The Worm

Posted on by Thor

I spent most of Saturday at the Fringe. It was hot, muggy and sunny when I arrived. I immediately went into the Shakespeare Theater to soak in the air conditioning. I found a comfortable leather chair and relaxed.

This sculpture by Doug Rhodehamel is made entirely from cassette audio tape. In an effort to keep patrons from stepping on or touching the sculpture, Doug placed a sign on the floor that stated that performance artist Brian Feldman may or may not be inside. The worm looks like it has taken and interest in the program that a Fringe patron is reading.

Kristina Goetz, the Director of Development, arrived and sat down in the leather chair next to me. We talked for a while. She said that in preparation for the Fringe she has to make sure all her bills are paid, that her laundry is done and that anything perishable is out of the fridge. She does all that because she basically lives at the Fringe for its duration. She explained that the rain has hurt revenues but now that the sun is out, people who must have cabin fever after a solid week of rain, are coming out in force.

Since I missed Flamenco con Fusion last night I decided to catch the 11:20PM show tonight. I got a ticket and ran over to the theater just before to get in. It turns out I arrived and hour early. For whatever reason I have been constantly confused trying to get into con Fusion. In the lobby outside the show the guitarist and one of the dancers were taking pictures. I got to shake his hand and I explained that I had heard quite a bit of buzz about his guitar playing and the show which was wonderful. From the moment the guitarist sat in the glow of a single spot light on a bare stage, I was entranced. The dancing consisted of a duel between a traditional Flamenco dancer and a Break dancer. After the high energy performance the audience stood, screamed and yelled.

Cameo Theater

Posted on by Thor

I went to an event called Mills 50. When I got to the location, called Cameo, there was a crowd outside. I made my way inside got a wrist band and was surprised when I was greeted by and old friend from my Disney Days named John Hurst. Not only had I known John from Disney but his dad taught me history in High school in New Jersey! It turns out John and his wife had bought the building on a leap of faith and turned the ground floor into an entertainment complex. John told me that the building opened on Christmas day in 1940 as a movie house. Today the ceiling has been lowered to add another floor. John has his freelance animation studio on the second floor and rents out other offices to entertainment companies.

The interior of Cameo is a hip industrial complex of exposed brick and ceiling beams. An arched line on the wall hints at where the movie theater seating used to be.

The evenings entertainment consisted of folk singer Kaleigh Baker who’s warm inviting voice greeted me when I first entered. The Black V Tribal Dancers were sitting to my left while I was sketching. There exotic belly dancers outfits caught my eye but I was committed to this sketch and it looked like they might be the next act on stage. Sure enough they went up and danced and gyrated to the whoops and screams of a very pleased crowd. The last act I saw was Beef Wellington and Divinci they played the keyboards to the right in the drawing. Divinci, who I didn’t draw, played the keyboard for a solid 10 minutes with his face which was to say the least very amusing and entertaining.

I fell in love with this place. It has the best of art and entertainment. It is raw, exposed and very real. I suspect I will be back many times.

Confessions of a critic

Posted on by Thor


Wall Street Journal theater critic Terry Teachout gave a talk on what he feels a theater critics roll is in society. He told a story of how he met a critic once over a drink and when he asked his fellow critic what he was up to next, the critic perked up and said with glee that he was about to pan a play. He explained that to many critics go into a production with a review already set in there mind. He feels that to many critics are not competent enough to right reviews. The first 15 minutes of any play always have the audiences full attention. At that 15 minute mark the play ether continues to grab the audience or they are lost. He always goes into a play wanting to write a good review.
Terry confessed that his first love was music, but at a painful point in his life he had to admit that he did not have a creative spirit. He found he was a better writer than a musician. Therefor he always approaches a theater review with a bit of reverence, respecting the very act of putting on a show. He explained that theater is as vibrant as ever, but in these uncertain economic times it is important that people go to the shows. The very future of theater depends on it.