Stage Notes: A new Shakespeare company to open in Arlington; review of KDT's 'Wakey, Wakey'

Last weekend, Avant Artistic Director Katie Pruder emailed about the latest with the company and its financial outlook. As grant options have been reduced or altogether scrapped, Pruder described the effects it has on ACB. From Pruder:

To our Generous Donors and Supporters,

These are highly uncertain times for nonprofits in the US.

Our February grant cycle with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) was unfortunately canceled, which will also have rippling effects on our state funding from the Texas Commission on the Arts, as a portion of those funds are tied to the NEA.

These grants would have supported both our general operating funds to run Avant, as well as our free weekly dance classes in South Dallas. Although our government funding remains unclear, we are humbly asking our grassroots community supporters to continue supporting the local arts – not just the performances you see on stage, but also the programs that provide access to the arts for those who would otherwise be unable to afford or access them.

We are deeply grateful to all of our donors over the years who have made Avant an integral part of what makes Dallas such a vibrant, thriving community. Thank you for your steadfast support during these challenging times.

Avant’s next performance will be held this weekend when the company opens Love Stories, just in time for Valentine’s weekend. Held at Moody Performance Hall on Saturday and Sunday, the show features three ballets with live music featuring Chopin, Brahms and Italian love songs. The program includes the premiere of “Sott’er Celo de Roma” by Christina Ghiardi with music performed live by Alexander McConkie.

In other ACB news, the company announced that founding company dancer Madelaine Boyce will retire from the stage on Feb. 15. She has performed for 19 years with 13 at ACB. She will continue her role as ACB Trainee Director and begin a new role working as Rehearsal Director for the main company.

Founding ACB dancer Madelaine Boyce (Courtesy photo)

“Love Stories felt like the right performance to close out this chapter of my career. In “Poem,” my character represents Mary Oliver’s poem “Of Love.” It’s about all the many different types of love one experiences in their lifetime. I have found it to be very representative of all the different kinds of love I’ve held for ballet, from the art form as a whole to the many wonderful dear friends I’ve made along the way,” she said in ACB’s announcement earlier this week.

Tickets for Love Stories are available here.

Shakespeare LIVE to debut in Arlington this spring

Tarrant County will see the debut of a new Shakespearean company. Shakespeare LIVE announced its official cast on Tuesday for the company’s inaugural performance this spring. The nonprofit will host four performances of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It from April 3-5.

Performances will be held at the Levitt Pavilion in Downtown Arlington.

Shakespeare LIVE’s mission is to bring the North Texas community together for entertainment and educational opportunities through free, live performances of Shakespeare every year. SL is made possible by Downtown Arlington, Women Inspiring Philanthropy and members of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

This year’s production is led by Raphael Parry, who served as the Executive and Artistic Director for Shakespeare Dallas for 20 years. He and a cast of 13 actors will bring Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy to life thanks to the support of Dance Theatre of Arlington.

As You Like It follows Rosalind as she flees to the forest, disguised as a man. What unfolds is a tale of intrigue, identity, and even love.

In its announcement, the Shakespeare LIVE team also mentioned that Emmy-nominated and Independent Spirit Award winning actor, Lou Diamond Phillips, will serve as Associate Director of the production.

For more information, click here.

Review: Kitchen Dog’s Wakey, Wakey is a meandering meditation on death

Christopher Carlos and Liz Sankarsingh star in KDT’s *Wakey, Wakey*.

To be honest, I’ve struggled with my thoughts on Kitchen Dog’s newest production Wakey, Wakey which opened last week in Expo Park. In short, and respectfully, I didn’t connect to it, but with that, the show has been relentlessly on my mind. Which reminded me that one purpose of art is to not just make an impression, but to leave one as well.

A minimalist play, Will Eno’s short drama centers on Guy who begins the show looking toward a light — or The Light. In a wheelchair throughout the majority of the some 75-minute show, Guy talks to the audience from his static position. His perpetual monologue though is all over the place wandering from thought to thought peppered with fond memories, bad jokes and slide shows. Nothing seems to make a real point or gives a running narrative. Toward the end, we meet Lisa, a warmhearted companion who is there to sit with Guy. These are clearly Guy’s last moments and it becomes apparent that Lisa is his nurse aide. She lightens Guy’s darkness with her smile and patient conversation.

Guy doesn’t so much talk about death as much as he seems to be rambling to distract from the inevitable. Christopher Carlos embraced Guy with a delicate manner. The soft-spoken and almost embarrassed Guy showcased Carlos’ smart navigation of the character. The nuance he brought to the character was striking. His character stumbles over words and gives apologetic smiles and Carlos played those tiny moments with lovely humanity.

However, Guy never felt likeable or unlikeable which made connecting to him difficult. There were moments Carlos was almost too soft-spoken (don’t mistake that for hard to hear) where my mind wandered elsewhere. While I appreciated that the character avoided becoming a sentimental trope, there was failure to evoke a sense of empathy.

Now, I have been told I have no heart, so there is that.

As Lisa, Liz Sankarsingh brought a sweet presence to the show and injected it with a bit of energy in its final scenes. With a bright smile, she added warmth to the cool show. Her role gave the play much needed physical movement as well.

The audience’s emotional response to the show, including audible sniffles and comments about how touching it was, made me question my own reaction. I don’t tend to get overly emotional about death, and Eno’s story seemed to reflect that same sentiment. The play didn’t glorify, elevate or shame death—it simply presented it as a fact of life. Perhaps this is the play’s clever deception, where the audience becomes the third character. The play’s meaning may be shaped by the personal experiences of those who have lost loved ones.

The industrial, stark white space of the former film and photography studio might have also contributed to the disconnect I felt with the show. The starkness of the theater space detracted from the show’s earnestness, despite the efforts of Lisa Miller’s lighting design, which brought some palatable tones and a colorful, if peculiarly joyful, finale that contrasted with the rest of the play.

Tina Parker’s direction was assured with a clear vision for the production. The overall feel of Wakey, Wakey suggested a close collab between Parker and Carlos, both of whom are also Co-Artistic Directors at KDT. Parker stewarded the story while Carlos steered the emotional dynamic. Despite all that in play, Wakey, Wakey felt a bit off course.

The show runs through Feb. 23.

–Rich Lopez

Stage Notes: A new Shakespeare company to open in Arlington; review of KDT’s ‘Wakey, Wakey’

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