Sunday, January 29, 2017

Review: “Project 1599”, a four-and-a-half-hour Shakespeare marathon.


“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players” – these famous lines from “As You Like It” open “Project 1599”, an epic four-in-one retrospective of the plays that William Shakespeare wrote in the year of 1599. Inspired by James Shapiro’s book, “A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare” (2005), the director Jim Niesen combined “Henry V”, “Julius Caesar”, “As You Like It” and “Hamlet” into one, almost five-hour long, theatrical evening.

photo by Nat Nicols

Six actors: Joey Collins, Michael-David Gordon, Terry Greiss, Sam Metzger, Alex Spieth and Katie Wieland play multiple parts. Dressed in monochrome modern day clothes by the costume designer Hilarie Blumenthal, the actors smoothly transition from one character to another, changing gender and age as easily as Shakespeare’s characters do in some of his plays.

Racks with costumes and tables with props stand along the wall. And as there is virtually no separation between the stage and the backstage, the border between the audience and the actors gradually starts to blur. Each of the four plays occupies a different corner of the Irondale Center, a former Sunday school auditorium in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. The use of varied seating arrangements, along with moving from one location to another, provided a unique experience in the effects of manipulating physical space. This changed how the play is perceived and altered the interaction between the audience and actors.

When you enter the space arranged for the first play of the evening, “Henry V”, you find yourself in a mostly traditional set: chairs are placed on the platforms and around small tables, making a U-shape auditorium around the stage aria marked by the red outline. Alex Spieth, as Henry V, was full of boyish eagerness both in the war camp and princess Katherine’s chambers. 

As we move from the story of the young idealist, Henry V, to the story about “real politics”, “Julius Caesar”, we climb up to the gallery to take seats on various sofas, chairs and stools scattered around. Some of the scenes will take place next to you or even around you, making you feel a part of the conspiracy. Brutus (Michael-David Gordon) addressing the members of the audience as people belonging to the world of the play only amplifies the effect of participation.

photo by Nat Nicols

Some of the scenes will take place far from you or even behind you, so you will be stretching and leaning from side to side to see the action on the other side of the gallery. In contrast to the situation where Brutus and others plot against Caesar right next to you, you suddenly feel excluded and suspicious. These two distinctly different points of view almost give you the opportunity to experience the play as two different people.

The audience is ushered downstairs again for the longer intermission, during which a delicious vegetarian dinner is served. Everybody is welcome to take one of the seats on the podiums or to recline on a giant carpet spread around to mark the stage aria. The white sails hung above the war theater in the first “act” are down now and are reminiscent of picnic tents in a garden. The romantic comedy, “As you Like It”, suddenly starts, and goes by fast, as much needed relief from the serious drama.

For the final act of the evening, “Hamlet”, chairs are set up along three sides of the of the stage aria. The vastness of the theater is shrunk to the small intimate space where every single audience member can see each other, and is vulnerably open to the piercing gaze of Joey Collins, playing Hamlet descending into madness. He is the only character that sees and directly addresses the audience, besides the Gravedigger, making us nothing other than ghosts.

photo by Nat Nicols

“Project 1599”, despite the edits of the plays, provides an excellent presentation of the most fruitful year in the life of Shakespeare. The wonderful cast demonstrates refreshing clarity in both articulation and performance, which makes the piece a potent educational tool. The spatial work by Jim Niesen, and the scenic designers Ken Rothchild and Meredith Cody, is remarkable in its simple elegance and ability to establish a connection with the audience. Watching the actors transform into different characters from play to play is also a rare and valuable opportunity.        

“Project 1599” is playing at the Irondale Center at 85 South Oxford street, Brooklyn through February 3rd. Performances are on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 7pm, Saturdays at 5pm. Running time: 4 hours 30 minutes. Tickets are available online. General admission tickets are $40 ($50 with dinner), $30 for students and seniors ($40 with dinner).     

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Review: “Fringe of Humanity”, filmmaking on the verge of the Apocalypse


Buckle up and sit tight because the ride is going to be crazy. Written, directed and starring Paul Calderon, “Fringe of Humanity” takes us behind the scenes of some b-movie shot by LA filmmakers in a fictional Latin American country. We find the crew gathering at a hotel room in the midst of preproduction. But before the principle photography begins, the drama in the “production office” escalates rapidly as ex-heroin addict and director, Nick (Paul Calderon), a PTSD damaged director of photography, Ken (William Rothlein), and hyped on cocaine producer Ross (David Zayas), jump from work to personal matters and back.

photo by David Zayas Jr.

Tree film actors, Steve (Jakob Von Eichel), Ryan (Alex Emanuel) and Pierce (Luke Edward Smith), elbow each other for the lead part in the movie, but all three blend together a bit in my memory. This seems to be in the mood of the play: the producer thinks of his talents as disposable and doesn’t change his views even when the life of one of the actors gets threatened. Add to the picture an aging starlet, Liz (Rebecca Nyahay), and two “bimbos”, Crissy (Feliz Ramirez) and Vicky (Jessica Damouni), to further complicate matters with the sexist nature of the film industry.

“Fringe of Humanity” is very fast-phased and restless. Most of the time the actors are pacing anxiously around the small stage and center aisle of the theater, sloppily decorated by a designer, who took no credit for it. If this story were a movie, there would be many rapid cuts. But since there is no variety in “focal lengths” in live theater, Calderon employed the actors’ movement and speedy dialogue exchange to convey the mounting madness.

The sound design by Sebastian Mitre “Baz”, consisted mostly of constant salsa Muzak, contributes to the tense atmosphere. I was annoyed by the 3rd minute of the show and was glad when the DP, Ken, addressed the issue. But the music never really went away despite the complaints of the increasingly frustrated cinematographer. The music had very little development and hung in the air like a muggy cloud.  

If your find yourself leaning back and grabbing your chair with both hands, don’t worry, it will only get more intense. When the DP takes out his knife at only the 5th minute of the show, offended by the director, you can rest assured that this is just child’s play compared to what’s coming. And this is exactly the problem that I had with the “Fringe of Humanity”; it starts out loud and sharp and only picks up more speed. The nearly constant yelling and rapid verbal crossfire soon make you numb to the dangers coming both from the outside world and corrupted human souls.     

David Zayas, playing the producer and the mastermind behind the project, sets the bar high. He is an excellent performer who owns the stage and wins your heart immediately despite the rotten personality of his character. William Rothlein, portraying the DP devoted to his art, is a delight to look at, especially during the scene of the rehearsal of two young actresses. The script has a number of the comedic scenes such as this one, and the balance by personal and industry issues makes this story attractive and engaging.

Rebecca Nyahay, perhaps a bit too young to portray a forty-something ex-starlet, is still excellent in both showing off at first and crying hysterically in fear and anger in the end. The machismo of the film industry is shown through the stories of her and two other female characters. Both Feliz Ramirez and Jessica Damouni could tone it down a notch, as their presence on stage was a bit excessive.             

Anybody who has an insider experience in filmmaking will recognize these characters. You might call them devoted to the art or delusional, you might laugh at them, or feel sorry or scared for the state of their minds. But they keep you engaged during the entire ride to the “Apocalypse”.

FRINGE OF HUMANITY ran January on 11-28, at the Access Theater, located at 380 Broadway on the 4th floor.