When Christopher
Eaves of Park Slope’s eavesdrop theater collective heard that
he was one of the six recipients for the highly coveted Space
Grant from the Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX), he was jumping up
and down with joy. The rehearsal space he got at BAX Annex, located
in the Old American Can Factory in Gowanus, "couldn’t have
been more perfect," the 39-year-old theater director told
GO Brooklyn.
The Space Grant, awarded annually since BAX’s opening in 1991,
gives Brooklyn dancers, playwrights and multimedia artists space
and time to rehearse their work as well as an opportunity to
present it at the annual showcase at BAX’s Park Slope theater.
"We look for an authentic, original voice, which often means
that their work is multi-disciplinary," said BAX spokeswoman
Colleen Hooper. "[The grant] assists them in moving to the
next phase of their artistic career."
Given that one of this year’s Bessie awards went to Wally Cardona,
a Space Grant recipient from 1997, the showcase can be a great
chance to discover local talent. This year’s two-part show of
20-minute works by all six artists takes place tonight and Oct.
27-28.
On next weekend’s bill are Eaves’s play, Natalie Green’s multimedia
dance performance, and Nellie Tinder’s dance-theater piece.
Eaves is presenting "The Myth of Not to Be," the first
module of a three-module play, "Self at Hand," which
was selected for this year’s "Plays and Playwrights"
anthology. Set in the future, when funerals are held to recreate
the dead instead of burying them, the play portrays a man at
his father’s funeral who is overcome with the memory of their
incestuous relationship.
"Record Time" (pictured), by Park Slope choreographer
Green, explores the rapid passing of time and our human need
to record our history for posterity. The five dancers will be
projected on a screen as they perform live onstage, and the accompanying
score will mix music and interviews conducted by Green.
"School Days," the dance-theater work of Williamsburg-based
Julia Jonas and her group, Nellie Tinder, is a detailed look
at the dynamics of friendship between two women and how guilt
plays into their life. The work features three dancers and a
live guitarist.
The first half of the Space Grant Showcase, which takes place
Oct. 21, presents choreography by Michael Helland, a dance-theater
piece by Andrew Dinwiddie, and part of a play by Aya Ogawa/knife
inc.
"Space Grant Showcase" is held at Brooklyn Arts Exchange,
421 Fifth Ave. at Eighth Street in Park Slope on Oct. 27-28 at
8 pm. Admission is $15, $10 for members, $8 for low-income. The
Oct. 21 show is sold out. For more information, call (718) 832-0018
or visit www.bax.org.
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