Dada: (noun) an avant-garde art movement of the early 20th century centered in Zurich, New York, and Paris developed in reaction to Word War I, consisting of artists who rejected logic, reason, and aestheticism of modern capitalist society, promoting instead anti-bourgeois ideals through irrationality and nonsense.
For those who the parameters of the art form seem slightly vague (or for those who just plain slept through that particular art history class),
It takes a lot of Joes to make a sound you can hear. Iron Crow Theatre and it’s almost 20 Joes are making sounds, but the question is— do you hear the people sing? Is it the song of angry men? We’re not marching through France, and this ain’t Russia. It’s Steeltown, USA (temporarily residing in Baltimore, of course) and it’s time to speak up and make your voices heard. The Cradle Will Rock kicks of the 2017/2018 “Season of Identity” for Iron Crow Theatre,
“What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes.” –Harry Houdini.
It’s all just an illusion, isn’t it? A surefire way to draw a crowd to an evening’s spectacle, claimed the great Harry Houdini, “…is to let it be known that at a given time and a given place someone is going to attempt something that in the event of failure will mean sudden death.” That’s human fascination for you; we’re all wound into the potential of the story.
“Unlike a mere deception or a simple secret, which gives the impression that something’s been taken away, a great magician makes you feel like something’s been given to you.” –Jim Steinmeyer
The art of being a magician is beyond that of simply knowing tricks and purchasing gimmicks. There is a story to tell. There is a sense of showmanship to present. As Leonard Cohen once said, “Do not be a magician— be magic!” And so too should the words upon page that become words upon stage when spinning a script based in magic?
“That’s the thing with magic. You’ve got to know it’s still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you.” –Charles de Lint
What would you wish for if you had magical powers? Would you wish to be able to fly and soar high above the rooftops, the treetops, over the clouds, and see everything from above? Or would you wish for money, riches, and wealth beyond your wildest dreams so that you could purchase everything your heart desired?
“Magic is not a practice. It is a living, breathing web of energy that, with our permission, can encase our every action.” –Dorothy Morrison.
Do you believe in magic? How about ghosts? The supernatural and the inexplicable tend to go hand in hand, walking precariously together down the long and winding road we call life. Ghosts are magic too, aren’t they? Aren’t we all, in a sense, made of magic? Made of ghosts?
“Never ever doubt in magic. The purest honest thoughts come from children, ask any child if they believe in magic and they will tell you the truth.” –Scott Dixon
Children have a knack for believing readily in the unbelievable. Maybe it’s because as children our minds are freer; our minds are not fettered by the complexities and responsibilities that come along with adult life. We’re encouraged to believe in magic— faeries, dragons, wizards,
“Children seek magic because they look for it.” –Christopher Moore
J.M. Barrie once said something like the moment you doubt your ability to fly you will never be able to do so ever again. What is it about believe that so strongly tethers us to the magical world? What would you believe in if the world was ending? Magic? Faith? Humanity? Exploring what the fourth playwright of this year’s Variations on Magic has put forth in her ten-minute selection,
“A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep. In dreams you will lose your heartache. Whatever you wish for, you keep. Have faith in your dreams and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true. A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re feeling small. Alone in the night you whisper,
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl.
Time to take a look at another playwright from this year’s Variations on Magic.
Name: Race Brown
Play Title: Really?
Teaser: A play about having your cake and slicing it too.
Every great magic trick consists of three parts:
The first part is called “The Pledge”. This is where the magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird…a play… The Variations Project, proudly produced by Rapid Lemon Productions as it enters its 13th annual production, is back in Baltimore this summer and this year’s theme?
The second part is called “The Turn” where the magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary…
“He was mastered by the sheer surging of life, the tidal wave of being, the perfect joy of each separate muscle, joint, and sinew in that it was everything that was not death, that it was aglow and rampant, expressing itself in movement, flying exultantly under the stars.” Though the words belong to Jack London, they are aptly suited for describing the jubilance that radiates from solo performer Charlie Bethel as he adapts the iconic American novel,
The Zero Hour by Madeleine George, presented by Iron Crow Theatre at the Baltimore Theatre Project will run for only for more shows, all this weekend. Go grab your tickets before you continue reading; you won’t want to miss it. The play is set in a contemporary New York, following an established lesbian relationship. The scenes feel more like vignettes in a way that feels jarring at first but quickly settle into a digestible pattern.
Like an old friend autumn greats Baltimore with its crisp chilly nights, its darkened spirits and shades of Halloween, and its spine-tingling tales of doom and gloom. So too does Happenstance Theater great its faithful followers on its annual return to Baltimore Theatre Project. Cabaret Macabre: The Return Visit materializes from the theatrical ether to haunt, mesmerize, and enchant its audience, both newcomers and fond friends. A living theatrical collage of macabre inspiration in fluid,
No limits.
No boundaries.
No compromise.
Iron Crow Theatre is kicking off their historic 2016/2017 season, entitled “Dark Play”, with a raucous bang, setting the bar high with expectations. Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party, directed by Sean Elias with Musical Direction by Ben Shaver, lives up to those standards and is a scandalously swinging evening of titillating entertainment which plunges the depths of the seasonal through-line of dark play right from the word go.
Is this the place?
Let me check. The map says Baltimore Theatre Project and the ticket says Happenstance Theater— this is the place! The place where imaginative engagement meets clowning around, there place where BrouHaHa happens! A fluid convergence of bodily poetry and auditory movement, this episodic clownesque escapade devised by the ensemble is making its Baltimore debut. Inspired by Samuel Beckett, and a treasury of footage from inspiring films like La Strada and The Seventh Seal as well as Edwardian works and the imagery of refugees escaping on foot,
Tell me everything you think you know about Santa Claus. Of course, the only truth that resonates 100% inside the legend, the myth, and the mighty man that is Kris Kringle, is that Santa Claus is giving directly from the heart without expecting anything in return. So what if he also happens to be a homosexual? That’s the first half of The Holiday Special now appearing live on stage at The Baltimore Theatre Project.
Meaning is often found by happenstance. If you should be seeking a meaningful theatrical experience for the spooky autumnal season, look no further than Happenstance Theater as they take to the stage of the Baltimore Theatre Project with their newest work, Cabaret Noir. Described by the company as ‘A Film Noir Inspired Theatrical Montage,’ Cabaret Noir rides in on the successful coattails of the last several years work, Cabaret Macabre.
It’s Baltimore’s original 10-minute play festival. Now in its 11th run of production, The Variations Project is taking up residency in 2015 at the Baltimore Theatre Project. Now presented by Rapid Lemon Productions, a theatre company which evolved into the Baltimore Theatre Scene in 2012, the production is going strong and features eight works from local playwrights. This year’s theme: Family. Much like every year that preceded it,
When I was a lad there was an anime called Paranoia Agent that questioned all perception of reality and illusion. The music was hypnotic and jarring, harmonies clashing with sharp metallic screeches and traditional Noh theater horns and strings. The theme song is called “Dream Island: Obsessional Park.” Baltimore Theatre Project’s exquisite moving work of art, Dream Island, Directed by Naoko Maeshiba, and created by the entire team (listed below) is an obsessional park where dreams are shredded and collaged together in a papier-mãchè sculpture of light,
There is a blurry shadow that exists between this world and the next. Dreams and Nightmares Aerial Theatre lives up to their company’s namesake as they explore this veil of death and humanity with a dark and cautionary, but exquisitely beautiful fairytale. Crafted from a dream, Baltimore writer Annelise Montone brings language to the sleepy vision of the company’s Artistic Director Kel Millionie. Directed by Millionie, this phantasmagorical performance blends the lines of dreams and nightmares to create a unique and emotionally evocative experience that plagues the mind with curious questions.
Everyone dies; it is a fact of life. Fortune’s Child, a new work by Baltimore area playwright Mark Scharf has made its debut at the Baltimore Theatre Project this winter season of 2015. In a TheatreBloom exclusive interview, I’ve sat down with the playwright to discuss the work and what it is meant to tell the audiences who see it about living life.
Thank you for taking the time to sit down with the readers of TheatreBloom for this interview,
They say life is for the living so live it or you’re better off dead. A quote that may sound harsh especially in the face of the dying, but it’s the honest reality of living. Life interrupts life, even the life of the dying, and that’s a fact. Baltimore-based playwright Mark Scharf captures the essence of humanity at its most simple— living life— with his new play Fortune’s Child, making its premier through the Actors Equity Association Members Project Code at The Baltimore Theatre Project.
What sort of performance doth await you here? Be it civilized or savage? Humane or hateful? Before the child of morning, Rosy-fingered Dawn, arrives, well, you’ll see exactly what sort of wily adventure you’re in for at Baltimore Theatre Projects. As one of precious few non-holiday shows this December, solo artist Charlie Bethel returns to the stage with his one-man performance of Homer’s epic tale. The Odyssey is Bethel’s adaptation of Odysseus in a fashion the likes of which seems impossible.
It’s creepy and it’s kooky! Mysterious and spooky! And it isn’t The Addams Family! When so many other theatres are mounting musicals or late night zombie shows, Happenstance Theatre is presenting their 4th Annual Cabaret Macabre to delight audiences all over Baltimore. The deliciously ‘Gorey’ show is a series of darkly comic vignettes created by the Happenstance Theatre company ensemble, featuring inspiration from all sorts of fantastically dark and dreary places including the tales of Edward Gorey.
What do you do to make your friends so supportive? Chaos. Agony. Emotions. Destruction. A disconnected final note from a disturbed playwright at the end of her wits? Or a wildly animated look inside the notion of psychosis in its final stages of enlightened madness. Be the judge yourself as Iron Crow Theatre kicks off its 2014/2015 season with Sarah Kane’s last work 4.48 Psychosis. Often interpreted as the playwright’s suicide note,
No one comes out alone. The tag line for a thrilling solo work that is taking to the stage at Baltimore Theatre Project for just four short engagements! MotherSON, an innovative solo work written and performed by Jeffrey Solomon, is making its Baltimore debut at the Preston Street stage. A show 16 years in the making— first performed in 1998— it has received a great deal of recognition for its subject matter and motivational message laid right into the plot and themes of the show.