Posts Tagged ‘equally represented arts’

ERA’s “Brechtfast Club” is an Intriguing, Humorous Experiment

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The Brechtfast Club
by Courtney Bailey and Lucy Cashion
Directed by Lucy Cashion
ERA
June 8, 2023

Reginald Pierre, Maggie Conroy, Rachel Tibbetts
Photo by Jason Hackett
ERA

ERA is an innovative, experimental theatre company that often presents their own twists on classic works. Their latest production, at the Chapel arts venue, is an exercise in theatre history as well as world history by way of pop culture nostalgia and an examination of world events, presented in the style of 20th Century playwright and director Bertolt Brecht. Following the story is easier if you’re at least somewhat familiar with the plot and characters of The Breakfast Club, and a degree of reading about Brecht would help as well for those unfamiliar with his work, because this knowledge certainly adds to the overall experience. It’s a relatively short play, but there’s a whole lot going on here, presented by an enthusiastic cast and creative team.

The show is billed as an adaptation/parody of the classic 1980s John Hughes film The Breakfast Club, presented in the style of Brecht. The play uses many Brechtian elements, such as narration by stage manager Jimmy Bernatowicz, visible stage crew and elements of stagecraft, written signs, and more. It’s inventive in that it both resets the story and directly examines the original source. The setting is East Germany, and the time is the mid 1980s, and the characters are all member of the Stasi, the East German secret police, each corresponding to a specific character from the film. There’s Sergeant Comrade Alina (Ashwini Arora), along with Major Comrade Klara (Maggie Conroy), Major Comrade Andreas (Miranda Jagels-Fèlix), Captain Comrade Bruno (Reginald Pierre), and Captain Comrade Bertha (Rachel Tibbetts), who are all assigned various tasks by their supervisor, Colonel Commander Veit (Alicen Kramer-Moser). There’s also Comrade Josef (Joe Taylor), who provides musical accompaniment and occasionally gets up from the keyboard to film the characters as the story plays out, with the film being displayed in real time. 

The characters are assigned to surveil a group of Americans in a town called Shermer, and as Bruno plays the transmissions, the Breakfast Club connection becomes even more clear. The resulting interpretation of the movie’s events by the their unwitting East German Counterparts forms much of the humor of this piece, along with the hyper-serious line delivery and consistently stilted dialogue. The players are all excellent, across the board, portraying their characters with insistent seriousness. It’s a strong ensemble all around, with each character contributing to the overall mood and humor with equal energy.

The look of this piece is distinctively styled and striking, with excellent work from director/designer Lucy Cashion, as well as composer/music director/videographer Taylor, whose work provides much of the underlying atmosphere of the production. There’s also impressive detailed work from lighting designer Morgan Brennan, as well as costume designer Liz Henning, who outfits the cast in detailed, character and era specific attire.

This is striking play–a hilarious comedy in one sense, but an examination of cultural political differences in another sense.  The juxtaposition of the theatrical setting with the world of the film allows, in keeping with Brechtian theory, for the audience to “detach” and examine the cultural and political implications of the story without getting too absorbed in the illusion of reality. It’s obvious this is a play, examining a movie. It’s also a truly fascinating theatrical exercise. 

Alicen Kramer-Moser, Rachel Tibbetts, Maggie Conroy, Ashwini Arora, Reginald Pierre
Photo by Jason Hackett
ERA

ERA is presenting The Brechtfast Club at The Chapel until June 11, 2023

Read Full Post »

ERA’s Intense, Digitally-Presented “Moscow” Makes the Most of Its Medium

Posted in Online Theatre, St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 1, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Moscow!
Adapted from Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters
Directed by Lucy Cashion
Equally Represented Arts
May 28, 2020

Promo Image by Katrin Hackenberg
Equally Represented Arts

 

Since live theatre is sadly on pause at the moment, several St. Louis theatre companies have been taking the opportunity to experiment with the medium of online theatre in various forms. At the forefront of that experimentation is one of the area’s more daring and inventive theatre company’s, Equally Represented Arts (ERA), who have taken this opportunity to re-present one of their productions via the Zoom video conferencing format. It’s a bold move for a theatre company known for its boldness, and even though it still doesn’t completely fill the void left by a truly live in-person performance, it makes the most of its medium and provides a thoroughly provocative, memorable experience.

Moscow! was previously performed at the St. Lou Fringe Festival in 2015 in a more traditional, live format, although as is typical for ERA, the story, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, was done in a unique, experimental manner, in this instance as a drinking game. That structure remains in the Zoom version, with viewers instructed to take a drink every time one of the characters says “Moscow”.  In a way, this format works better in a setting in which viewers are watching from home.  Of course, you also have more choice of beverages in your own home, whether you choose to drink “high-octane” or “low-octane”–although I would caution viewers to take care, because the characters say “Moscow” a lot.  I had to refill my cup twice during the one-hour production, and I was only drinking water. Let’s just say I was well-hydrated by the end. 

This production is especially clever, using the Zoom format to its best advantage, allowing for the various cast members to stream from their own homes while maintaining the illusion that they are meeting together when the story calls for that. I was especially grateful for the “after party” talkback session afterwards, in which the cast and crew explained the preparation that went into this production, which featured excellent work from production designer and director Lucy Cashion, costume designer Marcy Wiegert, music director Joe Taylor, and stage manager Miranda Jagels Félix. The video conferencing setup also provided some unique pitfalls, though, such as the viewing format varying according to which way the viewers chose to watch–on smart phone or computer via the app, or on a computer via their web browser. As ideally presented and designed, the viewer was supposed to see the perspective alternating between individual characters’ view, and gallery view in which all characters were visible at once. Some viewers, including myself (watching on my Chromebook with the app), this presentation didn’t come across, Instead, I and others only got to see the alternating focus on individual characters. Still, the pacing the production and performances made it riveting even with the difference in format. 

The story is also probably easier to follow if you’re familiar with Chekhov’s original play, which I hadn’t seen or read before. Still, the excellent cast and Cashion’s strong direction made this presentation memorable. The story follows the Prozerov family–the three sisters Olga (Ellie Schwetye), Masha (Rachel Tibbetts), and Irina (Alicen Moser), and their brother Andrey (Will Bonfiglio), who live in a small Russian town and miss their time growing up in Moscow (drink!). Various romantic entanglements, living situation woes, occupational issues, and personal conflicts ensue as several years pass through the course of the story and the characters’ fortunes and life attitudes change according their circumstances. We meet Masha’s nice but not particularly exciting husband Kulygin (Gabe Taylor), Andrey’s controlling wife Natasha (Maggie Conroy), and the dashing soldier and Masha’s paramour Vershinin (Ryan Lawson-Maeske), along with two officers battling for Irina’s affections–the more dependable Baron Tuzenbach (Mitch Eagles), and the impulsive Solyony (Jakob Hultén). The cast also features Carl Overly, Jr. as old family friend Chebutykin, Cashion as longtime family servant Anfisa, who occasionally provides a bit of narration to set the scene, and Joe Taylor (who is playing atmospheric music throughout) as Ferapont.  It’s a strong cast all around, with the sisters especially strong with their contrasting personalities, from Schwetye’s more even-tempered Olga, to Tibbetts’s melancholic Masha, to Moser’s initially hopeful but conflicted Irina. Bonfiglio is also memorable as the increasingly bitter Andrey, as is Conroy as the selfish, controlling Natasha. The entire cast is excellent, though, with surprisingly strong ensemble chemistry considering the fact that none of the players are in the same room. There’s a degree of energy here that’s especially impressive considering it’s a streamed performance, although the fact that each performance was done live certainly helps with the energy level. 

The shifting tone and pace of the show is also handled especially well, with comic moments punctuating the piece early on, and some moments of poignancy as the story continues. It’s a worthwhile experiment from the always clever and provocative ERA. Even though I still look forward to the day when I can go to the theatre again, productions like this make the wait a lot easier.

Read Full Post »

SATE and ERA Make “Antigone” Personal, Universal With Thought-Provoking Production

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on August 15, 2019| 1 Comment »

Antigone: Requiem Per Patriarchus
By Lucy Cashion and the ensembles at the Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic, and Correctional Center; St. Louis University Theatre; SATE; and Equally Represented Arts
Directed by Lucy Cashion
SATE Ensemble Theatre, Equally Represented Arts
August 14, 2019

Cast of Antigone: Requiem Per Patricarchus
Photo by Joey Rumpell Photography
SATE Ensemble Theatre, Equally Represented Arts

“Who is Antigone?” That’s a question the audience is directly asked multiple times and in different ways throughout SATE and ERA’s latest, called Antigone: Requiem Per Patriarchus.  It’s another Lucy Cashion remix of a work of classic drama, brought to today’s audiences in a way that speaks to both its timeless universality and its more personal connection with individual viewers and readers. As is usual for Cashion and for both of these theatre companies, the result is both convention-challenging and thought-provoking, showcasing a superb cast of local performers.

This isn’t your English teacher’s Antigone, although the play’s reputation as an oft-studied and assigned classic work of literature is addressed in this production. In a way, this is more than one story, and the set-up is essentially like a play-within-a-play. The set-up begins before the play “officially” starts, in a similar vein to other productions I’ve seen from both of these companies. The cast members wander the audience, each introducing herself as “Antigone”. As the play begins, the “sisters”–all clad in khaki-colored prison outfits, gather together in the middle of the floor space at the Chapel performance venue. They are all Antigone, they inform the audience, and they are in prison, but they are also dead, in some kind of in-between state, set to retell and reenact their story over and over. They read letters, they talk about the expectations and impressions that the Antigone story has produced over the centuries, and they express their solidarity as well as their individual voices. Then, in a stunning musical transition, the situation shifts, and the cast members all don flowing gowns and perform a version of the Antigone tale, with each “Antigone” taking a specific role and examining both the play itself and the timeless issues it raises, including the abuse of power and authority, men’s and women’s roles in society, speaking up for oneself and others, loyalties to families and countries, and more. The story at this point runs basically as it’s known, with Antigone standing up to her uncle, King Creon, who is refusing to allow her brother, who was killed along with another brother on opposing sides of a recent war, to be buried. As is usual for a Cashion show, the classic tale is blended with other influences, such as various cultural references and especially for this production, music. Various pop and rock songs are sampled in the production, and the cast members sing at various times. There’s also a persistent, ominous and highly effective percussion backing throughout, proficiently provided by Marcy Ann Wiegert.  There’s also intense drama and a touch of sarcastic humor. It’s one of those shows where I wish I could see it multiple times, because there is so much going on that it can be too much to process at times. Still, it’s a bold, challenging work, with an emotional resonance and a confrontational style that emphasizes both the personal and the universal about the Antigone story.

The cast is universally strong, with excellent moments from all–Alicen Moser, Victoria Thomas, Laura Hulsey, Taleesha Caturah, Ellie Schwetye, Natasha Toro,  and Miranda Jagels-Felix, with Wiegert supplying the drums and also as a member of the show’s Greek Chorus. it’s a true ensemble piece, with the whole cast contributing and working together as a cohesive unit, bringing out the meaning and depth of the play through collaboration, although there are some individual highlights. Standouts include Moser as the imperious and increasingly conflicted Creon, Jagels-Felix as a particularly strong-willed  “main” Antigone, Caturah as the haunting, challenging blind prophet Tyresias, and Schwetye in a series of stand-up comic routines that help maintain a confrontational, iconoclastic tone as the story plays out. The ensemble chemistry is excellent, as is the use of movement throughout. It’s a dynamic production, with a suitably dynamic cast and direction.

The visuals here are memorable, as well, transforming the small space at the Chapel into an otherworldly realm that the ensemble inhabits. With simple but lush scenic and sound design by Cashion, along with Erik Kuhn’s evocative lighting and Liz Henning’s distinctive costumes, the full dramatic effect of this show is enhanced. It’s an impressive transformation of the space.

I’ve made it no secret what I think about both SATE and ERA. Both companies are bold, innovative, thoughtful, and consistently excellent in acting and staging. This Antigone is another example of that tradition of excellence. It’s timeless, but it’s also very much “now”, with themes that speak to humanity, and particularly women’s experiences, throughout history. It’s a lot to think about and a lot to see. It’s a truly stunning presentation.

Cast of Antigone: Requiem Per Patricarchus
Photo by Joey Rumpell Photography
SATE Ensemble Theatre, Equally Represented Arts

SATE and Equally Represented Arts are presenting Antigone: Requiem Per Patriarchus at The Chapel until August 31, 2019

Read Full Post »

Theatre Nuevo and ERA Present a Chilling “Whither Should I Fly” for FAUSTival

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , on November 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Whither Should I Fly
by Amanda Wales and Gabe Taylor
Devised by the Ensemble
Directed by Gabe Taylor
Theatre Nuevo and ERA
October 27, 2018

Cast of Whither Should I Fly Photo: Theatre Nuevo

When I was a university student in the early 1990s, I took a “New Religious Movements” class in which the professor, in addition to looking at more “traditionally” defined modern religious sects, also made a point of highlighting the cult-like aspects of various multi-level marketing organizations. Now, over 25 years later in St. Louis, Theatre Nuevo and ERA take this comparison even further and more literal in the latest FAUSTival production, Whither Should I Fly.

In this case, the multilevel marketing organization is the religious group, or more specifically, a coven of witches. Called “Invoke”, the organization appeals to young women who have been harassed by men, promising them freedom over their own destiny in exchange for a series of sacrifices as they climb the ladder of advancement in the organization. The story takes the audience along on the journey of one member, Helen (Thalia Cruz), as she is recruited, learns about the structure of the organization, and rises through its ranks–all named after birds–hoping to achieve the coveted title of “Raven”. We meet the various members of the coven: Gaia (Miranda Jagels-Félix), Eliza (Tori Thomas), Vera (Amanda Wales), Nyx (Marcy Wiegert), and the coven’s leader, Mari (Alicen Moser), as they get to know Helen and show her the ways of Invoke, stressing its rewards and the sacrifices that need to be made to achieve higher levels. Rituals are performed, ambitions are discussed, and a series of promo videos are shown as Helen and the coven work their ways through the ranks and prepare a presentation at the organization’s annual conference, where several surprises are in store. It’s a chilling, sometimes darkly funny and occasionally unsettlingly story that plays out the Faustian theme in a unique but clearly defined way, It also includes immersive elements, as the coven members usher the audience into the space and ask them questions upon entry.

The space, in the basement of the Centene Center for the Arts in Grand Center, is dark and somewhat confined, adding to the chilling atmosphere of the production. Director Gabe Taylor also designed the set and sound for this production, outfitting the space with an eerie, otherworldly sort of atmosphere. Ben Lewis’s lighting and Marcy Wiegert’s bold costume design also add to the overall mood and eerie style of the production. The cast, led by Moser as the mysterious, insistent Mari and Cruz as the initially reticent but increasingly eager and ambitious Helen, is strong. Ensemble chemistry is particularly essential in a production like this, and this production has that, with energy and enthusiasm from all of the players.

This is an intriguing production, even if some of its elements are overly long and dragged out, particularly a repetitive song that’s well-sung, but doesn’t really need to be sung in its entirety three times. The atmosphere and the cast make the show compelling, as concepts of women’s agency, emotional manipulation, and the nature of ambition are explored. It’s a fitting production for Halloween season with its horror and thriller elements. This is another creative entry in the extended collaboration that is FAUSTival. It’s a memorable, thought-provoking and inventively structured experience.

Theatre Nuevo and ERA are presenting Whither Should I Fly at the Centene Center for the Arts until November 10, 2018

Read Full Post »

Shakespeare Meets the 90s in Clever but Uneven “Twelfth Period”

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , on April 28, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Twelfth Period, or Not Another Twelfth Night
Adapted from William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
Directed by Gabe Taylor
ERA
April 22, 2017

The Cast of Twelfth Period
Photo: ERA

ERA is known for some excellent experimental theatre, including its mash-ups of Shakespeare with other elements of culture. Their latest show blends the Bard’s classic comedy Twelfth Night with high school films from the 1990’s. Music from that time period abounds in this intriguing tone-shifted production that actually brings elements of tragedy into the comedy. There’s a strong cast and some great ideas, and a truly excellent use of the show’s performance space, and it’s an entertaining and challenging story, although not everything they try works as well as it could.

Twelfth Period takes the basic plot and characters of Twelfth Night and takes them to high school in the 1990s, but with a few notable twists beyond the setting change. Here, some of the major comic elements from the original have been taken out, and some characters are more emphasized, such as the Malvolio figure, here called Mallory “Mal” Olio (Katy Keating), who is a socially awkward girl with a crush on popular girl Olivia Davenport (Erin Renee Roberts), who is grieving the recent loss of both her father and her brother. Olivia is being courted by Dude Orsino (Jonah Walker), who enlists the help of new kid Sebastian Horowitz (Amanda Wales), who in turn has a crush on the Dude. The mistaken identity/identical twins plot is shaken up a little here, and the prank played on Mal by party-boy jock Toby Belch (Andrew Kuhlman), his girlfriend Maria Smith (Francesca Ferrari), and new quarterback Andrew “Andy” Aguecheek (Tyson Cole) is given a much more sinister twist than in the source material. Situations and quotes from various 90s films are incorporated into the script along with the Shakespeare, as the story takes a much darker turn than is first implied as it leads to a prom night that none of the students will ever forget. The story also features a student videographer, Valentine (Erik Kuhn) who doesn’t figure much into the story until he turns up later as a different character, and  Mrs. Feste (Anna Skidis Vargas), the well-meaning but somewhat clueless principal and English teacher.

The structure of this play is intriguing in that it varies depending on the schedule audience members are handed at the beginning of the show. I was in the “junior class” and followed the schedule given, which took our group to several different floors and rooms in the building. The use of space is a major strength of this production, as it really helped to create and maintain the atmosphere of being in high school. The characters also interacted with the audience at various moments in the play, most notably in the “cutting class” segment, where Toby hands out beers and cans of water to his fellow class-cutting “students” and jokes around as he goofs off on the building’s balcony, waiting for his friends Maria and Andy so he can plan the prank on Mal.  Kuhlman is believable as the boisterous, hard-partying prankster Toby, and Ferrari as Maria is a suitable accomplice. Cole is convincing as the awkward, conflicted Andy as well. Keating, as Mal, is a standout in her complex, sympathetic portrayal of a character whose story verges quite a lot from the original story. Wales is fine as well as Sebastian–who as in the orginal is really Viola, but there’s more to the story this time. Walker and Roberts also do well with what they are given, but they aren’t given much. The same goes for Kuhn, who plays two characters but isn’t seen a lot.  Skidis Vargas gets to be the comic relief much of the time as the teacher and sometimes gym coach, and she also gets a good dramatic moment in the prom scene. It’s a good cast, and they have a great deal of energy and enthusiasm.

The look of the production is generally consistent, and as mentioned the use of space is excellent. There are some funny moments, some awkward-funny moments (like Sex-Ed class especially), some intense moments (Mal in the dark room especially), and a lot of moments that are just very “high school” whether it’s the 90’s or not. Still, while this is an excellent effort and a clever idea, the somewhat sudden shift to a darker tone doesn’t work quite as well as it could, and ends up seeming somewhat contrived. The characters sometimes get lost in the concept, as well, in a sense that it seems a lot of time like the theme is dictating the plot in ways that aren’t entirely consistent.

For the most part, Twelfth Period is a successful experiment, although it could use a little bit of refining.  The performances of the cast, especially Keating, Kuhlman, and Skidis Vargas, are strong, and it’s always fascinating to see what ERA can do with Shakespeare. This isn’t quite as stunning as previous efforts like last year’s remarkable Trash Macbeth, but for the most part, it’s a memorable trip to a 1990’s high school, with messages about individuality, peer pressure, the dangers of bullying, and more. In keeping with its academic setting, this play gets a B from me.

ERA is presenting Twelfth Period, or Not Another Twelfth Night, at the Centene Center for the Arts until May 2, 2017.

Read Full Post »

“Trash Macbeth” at ERA Is a Fascinating Re-Imagining

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , on May 6, 2016| 1 Comment »

Trash Macbeth
by William Shakespeare and ERA
Directed by Lucy Cashion
Equally Represented Arts
April 29, 2016

Mitch Eagles Photo by Wilson Webel ERA

Mitch Eagles
Photo by Wilson Webel
ERA

Welcome to part 3 of “ERA reinvents Shakespeare, and it’s awesome!” After successful runs of wildly, wonderfully experimental productions based on Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, Lucy Cashion and company have turned their attentions to the Scottish Play. And in a similarly clever, surprisingly relevant vein, Trash Macbeth is a winner. Taking the audience along for the ride in a fully immersive, participatory trip through the minds of Shakespeare, Emily Post, Dr. Spock, and others, this is Shakespeare like you’ve never seen or lived it before.

The story of Macbeth is familiar, but here it’s been put into an unique new context. This isn’t simply “modern dress Shakespeare” as has been done before by numerous companies. This is a new creation, assembled by blending Shakespeare’s text with the works of etiquette expert Emily Post, along with Dr. Benjamin Spock’s Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, the biblical book of Revelation, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, and a collection of advertisements and commercial jingles from the 1950s. Shakespeare’s story is essentially intact, but the generous sprinkling of other material makes for a different slant on the story, with the focus on social expectations and manners giving it a surprising new weight.  It’s also possibly the most immersive theatrical performance I’ve experienced, as the audience members are ushered into a dinner party at the Macbeths’ and greeted by the characters as we enter the eclectically decorated Chapel and treated as honored guests. Or as one honored guest, most specifically. In a unique twist, the audience collectively plays a role–that of the ill-fated King Duncan, given his lines to read in a key scene and adding to impact of the drama, considering what happens to the character.

Our hostesses for the event are Emily Post herself (Ellie Schwetye), as well as the ambitious Lady Macbeth (Rachel Tibbetts) and the conflicted Lady Macduff (Maggie Conroy). These three also double as somewhat disturbingly cheerful iterations of the three Witches, uttering commercial slogans and jingles about cleanliness and perfect homemaking skills along with their spells and prognostications. As the dapper, tuxedo-clad Macbeth (Mitch Eagles) climbs the social ladder by means of murder and plotting, his confusion about his own actions is palpable. In an another fascinating conceit, we’re also made witness to “confessional” style monologues from the key characters at key moments in the play, especially when a character is about to die.  There’s so much going on here, and so much to think about and consider, and I don’t want to give too much away as that would spoil the experience. Still, this is all presented in an extremely thoughtful, sometimes whimical, sometimes disturbing, and always fascinating way that holds the audience’s attention from start to finish.

The performances are stellar, as well. From Schwetye’s somewhat too-cheerful Emily Post, to Tibbetts’s calculating but increasingly unsure Lady Macbeth, to Conroy’s frustrated housewife Lady Macduff, to Eagles’s conflicted Macbeth, Nic Tayborn’s bewildered Banquo, and Carl Overly Jr.’s determined Macduff, this small but versatile ensemble is ideally chosen. The juxtaposition of Shakespeare’s story with various images and concepts from an idealized 1950s America brings out the drama in a way that I hadn’t quite expected, and the excellent cast contributes to this effect with their stylized but remarkably human portrayals.

The Chapel is such a versatile space, and ERA has used it to the height of its potential with this boldly stylish production, incorporating the use of antiques of various styles, to a somewhat ostentatiously decorated dinner table dripping with melting wax candles, wine goblets and real wine for the audience to share. The table also doubles as a performance space later in the show, and various “trash” elements such as garbage bages and copious amounts of shredded paper are strewn about at occasional moments. Scenic designers Kristin Cassidy, Wilson Webel, and Lucy Cashion, along with costume designer Meredith LaBounty and Lighting Designer Erik Kuhn have created a fantastical space and world for these characters and the audience to inhabit, inspired by a feverish blend of eras and styles, as well as a noticeable nod to 1950’s style and advertising. There’s also a haunting atmospheric score played by composer and musical arranger Joe Taylor and musical Philip Zahnd.

Trash Macbeth is as much an experience as it is a production. Taking Shakespeare’s text and themes and combining them with other sources and themes from mid-20th Century American culture has turned this story into something that is at once timeless and timely. It brings the characters into focus in an inventive way, and creates a fascinating world for them (and us) to inhabit. It’s another artistic triumph from ERA.

Set for Trash Macbeth Photo by Wilson Webel ERA

Set for Trash Macbeth
Photo by Wilson Webel
ERA 

Trash Macbeth is being presented by ERA at the Chapel until May 7, 2016 (go see it)! 

Read Full Post »

ERA Brings “Craigslist” to Life

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , on November 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The Residents of Craigslist
Created by Will Bonfliglio and Lucy Cashion from posts on Craigslist
Directed by Lucy Cashion
ERA
November 12, 2014

Ryan Wiechmann, WIll Bonfigliio, Elli Schwetye, Cara Barresi Natasha Toro, Mitch Eagles Photo by Katrin Hackenberg ERA

Ryan Wiechmann, WIll Bonfigliio, Elli Schwetye, Cara Barresi Natasha Toro, Mitch Eagles
Photo by Katrin Hackenberg
ERA

I love experimental theatre. Exploring different forms and formats for theatre can produce some of the most intriguing presentations, and shed light on surprising aspects of the human experience. There are so many possibilities in terms of what can be made into a play. New theatre company ERA already impressed me earlier this year with their Shakespeare re-imagining Make Hamlet, and they’re back with an innovative, occasionally shocking, and always entertaining “found text” play constructed entirely out of posts from one of the internet’s more infamous websites, Craigslist.  ERA’s artistic director Lucy Cashion has teamed with actor Will Bonfiglio to assemble this collection of dramatized online postings that reveals a lot not just about the people who wrote the posts, but about all the “residents of Craigslist”, forming a microcosm of humankind in its various forms of expressions, from the innocuous to the crass and crude, from the pointless to the poignant.

This play has no real plot to speak of, being fashioned from a wide variety of posts on the St. Louis iteration of the Craigslist website.  Bonfiglio and five other performers (Cara Barresi, Mitch Eagles, Ellie Schwetye, Natasha Toro, and Ryan Weichmann) assemble on a creatively decorated stage, designed by Cashion and representing something of a Craigslist “community”.  With a mailbox, lawn chairs, a trash can, a cooler, and various other accessories gathered on an artificial turf surface and surrounded by a white picket fence.  Here, the various “residents” take turns telling their tales–reciting ads for usual and unusual products such as live animals, old furniture, and miscellaneous junk for sale or for giveaway.  Craigslist, however, is not just about merchandise ads, and the show is structured to reflect the various aspects of the site, from the ads to the discussion forums, to “rants and raves”, to raunchier content and requests for anonymous hookups, and to the “missed connections” in which various people hope (perhaps in vain) to find people they’ve encountered in various ways and reunite.  These are perhaps the most emotionally revealing of the segments, ranging from humorous to angry to downright creepy, to surprisingly poignant.  Backed by a soundtrack of catchy music, the segments are cleverly staged in various forms, from group chants, to a laid back chat session for message board discussions about ghosts and the cast of The Partridge Family, to military-style marching, to old-time church-styled preaching.  With material that is at turns lighthearted, humorous, pathetic, gritty, and shocking, this format provides an excellent showcase for the small and well-chosen ensemble of actors.

Each performer gets moments to shine.  Bonfiglio is memorable in various roles from an upbeat young man who likes to cross-dress and is looking for shopping buddies, to a lonely telemarketer searching for the woman behind the kind voice he can’t forget in a poignant monologue that also contains what is perhaps the play’s single funniest line. Weichmann makes a memorable impression as an aging party-guy looking for a new owner for his “disco table” and a geeky out-of-shape guy who has embarked on a new adventure of healthy living, and jogs around the stage expounding on his hopes and dreams.  There are also great moments from Eagles as a somewhat bitter man presenting a litany of his unlucky romantic pursuits, Schwetye in various roles from the opinionated seller of an uncomfortable antique chair to a fed-up Christian lamenting about the online rants of “horrible atheists”, Toro in rants about the how-to’s of grammar and posting certain types of explicit photos, and Barresi in a memorable, angry segment as a rejected “other woman” writing to the married father of her newborn son.  There is also a great deal of collaboration, with the actors working together extremely well, with seemingly boundless energy and a great deal of ensemble chemistry.

From comedy to despair, optimism to anger, this ensemble manages to bring the “world” of Craigslist to crazy, chaotic life. ERA has taken a risk that has paid off in an undeniably entertaining, off-the-wall piece, and the most “negative” thing I can say about it is that I wish it were running longer. As I publish this, there’s only one more chance left to see this outrageously innovative show.  If you get a chance to meet The Residents of Craigslist, you really should.

Natasha Toro, Ellie Schwetye, Mitch Eagles, Ryan Wiechmann Photo by Katrin Hackenberg ERA

Natasha Toro, Ellie Schwetye, Mitch Eagles, Ryan Wiechmann
Photo by Katrin Hackenberg
ERA

Read Full Post »

Something’s Different in Denmark

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , on April 25, 2014| 1 Comment »

Make Hamlet
a version of Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Adapted and Directed by Lucy Cashion
Equally Represented Arts
April 23, 2014

Mitch Eagles, Ethan H. Jones, Julia Crump, Nick Henderson, Jennifer Theby-Quinn, WIll Bonfiglio Photo by Katrin Hackenberg Equally Represented Arts

Mitch Eagles, Ethan H. Jones, Julia Crump, Nick Henderson, Jennifer Theby-Quinn, WIll Bonfiglio
Photo by Katrin Hackenberg
Equally Represented Arts

 

When I say Hamlet, I would imagine most people would know what I’m talking about. It’s one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays, and it has been subject to volumes of literary and theatrical criticism and enjoyed numerous productions over the past few hundred years. There have been so many conflicting interpretations, although most of the ones I’ve seen are still basically the same story with a few differing style and/or characterization elements.  With this new production, called Make Hamlet and produced at The Chapel arts venue by Equally Represented Arts, director/adapter Lucy Cashion and her cast are presenting a take on the classic show like I’ve never seen it before. In this audacious re-imagining of the material, the ERA company challenges the audience to re-examine what we think about this much-performed and studied work, as well as reflect on the art and craft that goes into making and presenting a play.

This is a somewhat condensed, re-arranged, visually striking production that uses all of its technical resources to the fullest, and takes the cast members everywhere throughout the performance space, from the stage to the back of the performance space, to the audience and even perched on the pews that line one side of the venue. The space is adorned with various implements of gardening and sewing (a watering can, a window basket of flowers, a sewing machine, sewing patterns, etc.), suggesting a motif of creation and growing, and we see this process as the “backstage” is onstage, and characters change costumes and adjust the set in full view of the audience.  The six member ensemble presents their characters with distinctive interpretations, as well–confrontational, larger-than-life Hamlet (Nick Henderson), earnest and determined Horatio (Mitch Eagles), fast-talking and detached Claudius (Ethan H. Jones), aloof socialite Gertrude (Julia Crump), moody and conflicted Ophelia (Jennifer Theby-Quinn), and relatively mild-mannered Laertes (Will Bonfiglio).  The other characters in the action are mostly referred to but not seen, with two notable exceptions–the Ghost of Hamlet’s father, which is rendered by a actors manipulating an intensely-backlit dressmaker’s dummy; and Polonius, who is “played” in most scenes by a colorful clown costume on a hanger, except in the memorable and somewhat disturbing take on the scene in which Polonius offers Laertes advice before Laertes returns to school and then warns Ophelia concerning Hamlet’s romantic attentions. I say “disturbing” because it’s not entirely clear if Henderson is supposed to simply be Polonius in these scenes, or if he is portraying Hamlet-as-Polonius. The reactions of Bonfoglio and Theby-Quinn certainly suggest that something isn’t exactly right.  And then there are the scenes where famous speeches are delivered several times by different characters, or when the characters break into song, such as Gertrude absently singing The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” and Ophelia’s darkly jarring rendition of “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” at a key moment.

This is a take on Hamlet that recasts the story as more of a dark farce than a straightforward tragedy, and it works surprisingly well, with the staging and characterizations in keeping with that style, and it’s also all very 2014. Claudius’s “crown” is golf club. Hamlet wields a large, shiny pair of sewing scissors as a sword in one scene, and he and Laertes duel with garden clippers in another. Hamlet and Ophelia share a ballet-inspired dance as Ophelia chats with her father on a cell phone. Bright LED flashlights, sounds of sewing machines, rain, and ominous music help set the scene and the mood, and in a particularly intriguing conceit, character deaths are portrayed by having them remove their costumes, leaving their “shed skin” behind.  Hamlet and Horatio play out something of a volatile “bromance”,with the rich-voiced Henderson portraying a Hamlet who is alternately sympathetic and downright menacing, and Eagles–who physically reminds me of Harry Potter–in an endearing performance as a noble, hipsterish Horatio. Theby-Quinn, in an excellent turn as a particularly intense Ophelia, swings wildly from coquettish to annoyed to fiercely unhinged, pelting the other characters with spools of thread that represent herbs in the most violent rendition I’ve seen of her well-known “madness” scene. These three are the real stand-outs in this cast as far as I’m concerned, and I was especially surprised at how much emphasis this production focuses on Horatio specifically.  All six players put in good work, however, and the ensemble scenes are well-staged and convincingly played, concluding in a truly riveting finale.

I feel so much at a loss to adequately describe everything that goes on with this production. I could overuse adjectives like “bold”, “daring”, “dark”, “witty”, “audacious”, etc. This production certainly is all those things, and it takes the Hamlet story and the characters in directions that I’d never thought of before. I’m sure it will be the catalyst for some excellent conversations about this play, its characters, and what it all means.  As wonderful as the cast is, much of the credit for the success of this production goes to Cashion, who not only adapted and directed it, but also designed the set and the wonderful sound effects.  It’s such a fully realized, consistent vision, played out expertly by this great cast and crew.

 There’s a lot of Shakespeare happening in St. Louis this week, with the celebration of the Bard’s 450th birthday and Shake 38 taking the Bard’s works to various neighborhoods and venues throughout the area.  Even the midst of all those works, however, this one is a must-see. As a truly challenging, entertaining and engaging new presentation of an oft-performed show, ERA’s Make Hamlet is a winner.  It’s a Hamlet for the 21st century, and it’s not to be missed.

Will Bonfligio, Nick Henderson Photo by Katrin Hackenberg Equally Represented Arts

Will Bonfligio, Nick Henderson
Photo by Katrin Hackenberg
Equally Represented Arts

Read Full Post »