Mark Russell left his position as artistic
director of Manhattan’s acclaimed venue PS 122 last June, after
21 years, but that doesn’t mean he is any less passionate abut
promoting edgy, innovative work that breaks the bounds of traditional
theater.
The curtain will rise on his collaboration with Arts at St. Ann’s
– "Under the Radar," a four-day mini-festival starting
Jan. 7.
The festival, which he produced with Arts at St. Ann’s artistic
director Susan Feldman, will run through Jan. 10, primarily at
the St. Ann’s Warehouse in DUMBO and in a few additional locations.
Russell chose those days because they coincide with the Association
of Performing Arts Presenters’ Annual Members Conference in Manhattan.
"These people decide what tours. I wanted them to have a
chance to see this work," Russell told GO Brooklyn.
"Under the Radar" features a selection of performances
by artists and companies that Russell expects will soon move
onto the radar.
"Many of these shows go on tour to places like San Francisco
and Houston where they play in very small, alternative spaces
– that’s real contemporary theater," said Russell. "I
look for work that speaks to me, that hits me in the gut, that
challenges me, that changes my perception of theater and the
world.
"I want New Yorkers to see these pieces. I think it will
be kind of fun to see three or four pieces in a day," he
said. "In one weekend, you can see the cream of the crop
of some of our most innovate theater artists. I wanted to create
a buzz around them."
The festival kicks off with Cynthia Hopkins’ "Accidental
Nostalgia," which was presented at St. Ann’s Warehouse last
season and will have an extended run there this January.
"I wanted to do the first version of ’Accidental Nostalgia,’"
said Russell. "It was originally going to be at PS 122,
but it needed more resources than we could provide."
Accompanied by her alt-country band Gloria Deluxe, playing a
blend of garage-rock, honky-tonk and cabaret music, against a
videoscape by Jim Findlay and Jeff Sugg, Hopkins tells the story
of Cameron Seymour, neurologist, amnesiac, wanderer and Sufi.
She draws on both her imagination and her childhood in Georgia
to create this fantastic tale.
Russell calls Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s "Word Becomes Flesh"
a "compelling, heart-wrenching work about his process of
becoming a father." Joseph is both a spoken-word performer
and dancer. He has been seen on HBO’s "Def Poetry Jam,"
where he has demonstrated his ability to combine language with
movement.
Herbert Siguenza’s "Cantinflas" is one of the comic’s
first solo outings away from the Los Angeles-based Culture Clash,
said Russell, who called Siguenza "an incredible mime."
Performing in both Spanish and English, Siguenza pays tribute
to the late Mario Moreno, (stage name Cantinflas) known as the
"Charlie Chaplin of Mexico."
In The Civilians’ "Gone Missing," a six-member cast
plays more than 30 characters telling stories about things lost
and found. The show features Michael Friedman’s music, which
Russell said sounds like what would happen "if radio did
a musical cabaret."
Russell admits that Ethel’s "Streaming Ethel" comes
"from left field." The string quartet blurs the boundaries
between classical, jazz, rock, blues and other musical styles.
Which may be why Russell – who says he "wanted something
that would clear the palate, something really different"
– chose this group.
There are many who consider F. Scott Fitzgerald’s "The Great
Gatsby" to be the great American novel. The experimental
theater group Elevator Repair Service tackles the novel, reading
every single word of it, in "Gatz" [at The Performing
Garage, 33 Wooster St. in Manhattan, (212) 529-7875].
As Russell explains the show, "A guy comes into an office
setting obsessed with reading ’The Great Gatsby.’ People around
him begin inhabiting the characters." Gatz will be read
in two parts.
The Foundry Theatre takes on another literary icon – Dostoyevsky’s
"Crime and Punishment,’ in "K.I. From ’Crime’"
[at The Freight Entrance Theater, 208 W. 37th St. in Manhattan,
(212) 868-4444]. Performed in Russian and English by Moscow’s
Oksana Mysina, the show depicts the last moments of Katerina
Ivanovna, a minor character in the Russian novelist’s work.
"I wanted to give a peek at some of the work that’s going
on around the world that we never see in this country,"
said Russell. "Oksana Mysina’s performance is a tour de
force."
Big Dance Theater’s "Plan B" [at the DUMBO Stable,
16 Main St. at Water Street, (718) 422-0303] weaves the secret
tapes of Richard Nixon and the biography of Kaspar Hauser, famous
wild child of 19th-century Germany (a foundling, who, it was
rumored, came from a royal lineage) with the choreography of
Annie-B Parson.
"I wanted to give everyone a chance to see this piece,"
said Russell.
In fact, Russell wants New Yorkers to see all eight pieces and
"to participate in the whole festival."
Said Russell, "That’s why we made everything low cost friendly
and festive."
"Under the Radar" runs Jan.
7-10 at various venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Tickets for
the performances at St. Ann’s Warehouse are $15 to $25. A $40
"Under the Radar" festival pass provides admission
to all shows at St. Ann’s Warehouse plus a $10 discount to all
off-site performances. Shows are presented on a rotating schedule.
St. Ann’s Warehouse is located at 38 Water St. at Dock Street
in DUMBO. For more information about shows at St. Ann’s Warehouse,
call (718) 834-8794 or visit www.artsatstanns.org.
