By: Andrea Myers
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| Director Jeremy Catterton with Vampire Hands - Photo by Stacy Schwartz |
Led by new theater company Lamb Lays with Lion, each ExerciseEXORCISE showcase features a diverse lineup of musicians, dancers, actors, poets and filmmakers, providing a sampler platter of performance art to audiences who may be familiar with only a few of the elements of live theater. Between acts, Catterton acts as curator and interviewer, asking each performer for the impetus behind their piece and breaking down the wall between the stage and the audience. The event is held in a beautiful space with exposed brick walls and hardwood floors on the second floor of the recently remodeled Grain Belt Bottling House.
On opening night the show began with a performance by Catterton himself, who stood stoically in front of a projection of the Grand Theft Auto video game, reciting a poem and occasionally tap dancing dramatically. Next, Jennifer Ilse performed a solo dance piece that stood in stark contrast with the rest of the performances, as her dance was mostly silent with the sparse background noise of a tribal drum. Her piece began and ended with her laying dead on the ground, and the core of the piece was a thrashing and gasping dance that I had a difficult time interpreting. Luckily, once she had finished Catterton called upon Ilse and her Off Leash Area co-director Paul Herwig to further explain the piece, which they said was an excerpt from an upcoming show, “Border Crossing,” that focuses on the struggles faced by Mexican immigrants trekking through the desert.
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| Carl Swanson - Photo by Schwartz |
Two films were screened next; an experimental project that featured some porcelain dolls doing some very demented things, followed by a stunning excerpt from the upcoming “Listening Project” film, which travels to over 20 countries to ask average citizens abroad, “What is your opinion of America?” Needless to say, the results were eye-opening, and I look forward to seeing the entire film when it is finished.
A dance duo named Dustin and Tamin performed an interpretive piece about coping mechanisms, and I had a much easier time relating to their theme. The piece featured the two dancers singing songs to themselves and performing pilates-like moves, showing the different ways that we choose to deal with stress and anxiety. HowWasTheShow contributor Carl Swanson followed with a live performance that layered a recorded reading of some of his favorite poems with a live recitation of original work. Dressed in a torn white t-shirt and black eye make-up, Swanson's piece was emotionally charged and poignant, an outpouring of anger and grief at the state of our society that left the audience stunned.
The night ended with the weirdest thing I have ever heard Vampire Hands play. In contrast to their typical sets, which consist of heavy drum beats, bright vocals and gritty guitars, the quartet left most of the instruments at home and performed a droning, screeching, experimental song that lasted for over 20 minutes. While there was something oddly intriguing about watching a bunch of indie rock guys get down on the ground and fiddle with computers, I have to admit I prefer their more structured music to the unorganized chaos that ensued at ExerciseEXORCISE.
Even though I didn't quite understand or fully enjoy everything I saw that night, I left the Bottling House feeling like I had seen something unique. I would highly recommend the show to anyone seeking new experiences with live art and would encourage fans of last fall's Idigaragua to attend the shows, as they serve a double purpose of raising funds for an encore performance of Idigaragua at the Bedlam Theatre this April and at the Montreal Fringe Fest in June.
Upcoming “ExerciseEXORCISE” shows:
Feb 8th.
Roma di Luna (music)
Kristoff Krane (solo)
Katie Rose McLaughlin (avant dance)
Emily Johnson (dance/theater)
Scott Reynolds (performance)
Brushed Metal One (film)
Feb 15th.
Mustache Rangers (comedy duo)
Samantha Johns (performance)
Mad King Thomas (dance/theatre)
Nancy Drew Crew (feminist hiphop)
Sally Rousse (avant-dance)
Dave Jennings (comedy duo)
Venus De Mars (Performance)
Feb 22nd.
Lamb Lays with Lion (theatre "Kind Eyes See So Far")
Elliott Durko Lynch (experimental performance)
Like Snowflakes? (experimental music)
John Francis Bueche (performance)
Dragich (alt/folk)
Plastic Chord (music)
Feb 29th.
Lamb Lays with Lion (theatre "9x22")
Sweet Lilly Bee (fetish burlesque)
Carl Atiya Swanson (solo)
Anna Shogren (dance)
Laura Leffler-Mcabe (multimedia play)
Burlingham Children (performance/music)
March 7th. Audience-Voted "Best Of" Grand Finale with Special Guests Panel Discussion.
(Tickets: $20 March 7th only)
Related links:
Location Info:
The Bottling House Theatre
Artist Info: Lamb Lays with Lion
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