Last weekend I saw two performances as part of the Capital Fringe festival. One was "The Farthest From the Earth" by Peter DiMuro, performed by Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and the other was Bob Rauschenberg America by Charles L Mee performed by banished? productions. The first was a dance company that incorporated theater and the other was a theater company that incorporated dance. The both also used some technology although the Dance Exchange performance did not use the video for this performance because of time limitations. I enjoyed both performances for different reasons. "The Farthest From the Earth" was a work about Shakespeare and his sonnets. The audience learned what a sonnet was and how one is written. Suzanne Richard narrated and played several characters as the piece evolved. Wheel chairs, crutches, shopping carts, ladders and other wheeled devices whizzed across the stage during the show as performers of different levels of skill and ability performed together. Sign language interpreters crossed into the realm of performance as they were communicating the events on stage. Almost everyone "danced" in some way as the focus of the communication was through movement.
Bob Rauschenberg America was a play that integrated technology. All of the male characters were either video or animation. The performance was somewhat interactive as people were taken from their seats to the stage on more than one occasion and some audience members were given white smocks to blend in with the performers who were dressed in all white. The actors sat among the audience and at times delivered their lines from their seats. There was dancing mostly by Carrie Monger who I saw rehearsing as I walked by the gallery one evening and made me want to see the performance. However movement was an important part of the performance and all of the performers moved. I especially liked Dionne Audain's impression of Michael Jackson's moves. There were moments when the energy dropped a bit too much and those were the moments of straight theater. It was best when the performance got crazy or there was a conversation between video actor and live actor.
The fact that technology is relatively cheap and software is easier to learn more and more people will be trying to incorporate technology into their work and at some point it will work very well. I applaud banished? productions for their experimentation
These performances reminded me of my own ideas for performance and reassured me that the world is moving in this direction and that I need to get to work. I may move into the world of theater for a spell and bring a few dancers along.
