Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / Feb. 9, 2007, edition 1 / Page 7
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Feb..007 FEATURES www.guilfordian .com Fringe Festival offers experience of experimental theater Page 7 Greensboro. N.C. Simon Kelly | Staff Writer For all you theater junk ies out there who cannot get enough plays, dance and mul timedia into your system, the 5th Annual Greensboro Fringe Festival might provide just the fix. It has been running since Jan. 25 and will continue until Feb. 11. The festival also includes up to 19 new, inde pendently produced works. If you hurry, you might be able to catch these upcom ing short plays Feb. 8-11 at the City Arts Studio Theatre: "Bear in Mind," "Charms," "An Evening with John and Marcia," "Fall of A1 Kfjar," "Girls' Night," "The Kissing Bandit," "Memorial," "The New Toy" and "Ray's Request." According to most Fringe Fest veterans and enthusi asts, though, the Greek-myth- influenced "Opening the Eye of Light" is expected to be the centerpiece for this year's event. If you were to see a performance of it, you might understand why. The show begins with the chiming of a solitary bell struck by none other than the playwright himself, Aubrey Simpson. With a metaphys ical twinkle in his eye, he glides about the foreground of the stage, dispensing little flakes of cosmic wisdom for the audience to bear in mind throughout the production. He sums up his play as a piece of "ritual theater ... about the dream of our earth mother, Gaia." Then, as the capstone to his prologue, he says, "In the eyes of the divine, we are all divine!" "Eyes," of course, is the operative word as soon a giant Egyptian eye (theretofore an inanimate prop towards the back of the stage) begins to strobe with a flurry of images of planets, stars and nebulae. Two omniscient astral narra tors appear at both sides of the stage, brush up the audi ence on their creation myths, and then usher in the dawn of time saying "and all creation danced into existence!" And dance it does. What follows on stage next can be best described as a neo-pagan rave complete with a troop of wild dancers in vibrant body paint, and a score that goes from tribal to Elvish (or some strange combination of the two — think The Talking Heads' "I Zimbra" segueing into an entire Yes album). Despite its fantastical con text, however, "The Opening of the Eye of Light" seems to be addressing themes other than fairy debauchery and tribal dancing, as it is laden with a very strong environ mental message. The earth mother Gaia, for instance, is found bedridden with global warming. This awareness of culturally and globally relevant issues is common to many of the works found in Fringe Fest this year. "I think that especially because these plays are new, the topics are a lot more popu lar, and in that sense not only popular topics (are addressed), but also popular art in general," Morgan Howard/Guilfordian said Todd Fisher, one of the co founders of the Fringe Festival who was present athe the premir of "Opening the Eye of Light" at the Broach Theater. "For example, you're taking things right off the pages of the newspaper and putting them on stage. 'The Opening of the Eye of Light' certainly has an elemental, environmen tal theme." The Greensboro Fringe Fest also functions as a wonder ful springboard for budding playwrights and other perfor mance artists in the Triad area. It is by no means a form of amateur theater, however, as it includes a jury (to which Fisher belongs) that puts applicants through a discerning selection process. One applicant, Kim Moore, was talented enough to have her play, "Your Place," go on to an even larger audience at the New York International Fringe Fest last year. "That's the stage that you want your work (to reach), especially when you're doing something new and experi mental," Fisher said of Moore's success. With that said, the Greensboro Fringe Fest is meant to provide a nurturing environment for both artists and theater enthusiasts alike. After the show, the air was charged with the hum of a happy audience. The painted dancers walked freely amongst the crowd with beaming smiles, shaking hands while being pelted with every form of praise. It was not until then that I genuinely was able to gauge how vital this scene is to the artistic community — so many ideas, so much energy. Then, Fisher turned to me while gesturing toward the stage and said, "We like to fos ter people into believing they can do this kind of work." ‘Toward a Cartography of Love, ’ an evening ol love poems and dedications, will be held on Monday, February 12, 2007, at 7:00 in the Gaileiy ofFoiinders Hall. Refreshments (homemade and otherwise) will be provided. Please invite students and friends to attend.
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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Feb. 9, 2007, edition 1
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