Week Two

Tricklock Company

Alibi
\
4 min read
Share ::
Written by Juli Hendren, directed by Summer Olsson, with dramaturgy by Elsa Menendez. The story of an Earth Liberation Front member whose actions are labeled eco-terrorism but may be something more.

See “Week One” description.

What are you bringing to the festival?

Two guys have a curtain, an act to perform in front of the curtain, and 200 white balls to pass out to the audience so they can hit the guys in front of the curtain.

What is unique about what your group is doing?

We have our own way of relating with an audience. We encourage them to throw these plastic balls at us during the show to keep us awake (in our show we are dying of hypothermia at the North Pole and imagine an audience in front of us). This kind of interaction asks a lot from an audience and begs their cooperation, rather than letting them be passive observers. In this way, we hope to encourage more action and less passivity. It comes from a desire to accentuate what is different about the live theater experience in contrast with film. The audience complicity is the essential element, so why not exploit that for fun? At the same time, we don’t want to alienate the audience through some sort of aggressive interaction. We do not assault the audience, but ask their help in sustaining our characters. Likewise, we hope our work will help sustain them.

What is the nature of your onstage combustion?

Our onstage combustion is the tension you feel when you skip class and are walking down the empty school hallways. You know you’re not supposed to be there and could get caught at any moment, but you’re having too much fun to find sufficient cover.

Formed 25 years ago in San Francisco on Cinco de Mayo, Culture Clash concocts a sort of "performance collage," blending history, poetry, theater and "urban excavation" in order to create a narrative from a "Chicano point of view." Presented in cooperation with the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

Credo

Ecology of the human spirit

What are you bringing to the festival?

A solo performance based on my years as an apprentice in the grand Kabuki theater, relating tales and tests of the experience. Tricklock says: “Gordon weaves elegant fan technique demonstrations with contemporary choreography, story and live koto accompaniment by American kotoist Mara Purl.”

See “Week One” description.

1 2 3 214

Search