While fiery furnaces, menacing torture
devices and the prospect of eternal damnation may not seem as
appealing as, say, heaven, to most of us, for one troupe of Williamsburg
artists and performers, hell is not such a dreadful place.
Starting this weekend, mortal souls will have a chance to probe
the shadowy underworld while raising hell on earth at the first-ever
"Hell Festival" in Williamsburg.
This month-long series, sponsored by The Brick Theater Inc.,
brings together sinners, demons and a mishmash of performances
in a tour de torment that will have audience members begging
for salvation.
With more than 30 original theater productions, an inaugural
gallery exhibition and a handful of musical performances, the
festival weaves together multiple interpretations of hell through
playful narratives, largely drawn from biblical stories, mythology
and childhood folklore.
"Everyone brings their own personal version of hell into
the space," Michael Gardner, co-artistic director of The
Brick told GO Brooklyn. "Whether it is fiery furnaces or
void and disillusionment, each performance or work is each artist’s
individual nightmare."
The festival commences with a weekend-long group exhibition,
titled "Six Layers of Hell," where monsters, ghouls
and other creepy crawlers will demonize the space though a combination
of video installations, paintings, sculptures and drawings.
Among the works on display are mythological self-portraits by
Sherry Wong and drawings by Brian Dewan, who will accompany his
work with storytelling and musical performances played on his
own invention, an instrument called the "dewanatron."
"When we were looking for work, we wanted to find artists
who had an original twist on hell," said Arianne Gelardin,
co-curator of the exhibition. "Each artist creates a narrative,
whether they are creating their own performance space or mythological
world."
Naturally, agony and suffering will remain a prominent theme
throughout the performances, which kick off Monday with a trio
of new productions. But don’t let that frighten you. The combination
of demon invocations, Satanic parodies and musings on the connections
between hell and Jell-o promises to leave audience members in
tears from bouts of unrelenting laughter.
"Blue Puppies in Hell," for instance, is an amusing,
yet bizarre, tale by writer David Vininy about a talking blue
dog’s encounters with the canine king of the underworld, Lew
C. Frrrr. "Evil is Kewl: Satan’s Message to the Youth,"
written and directed by Alyssa Siemon, stages a Q&A with
the almighty prince of darkness and explains why adolescence
is a perfect time to immerse oneself in the Art of Evil.
And if you are really a glutton for pain, stick around for "Red
Bastard is a Star," created by Eric Davis and Sue Morrison,
and feel the wrath of this clownish demon as he torments the
crowd with comedic insults and provocations.
"We really wanted to keep the performances playful and darkly
comedic," said Jesi Khadivi, co-curator of the exhibition
with Gelardin.
"The Hell Festival" is the first of The Brick’s annual
summer festivals. As a new theater company – the theater house
opened less than two years ago on Metropolitan Avenue – Gardner
and co-artistic director Robert Honeywell were looking for something
new and unusual to help kick off their summer events.
"We wanted to have a concept," Gardner said. "Something
intriguing and unique. Hell seemed perfect. It is sexy and subversive
and opens itself up to religious, theatrical and literary interpretations."
Luckily, demons seem to be in supply this summer. When the theater
company sent out a city-wide casting call in April, they fielded
more than 60 applicants.
Many of the performances are original works debuting for the
first time in New York City, such as "Blue Puppies in Hell"
and "Martian Holiday" by John DeVore, which stars Honeywell
as a psychologically tormented astronaut, abandoned on Mars and
struggling to survive despite his isolation. Others have appeared
at the NYCFringe Festival, the Woodstock Fringe Festival and
off-off-Broadway in Manhattan. Coupled with multimedia works
by local artists and musicians, the festival seeks to help create
a cross-platform for visual art and performance.
"To me it seems like different art forms remain worlds apart,"
Honeywell said. "The festival is a way of cross-pollination."
Housed in a century-old garage, the playhouse opened in September
2002 and has produced more than a dozen productions since then.
The location, Honeywell said, suits the up-and-coming theater.
"We found many of our performers do not live in Manhattan
but around the corner in Williamsburg," he said, later adding,
"It is easier to get here than to BAM."
The hellish festivities conclude on Aug. 22, with one last night
of sinful indulgence at "The Carnival of Souls" where
guests lurk around dressed as their favorite demonic icon, to
menacing sounds of "hell-themed" soundtracks. "Cheap
beer" will be served to help facilitate the proliferation
of sins.
But be warned. There is no chance for salvation – at least not
until next year.
"Redemption is next year’s festival. This year is suffering,"
Gardner said. "Although we may have a confessional booth."
"The Hell Festival" at The
Brick Theater takes place from July 23 to Aug. 22 at 575 Metropolitan
Ave. between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street in Williamsburg.
Tickets are $10. For more information, call (718) 907-6189 or
go to www.bricktheater.com.
