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Friday, May 15, 2009
Bronze poodle joins the City of Sculpture collection
A black Standard Poodle has been added to the Park Place sculpture set on the west side of the Hamilton High-Main bridge. The sculpture will join the the other figures created by Glenna Goodacre. Staff photo by Greg Lynch
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Sixth annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival kicks off May 26
The Know Theatre of Cincinnati and the sixth annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival begins May 26 with over 30, more than 150 performances and new venues.
This year’s pool of Fringe applicants saw more submissions from outside the Greater Cincinnati area than ever before, making up more than half (52 percent) of all submissions.
“It’s exciting to know that the Fringe has really started to reach all corners of the US,” said managing director Eric Vosmeier in a news release. “We’re so pleased to have such a wide array of artists and acts, and their geographic diversity will, without a doubt, add a different dimension to the festival this year.”
Audience members should expect to see some new faces, as 69 percent of applicants are newcomers to the festival this year.
“People who have never participated in our Festival before are willing to take a chance on traveling to Cincinnati, even in challenging economic times, because they’ve heard such positive things about our Festival from other artists,” Vosmeier said.
Show descriptions at the jump… Full schedule to come….
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Confirmed venues for this year’s festival include Media Bridges, Art Academy of Cincinnati, Know Theatre, Jackson St. Underground, Below Zero Lounge, Coffee Emporium, New Stage Collective, Mixx Ultra Lounge and more to be announced.
Single tickets for Fringe Festival productions are $12. The Full Frontal (All Access) Pass will be $200 — or about $5.75 per show if you see all of the productions. The six-show Voyeur Pass will cost $60, or a savings of $12 over the single ticket price. Single tickets will be available for purchase starting on Monday, May 4. For more information check out www.cincyfringe.com or call (513) 300-5669.
Fringe Festival Line-up
Titles, artists, and content are subject to change Synopses are provided by the artist and do not reflect any other opinion or point of view.
The Gayer Show: 66 Years of Faggotry by The Adventures of Les Kurkendall and Dan Bernitt. Come and see Fringe veterans Les Kurkendaal and Dan Bernitt combine their storytelling super powers in this must see show. Les and Dan are both out gay performers who are exactly 20 years apart. And they are great friends (think Lucy and Ethel). Even though they are great friends there is a huge generation gap, and the stories surrounding this generation gap are quite comical. Hear stories of coming out, dating, careers and just plain old life in general and see how much of a difference 20 years really does make!
The Secrets Project by the Genesis Ensemble. We all have secrets - the ones we tell, the ones we keep, the ones we read and the ones we wonder about. The Secrets Project is an exploration of our humanity through secrets. Genesis Ensemble investigates the nuanced personal, social and political impact secrets have on our lives through devised performance. The performance is community generated, ensemble created, and audience interactive - taking the audience on an explorative theatrical journey.
A—holes and Aureoles by InterAction Theater, Inc. See this show if your PC-o-meter needs to get blown up and reconfigured. Title first: a—holes you understand — an aureole is a “radiance surrounding the head or body; halo; glory.” You can call it A&A if you have to. A&A was the top-selling show at the 2008 Indianapolis Fringe Festival. Two high-energy actresses and one award-winning and fabulously talented playwright created this play.
A Perfectly Wonderful Evening by the Artemis Exchange. Julius Henry “Groucho” Marx: Vaudevillian, cigar enthusiast, Jew. Master of wit. Thomas Stearns “T.S.” Elliot: Poet, expatriate, blatant anti-Semite. Master of eloquence. Harold Bloom “The Brontosaurus”: Author, critic, literary juggernaut. The Master. Circe “The Girl in the Play”: Muse, omnipotent career woman, character actress. Easy on the eyes. One critic, two very mismatched figures, and one hell of a spread. A circus of historical rendezvous, fictional clashes of characters, famous figures, ephemeral beings, the Crown Prince of Bit Comedy’s thoughts about Shakespeare, the elegant author of The Waste Land’s fondness for slapstick, puns, cigars, and English Beef with asparagus. All based on a true story, filtered through Bloom’s point of view, and warped by the twisted young minds of Artemis Exchange; A Perfectly Wonderful Evening is a ride through one of the greatest meetings of mismatched minds in American history. Or any other history. Ever.
Villainy by This Ain’t Real Theatre Co. An exploration of exactly what it means to be a villain in this world. From ancient times to Shakespeare, until this very moment, society has always been able to find its “villain”. But can anyone absolutely define what it means to be a villain? (Other than Webster, and we’ll get to that later…) What does it take for an individual to be considered as such? Do you have to be a murderer? Or is it a little white lie to get you out of going to dinner with that other annoying couple…? What constitutes villainy? We will be taking a look into the villains that have truly been able to survive the test of time. Putting some of Shakespeare’s most complex and interesting characters on stage to take a look into what this contemporary society deems evil… and what it might not…
Guns and Chickens by Micha Collective (formerly CCM Chekhov Players). Guns and Chickens- a timeless tale. Conceived, developed and performed by nearly twenty actors, Guns and Chickens is a fable of epic proportions and good old-fashioned story telling at the same time. With song, dance, comedy and tragedy, Guns and Chickens is Fringe at its best. This allegory sparks the imagination and touches the heart.
Jacques Brel Lonesome Losers of the Night Queen City Off Broadway/Theo Ubique. Lonesome Losers of the Night is new book musical from the master of melancholy cool, iconic French pop, composer Jacques Brel. Mr. Brel sold more than 25 million records worldwide. Conceived by Theo Ubique, Freddy Anzevino, and master Brel translator Arnold Johnston, this production features 21 songs penned by the ubiquitous singer songwriter, 14 of which have never been translated in English before. It tells the story of a nameless quartet of characters: two sailors, a bartender, and a dead behind the eyes whore, in a rundown Dutch waterfront tavern circa 1959. Through a series of musical soliloquies and dialogues, filled with hope and humor, loneliness and longing, their relationships and personalities emerge and continually evolve through Brel’s lyrics and melodies during an evening of drunken revelry. Thoughtfully arranged, simply staged, and well acted, each song could stand alone, but when they’re performed one after another they meld into a small-scale pop opera. Come, be hip, look French and despair.
It Might Be OK by Project Gobi. Is it our culture that defines our myths, or do our myths define our culture? Project Gobi is a group of young individuals hailing from every corner of our nation exploring the myth that is America. There are neither blue oxen nor Babe Ruth in these dreams, but all the lust, sorrow, and madness of modern myth. We nine are folk heroes of today, looking at this complex, terrifying, dark, hopeful, and beautiful nation that we have loved and cursed. Circling around the events that have shaped our youth, this story might just be your own.
The Success Show by Finite Number of Monkeys Productions. You are invited to the Orville Room at the Airport Holiday Inn for a timely success and wealth-building motivational seminar, lead by the noted self-published author and speaker, Denny Martin. You’ll not only learn of Denny’s proprietary methods of achieving greater success in business and personal relationships, you’ll also get to see his approach put to the test as his past catches up to him - all while the seminar unfolds. Enjoy sabotaged PowerPoint presentations, group exercises that go horribly awry, and perhaps the most provocative uses of the words “synergy”, “leverage”, and “successulation” ever to be put into a recession-era comedy.
The Edge. Heartbreaking, sassy and enchanting, The Edge is a story about a mother (Amy Warner) and her estranged daughter (Karen Wissel). It takes place on a cliff over the Mediterranean. The daughter is a nymph-like creature whose reckless behavior creates fear and frustration in her English mother. Mother and daughter use poetry and confession, dance and dreams in their struggle to find empathy. Who has the edge? And can the unthinkable ever become a glorious possibility? The Edge is directed by Michael Haney, Associate Artistic Director at the Playhouse in the Park and Choreographed by Judith Mikita, adjunct faculty member at CCM. The Edge will dazzle you.
Painted by White Beard Productions. Colored by a moment. Tinted by a touch. Mothers model. Lovers sculpt. History cuts into our collective consciousness. Fusing fiction and documented interviews, text and movement, White Beard Productions creates a shifting collage of human experience and reaction to the moments that paint the rest of our lives.
*KAZ/m by Performance Gallery. A suicide; characters connected in ways foreseen and ways unexpected. Communication as a matter of perspective … treading uncertainly through the gulf, the rip, the KAZ/m. KAZ/m follows the reverberations and repercussions of a suicide and how the act shreds the veneer of communication as safe and effective. In this day of information overload and virtual reality, how do we know if our narrative is our own or created by anonymous authors?
Brother Bailey’s Pageant of Moral Superiority and Creation Science Island Jamboree by Ornamental Messiah Productions. Binky and Simone have a kameah-meah super problem! If they don’t get an “A” in the science fair they’re going to end up in summer school locked away from all the other Beach Buddy Tagalongs. What’s standing in their way? SCIENCE. Luckily Brother Bailey is here to get rid of those pesky “science standards,” but will popular moral opinion be enough to defeat the evils that lurk within mountains of proven scientific evidence? And will the mystical eastern art of karate be enough to stop those fuddy-duddy sharks from scaring away all the fun? This play takes a look at science, religion, and how our society perceives them in society, in the style of a wacky and carefree 1960’s beach-blanket movie.
Empire of Feathers by Giant Bird. Welcome to the land of Mond, where a roaring industrial age of concrete oceans and steel scraped skies draws to a close, and three men set off in search of the infamous Red Sylvester, the rarest bird of all: Rifle Lancaster! A grizzled soldier longs to look death in the eye. Lucey Fair! A decadent painter seeks to create a work of pure truth. Ball Manhattan! A tycoon socialite strives to bring proof of magic back into the world. In this world, everyday objects transform into the extraordinary: a crumpled map becomes a mountain range and a string of fairy lights a waterfall in this endless adventure, performed in vibrant, space-responsive poor theatre style with live music.
April Fools by Four Humors Theatre. April Fools is a collaboratively created show following four fools on a quest to capture laughter. Brought to you by Four Humors Theater (last year’s Cincy Fringe Producer’s Pick and Fringe Olympic Gold Medal winners.) A series of vignettes featuring physical acting, object work, music, dance, and poetry, April Fools is a showcase and celebration of anything and everything that elicits laughter.
Cemetery Golf by Deb Loucks. Bravely delving into the lives of a hellfire and brimstone Southern Baptist preacher and his family, this dynamic one-man show is filled with quirky characters. It explores the detrimental effects of fundamentalist Christianity with witty and insightful storytelling. Based loosely on Loucks’ childhood experiences in small-town Georgia, Cemetery Golf shows how organized religion’s use of fear fosters an environment of control. This timely topic is explored in Loucks’ charismatic portrayal of each of the family members, enlivened by Gospel songs and his Southern humor and charm.
No Stranger Than Home by Katherine Glover. Learn the best way to treat a twisted ankle in “Witch Doctor.” Watch the narrator utterly fail at love and romance in “There Are No Lesbians Here.” Visit Nicaragua, Ethiopia and Germany - and explore how the worst culture shock can sometimes happen in the place you come from. After using the word ‘home’ to describe, at one time or another, three continents and four U.S. states, Twin Cities writer/performer and journalist, Katherine Glover, brings together a mishmash of true stories in this dynamic and funny one-woman show. The Terrorism of Everyday Life by Hamell on Trial. After years spent crossing the country on tour, anti-folk hero Ed Hamell has emerged as the Kerouac of folk-rock, bringing forth both the heroism and decay of American culture in The Terrorism of Everyday Life, his one-man show of frantic guitar meets poetry and social critique.
Sex, Dreams, and Self Control! by Carol Jane. Sex, Dreams, & Self Control is a fusion of music, spoken word, and standup comedy - with an original alternative folk rock score in which star and writer Kevin Thornton croons like a young John Hiatt or a post-Smiths Morrissey. A young midwestern boy being groomed for evangelical ministry faces a terrifying journey of sexual discovery. Sure, it’s a little sad at points, but it’s mostly funny. Sad and funny all at once - with tons of nostalgic references and 80’s kitsch. Exactly what a person wants.
7 (x1) Samurai by David Gaines. Kurosawa’s epic tale of victimized peasants, marauding bandits, and samurai warriors - retold at comic breakneck pace, through movement, by one exhausted and ridiculous actor. This piece is performed in an original energetic style with accompanying gibberish and vocal sound effects. What will surprise you: This unusual style of theatre is like Kill Bill meets The Magnificent Seven in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It is original, different, riveting to watch, and very funny.
Where Drunk Men Go: A Poem with Music by Richard Hague. Four-time recipient of Ohio Arts Council fellowships and 1982 Cincinnati Post-Corbett Award winner Richard Hague’s Where Drunk Men Go is a poem of grief and ecstasy, at once celebrating the exhilarations of drinking and the crucifixions of addiction “in language that is wild, enraged, complex, and multi-voiced” (Maggie Anderson, Wick Poetry Program, Kent State University). The poem tries to achieve sympathy with the sufferings of characters that are composites of folks we all might know; it is a kind of argument with the universe, wrestling with its tangle of mystery, beauty, guilt, innocence, ecstasy, and violence. The high, lonesome style of traditional and gospel tunes by accompanist Michael Henson, columnist for SteetVibes, Cincinnati’s homeless newspaper, and writer of fiction and poetry, including Crow Call, a book of elegies for Over-the-Rhine activist Buddy Gray, complement the poem’s themes, feeling, and style.
Cinema Fantastique by Eagle to Squirrel Variety Hour. Cinema Fantastique is one band’s journey into film, careening into alcohol-fueled pop culture commentary through words, beats, rhymes, and dance. B-movies and D-listers of the past few decades provide inspiration for this unique concept show. The theme is cinema. The style is variety. Come out expecting nothing, but be ready for anything. Watch, and even dance, as Eagle to Squirrel Variety Hour presents our take on Hollywood.
Incredulity by The Incredulities. Incredulity is an improv show that will be done for the first and last time each night it is performed. Don’t believe us; don’t be so incredulous. We’ll take suggestions from our audiences, put them into our random device, and create the show on the spot. Wherever the wheel spins, the dart lands, or whatever other random act of nonsense occurs will determine what happens in our show. Failure is a distinct possibility. Improvisers thrive on the risk and tension that comes from the presence of failure. You won’t believe what’s happening right in front of your eyes. Of course you won’t, that’s the name of the show.
Travel by Jamming Talent Productions. Once upon a time, three artistic minds collided into one another. They immediately have differences in character, but the idea of equal control is agreed upon. Despite their differences, they all have the same goal, to TRAVEL. With the intent of new beginnings, hopes, chances, and adventures, the three artists have to trust, respect and submit to each other in order to set sail into the great unknown. Differences in thoughts, and behaviors make compromise difficult. The trio learns to work together and overcome their greatest obstacles. This is a multi-media, aerial art masterpiece!
Four Wishes by Gunstwork Mast Puppet Theatre. Winner of the “Encore Best of Fest ‘07” award, Boulder International Fringe Festival. Four Wishes has exquisite puppets, expressive masks and original choreography. It will ignite imaginations. This dynamic solo production of a classic tale teaches life lessons about the universal theme of human desire: What determines our choices? From where do we make decisions? Four Wishes, adapted from Gluskabe and the Four Wishes, by Joseph Bruchac is a teaching story. It depicts the journey of four native New England Abenaki men as they make their way to the island home of the great Gluskabe, folk hero and protector of the Abenaki who bestows one wish on each of the four men. One man wishes for worldly possessions, one yearns to be taller than all, another seeks immortality, and the fourth wishes to be a better hunter so that he may provide food for his people.
The 4 Food Groups by Pones Inc. Laboratory of Movement. The 4 Food Groups is based on true stories told through original movement, music and spoken word. The piece investigates interactions between a group of four people over a sexually charged dinner. Told in four scenes: The Intro, The Prospect, The Climax and The Morning After, the focus of the show flip-flops between proper etiquette and raw connections between characters. The 4 Food Groups was awarded second place in the 2008 Cincinnati Director’s Competition and was described as, “innovative physical theatre with a unique sense of humor.”
Bibliography of Love by Jan Street Dance Theatre. Bibliography of Love asks: What would you give up for love? Jan Street Dance Theatre provides an answer, with spoken word, intimate gesture, dynamic partnering, and high velocity dance. Using a collage approach, Bibliography of Love presents a series of vignettes framed by an infamous yet somewhat hidden historic gay and lesbian love triangle: the torrid 1917 affair between Vita Sackville-West and Violet Trefusis, in full view of Vita’s bisexual husband Harold Nicholson.
Call Me by DIY Productions. You are at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival with a ticket to see Call Me. Suddenly, a mysterious woman from another time hands you a card with a phone number. You hesitate. You punch the numbers into your cell phone. And it begins. Someone answers, but not who you expect. You listen to a voice out of the past draw you into a quest to help a woman in trouble. The recording ends abruptly, but not before the voice tells you where to find another number to call. You leave the theater in search of the next number, the next call, and the rest of the story.
Body Language II: PHYS ED. by True Body Project. Cincy Fringe audience favorite returns with a community collaboration featuring actors and non-actors, teens and adults, in an exploration of how we come to view our bodies in the dreaded landscape of gym class. Writer Stacy Sims, actor Julianna Bloodglood, dancer/choreographer Heather Britt and dozens more PHYS. ED. collaborators listened to stories from real people in the community to create this high-energy performance work. Did you get picked first or last? Could you climb the rope or run the mile? Did you skip class entirely, or was it your favorite class of the day? PHYS. ED. will bring it all back. And make you sweat. Fresh from a NY performance at the Brooklyn Museum, the True Body Project is a Cincinnati-based non-profit organization.
Free At Last and Confused in the Land of Good & Evil by DLF Productions & Company. Free At Last and Confused in the Land of Good & Evil is a culmination of 3 different pieces, and is a highly creative form of expression. It uses dance, song, video, spoken word and various audio clips to acquaint the audience with the political inequities, social unrest, environmental destruction and spiritual struggles of our time. The performance incorporates, Hip-Hop, Modern, Jazz and African dance set against a backdrop of stark disturbing footage, imperative voiceovers and profound impassioned music. The piece will leave the audience with the questions of “How did we get to this point? And where do we go from here?”
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Hamilton Lane Library schedules 13th annual Reading & All That Jazz series
From June through August, the Hamilton Lane Library, 300 N. Third St., Hamilton, hosts weekly sessions that alternate between summer reading and summer jazz programs.
All programs, free and open to the public, are on Tuesdays at noon.
Brown Bag Book Reviews… Bring a brown-bag lunch to our summer book reviews. The Friends of the Lane Libraries will serve light refreshments to go along with your lunch.
> The Soloist by Steve Lopez, reviewed by Mary Kay Fischer, June 2
> See You in a Hundred Years by Logan Ward, reviewed by Lori Rehm, June 16
> The Steel Wave by Jeff Shaara, reviewed by Joe Ford, June 30
> Arnaldur Indridason: Icelandic Mystery Writer, highlighting the Erlendur crime series, reviewed by Al Wiebe, July 14
> The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, reviewed by Marion Thoms, July 28
> A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books by Alex Beam reviewed by Henry Cepluch, August 11
Jazz Performances
> Cunningham Duo, above, (guitar, drums and bass), June 9
> Buffalo Ridge Dixieland Jazz Band, June 23
> Rob Allgeyer Duo (keyboard and bass), July 7
> Just the Two of Us: Lowell Woodrey and Jerry Robinson (keyboard and sax), July 21
> Ricky Nye:The Piano Guy (keyboard), July 4
> Jack Doll and Lynne Scott (keyboard and vocals), August 18
For more information about these and other programs at the Lane Libraries, please call 894-6557 or visit the Lane Web site at www.lanepl.org http://www.lanepl.org .
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‘Women & Spirit’ exhibition makes world premiere at Cincinnati Museum Center, May 16
“Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America,” May 16-Aug. 30, Cincinnati Museum Center, 1301 Western Ave., Cincinnati. (513) 287-7000.
“Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America,” created by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in association with Museum Center, tells of the innovative, action-oriented women who played a significant role in shaping the nation’s social and cultural landscape.
First arriving on America’s shores almost 300 years ago, Catholic sisters altruistically built and led schools, hospitals, orphanages, colleges, and other social institutions that have continued to serve millions of Americans in the intervening years. Remarkably, they created these enduring institutions at a time when most women had few, if any, professional opportunities.
“Few people are aware of the tales of the brave women who came to this country to help immigrants assimilate into the fabric of America,” said Jane Burke, SSND Executive Director of LCWR, in a press statement. “Their heroic presence during many of the formative periods of our nation is an important part of American history and the legacy of the Sisters.”
“This is an important and unique exhibit,” said Douglass W. McDonald, President and CEO of Museum Center. “The artifacts and materials featured in the exhibit tell a compelling story. We are proud to both serve as the premiere venue and care for these historic materials as the institution of record and exhibit registrar.”
Exhibit visitors of all ages will discover the pivotal presence of these very self-determined women at many of our nation’s dramatic turning points, including the Civil War, the Depression, the Civil Rights Movement and Hurricane Katrina.
The untold stories of these unsung heroes will be recounted through rare, heretofore unseen artifacts, vivid first-person accounts, photographs and both modern and archival video.
“The Sisters were contemporaries of the early American heroes recognized in standard text books,” McDonald said. “They made a significant impact on our country through selfless service to the pioneers, immigrant communities and America’s children. Finally, their perspective is documented.”
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