A Show You Should See and Other Upcoming
Hi there. I’m realizing I want to push these posts when I’ve seen something that I think is worth your time — maybe the best service I can provide is giving you the chance to catch something you would have missed. In that spirit, I’m doing reviews first and then mentioning stuff I’ve got on my list for later this month. The first review is the critical one if you’re looking for interesting shows, and stay for the end for an important immersive thing you want to know if this is your jam.
Reviews
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha - A London clown show by Julia Masli that’s gotten awards at Edinburgh Fringe and other places. This was recommended with no commentary to me, so that’s how I’m recommending it to you. I loved it, and it’s on this list, so that tells you there’s something interactive about it. It’s $51, which is not cheap, but worth it. The show runs until June 8th. My longer NoPro review will be up next week if you want spoilers, but you don’t. Just see it.
Mercer Labs - Surprisingly not terrible. Mercer Labs is a brand name of the artist Roy Nachum and in this museum (while it disappointingly does have a ball pit in it, it’s not as dumb as the likes of Color Factory) Nachum has collaborated with other artists to create projection rooms, LED installations, and sound art that explores themes of playfulness, sight, and nature. What elevates this over a normal projection room is that Nachum has some themes and ideas in the content — while some of the work misses and some of it is a rip off of much, much better art, a good number of pieces are thoughtful and visually interesting. Is it worth $50+? No. But if you stumbled in here, there are things to see for sure. Tribeca Immersive is going to be at Mercer Lab, and that would be a very good excuse to check it out.
Saga of the Shining Emblem - Interesting very small show in which an improviser runs something like a D&D story with a single member pulled from the audience. It’s a big yes-and game where Matthew Schott chooses a “hero” and asks them to say what they would do in a situation which Schott then weaves into a ridiculous story where the “hero” wins. I know some of you are ready to groan hearing the description, but Schott is very good at this and it stays surprisingly funny for the duration. There’s also a pianist improvising a score the whole time, which is impressive on its own. It’s EXTREMELY DIY and you’re basically going to see one guy riff on ludicrous roleplaying nonsense for 40 minutes, but it’s cheap and easy and it works. Thumbs up from me.
Brought Up - Here’s my NoPro review for this. It’s an early show that’s a parodic commentary on the Philippines and capitalism in which the audience is a set of clones recruited to help the government of the space colony of Nueva Manila fight off rebels to protect the sacred Bottom Line. It’s a mixed experience. The story world is deep and the actors are very committed, but the interactions we do as training for the role are generic (e.g. solve cubes, stack cups) in a way that cheapens the experience. That said, there was a great use of audience audio input in the show, and there was a lot of confidence in the piece. I would say the creator, Kenneth Keng, is an artist to watch.
Third Law - Again, longer NoPro review here. The short version is that Third Law is an interesting interactive theater idea from What Would the Neighbors Say? that doesn't quite work at any level. The actors perform a fable-like story of the Garden of Eden as choices are projected on the floor. If enough audience members stand in a projected circle, it activates and changes an aspect of the performance, such as lighting, music, or the performers in the scene. I appreciate the experiment and the staging was very nice, but none of the rest of it lands. The interactivity with the projectors is not well taught and it’s too easy for the audience to unintentionally activate things they didn’t want. None of the choices change the story meaningfully so they just interrupt the action for no aesthetic reason. And the story isn’t compelling enough on its own. I applaud the experiment, but this is mainly a prototype to learn from, not a show to see.
Upcoming Events
I’ll keep this fast since you’ve seen most of this already:
Wonderland Dreams at Bronx Botanical Garden - This is the Poison & Pearl Dance Performance locatively staged in the botanical garden. Runs Saturdays to mid-June for $29; I’m going June 1st.
Inside Light at Park Avenue Armory - Excerpts from Stockhausen’s Licht opera done with a light show. You can see it in two parts or in a marathon, through June. We’re doing the marathon on June 14th.
Tribeca Immersive - The new name for Tribeca Interactive, this is the part of the Tribeca Film Festival that shows new media work. It’s historically been a very mixed bag, but it’s part of my academic duty. I’m still figuring out when I’m going, but it runs through the middle of June. $50, June 6th-17th. Note that different pieces are up at different times, so you have to go more than once to see everything, which I definitely would not do.
Life and Trust - Did you know the producers (not the designers) of Sleep No More are putting on a Faust-based show in FiDi that involves a historic space with bespoke built coffee bar as part of it? Well, now you do. We’re all in the dark about exactly what the performance will be, but gossip says it’s a mask-based immersive theatre show in the SNM (the cool kids use the acronym) vein. Will it be good? Who knows, but it’s certainly something to pay attention to. Tickets are available through June and July for about $150. I’m going with a crew on June 30th.
Camera Obscura - You didn’t think I would have NO concerts, did you? Camera Obscura has a new album and so you get the chance to see their pretty songs live. I’m not going to miss it and you shouldn’t either. As any savvy NYer knows, there will be a bunch of free concerts during the summer. If people are interested, I can mention the ones I’ll be doing.
Oh, and there was this GIANT controversy in the reviews circles about Galactic Starcruiser recently. I’ll give you my rundown on it in a near-future post, as I have to get through a 4-hour long YouTube video first. Such is the lot.
There you go — stuff to check out and stuff to avoid. Your thoughts are always welcome.