this really gonna get? In retrospect I can see why you wouldn't want to bring your kids to see this but I think teenagers could appreciate most of the content - especially girls. I know I could have handled it as a teen (Just not while sitting next to my mother. OMFG.)
They say we laugh to keep from crying, and the humor of this play is born out of some intense life experiences. I'm still giggling over that scene where she's comparing the guys tongue to a minnow. I have to admit, I shed a tear (well, many tears) the second act and was holding them back in the first one.
While you're at it, check out the two other plays that are running at NC Stage this season. Bitch from Bitch and Animal was sitting next to me in the audience and she filled me in on the fact that she and Thibault will be performing in a piece together beginning June 17. Sounds like a intriguing combination to me.
www.ncstage.org for more information and schedule