When I was writing a lot about theatre here at Just Wrought several of the points I brought up irked people, show people especially:
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MFA’s behave like viruses;
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The primary pursuit of a living wage makes artists complicit in their own co-option;
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No one at Seattle’s Big Houses really cares about developing new work. (Thankfully this one seems to be changing (a tiny bit, but for real, (but only time will truly tell.)))
But nothing I said was more certain to piss off particular people like my contention that one-person shows are not, strictly speaking, theatre. My award for favorite counterstrike, if only for prolixity and opacity, goes to Omar Willey:
Mike Daisey’s [work] is not theater[?] Behind this sort of nonsense is a childish territorialism. The artist here believes he is a High Priest in charge of the cosmic order, and that the entire world would suddenly whirl off its axis if He did not continue to fight for his own narrow definitions, categories and hierarchies–and, by implication, his own place in those hierarchies which, doubtless, is above everyone else he despises. Those who do not accord with his gospel become enemy troops to be extirpated in his Holy Crusade for the One True and Good Art. Such belligerence may be a defense, but it is primarily a defense of human ego. Yet artists cling to such silly notions as though they were essential for craft.
Despite Willey’s daunting hyperbole (heck, I haven’t donned High Priest robes since my college days), I haven’t changed my mind about one-person shows (nor do I delude myself to believe I’ve changed anyone else’s). I still really do think theatre is defined by genuine dialogue between two or more human beings, in the presence of at least one third observer; and I stand by the second and more crucial associated argument made in my original essay, “The Solo Show: A Risk Averse Artistic Administrator’s Best Friend”:
[Artistic Administrators] defend their solo performance offerings like a richly-endowed sculpture gallery might defend an exhibition of paintings. “We love sculpture. And of course we are a sculpture gallery, but sculpture itself is expensive and difficult to maintain. Instead, why not enjoy some lovely paintings of sculptures?” Paintings of sculptures can indeed be lovely, but not even an idiot would call them sculptures, any more than Mark Twain would have referred to himself as a theatre artist 130 years ago. Solo performance billed as theatre is a pig in a poke.
Still, no matter how carefully one build one’s boldest arguments, there will always be an example that seems to fly in the face of everything asserted. So when I say solo shows aren’t really theatre, my long time colleague and often collaborator, Dawson Nichols simply puts on a show or two to prove me wrong. Unlike most solo performers, Nichols doesn’t just tell you a story, with a few different voices thrown in for “dramatic effect”. Instead Dawson, himself a consummate playwright as well as actor, director and professor, plays you a play. He’s as adept at transforming himself into other human beings as, say, the vaunted Anna Deavere Smith, but unlike her, he’s no monologist. Dawson creates dialogue up there, real theatre between two or more people, because freakily enough, he actually appears to be able to become two or more people at one time, right in front of our eyes. All the risk that is removed by having only one person on stage is strangely, magically, mixed back into the cauldron.
But don’t my word for it. (I mean, there’s no point in starting NOW, right?) For the next two Fridays, you can go see for yourself, and decide if he succeeds in smashing my “childish territorialism.”
Here’s the skinny, direct from Dawson . . .
Before heading to Australia on tour I am performing I Might Be Edgar Allan Poe and Virtual Solitaire here in Seattle. Each show will be seen ONE NIGHT ONLY.
I hope to see you at the theater.
Dawson
When:
I Might Be Edgar Allan Poe - Friday, January 31, 7:30pm
Virtual Solitaire - Friday, February 7, 7:30
Where:
Stage One Theater, North Seattle Community College Campus, 9600 College Way North
Tickets:
$10 through brownpapertickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/535733)
I Might Be Edgar Allan Poe
I Might Be Edgar Allan Poe is a crowd-pleasing and horrific comedy about Joseph, a man who believes he just might be the master of the macabre. For this he is institutionalized, but at the OakBrook facility he uncovers uncanny parallels between his life and that of Edgar Allan Poe. With doctors and fellow inmates he explores these parallels until he becomes convinced that he really is Poe. Joseph thinks this has solved the issue, but his doctors aren’t so easily convinced.
True to Poe, this production moves from bizarre horror to outlandish humor to poignant drama. Audiences familiar with Poe’s works will love this new look at the old master. Audiences unfamiliar with Poe’s works will revel in the unusual mixture of comedy and horror.
Virtual Solitaire
Virtual Solitaire is an award-winning one-person play about Nathan, a man lost in a full-immersion virtual entertainment. The game is a murder-mystery, and as Nathan tries to find his way out he begins to realize that this might be more than a game – someone might be intentionally keeping him online. He surfs through more than two dozen characters in the entertainment, searching for the shifting line between VR (virtual reality) and RL (real life). Nathan doesn’t want to believe that this shifting line could be the mystery of the murder-mystery, because if that’s true… well, the murder just might be his own. This inventive game-within-a-play is not to be missed!. For sample video, technical information, awards, and reviews click here.
From the critics:
"Sit back and prepare to have your mind blown. ...An exquisitely tuned performance and astounding feat of self-direction." - NYTheater.com
"A captivating stream of ideas, scenarios, and atmospheres, thanks to Nichols' masterful ability to embody a character. ...A wonder." - Backstage New York
"Nothing short of dazzling." - Georgia Straight, Vancouver
"Confirms Dawson Nichols’ total mastery of the one-man show." - The Sunday Mail, Australia
"More vigor than a barrel of Viagra." - Monday Magazine, Victoria
"A nimble theatrical gamester!" - The Seattle Times
"A shaman-like performance." - The Seattle PI
"Intelligent, thought-provoking." - The Adelaide ‘Tizer, Australia
"Jaw-droppingly good." – The Winnipeg Sun
"Comical, moving and sinister." – The Sunday Mail, Australia
"A work of tremendous imagination formed by edgy, poetic writing and acted with awesome skill." - The Saskatoon StarPhoenix
"A brilliant affirmation that a lone actor can populate a whole theatrical world. Nichols is to virtual-speak what David Mamet is to real estate sharks." - The Edmonton Journal
"Takes The Matrix to the feet of David Cronenberg." - The Australian
"Theatre at its best! Bravo!" - InSight, Seattle
"So beautifully written and performed that it should stand as a blueprint for any solo artist." - Vancouver Sun
"A virtuoso combination of uncanny physicality and cerebral whimsy." - Victoria News
"Nichols again pushes the envelope of the one-man show in an intriguing direction. Leave the vid-screen behind tonight and take a real trip." - The Seattle Weekly
good , thanks.
Posted by: GreenLeanBody | 07/02/2014 at 12:23 AM