Flux Sunday, August 8th

What is Flux Sunday?

Yes, I know, I owe you reports from from 7/11 and 7/18. But I’d like to start a new trend of blogging about Flux Sunday immediately afterwards, so all those who atteneded can chime in with thoughts, before time steals them.

Playwrights: Johnna Adams (Nurture), Zack Calhoon (Obamaville), James Comtois (McTeague), Kristen Palmer (The Stray Dog), Brian Pracht (The Mysoginist), Adam Szymkowicz (Curently Untitled), August Schulenburg (What Is Outside)

Actors: Isaiah Tanenbaum, Jane Taylor, David Crommett, Alisha Spielmann, Christina Shipp, Nancy Franklin, Matthew Archambault, Ken Glickfeld

Yup, we had a bevy of playwrights (a quill of playwrights?) and a whole bunch of pages. It was a solid three hour sandwhich of theatre, and I left full.

Highlights included:

-Johnna Adams’s new play, Nurture. The tyrannical mother Cheryl and her obliviously smitten suitor Doug bond over their strange dancing daughters in a scene of shocking comic vitality. I’m not sure we quite got the the tone of this one – I have a hunch it is quicker and more deadpan – but it seems like an exciting new style for Johnna, and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

-The scene between ‘best friends’ Jim and the dying Matt in Adam’s new play; Jim’s completely insincere attempt at empathy has all of us appalled and laughing

-Things getting ugly in The Mysoginist, with a particularly unsettling scene between Matt Archambault’s Ethan and Alisha Spielmann’s Libby (Alisha turned in several strong performances)

-The air of mystique pervading the first scene of Kristen’s new play, tentatively called The Stray Dog. Curiosity, piqued.

-Ken Glickfeld as Curtis and David Crommett as James going toe to toe in Zack’s Obamaville; things don’t end well for this Tea Party; but even sitting round an office table, they weren’t afraid to blow things up.

-Ken again in the shyly lovely courtship scene between Grannis and Nancy Franklin’s Miss Baker in James’ McTeague. Aww. And we needed some awww…it was a Sunday made up mostly of blackest comedy and violent drama.

It was great to have so many playwrights bringing pages that seemed to be pushing in new directions; or further in old ones; and I look forward to the next round.

SO…if you were there, lay down some cool wisdom in the comments field, y’here?