Mash-Ups Unleashed

From Merry Alderman, Source Festival Associate Producer:

WOW! I can’t believe that the first week of the Festival is over and that we’re already knee-deep in tech rehearsals for the Mash-Ups. Our fearless leader, Jeremy, keeps calling them “Artistic Blind-Dates,” but I’ve never been on a blind date that went as well as these Mash-Ups are coming together.

It is difficult to believe that these artists had never met before six months ago when we paired them with each other. Each group has developed a seamless way to communicate and collaborate. (Or at least, that is how they make it look.) We’ve got video artists improvising live with dancers, blue ping pong balls hanging from the grid, A LOT of red paint, some issues with the Metro and so much more. Audiences probably don’t know what to expect, but everyone should come with a sense of adventure and they’ll leave having seen something really exciting.

Next week we have readings of Full-Length plays on July 6 and 7 by exciting young playwrights, Dan Dietz and Dan LeFranc… it’s the Dan Plays. And then on to the final week of One Act plays which are all coming together nicely.

Gimme the Low Down on Festival Opening Night

Lots of Opening Nights are super-fancy shindigs with famous special guests and sit down dinners with tinsel to spare. That’s not what Source Festival is about. We like to give our supporters a taste of the Festival – a smorgasbord, if you will – Source style. That means milk and cookies, not champagne and crudités. Think down home theatre.

So on Saturday night 100 of our nearest and dearest friends came to Source to scope out this year’s rising stars and get a hint of what’s to come. And while the Mayor declined, gracefully, to attend at thte last minute, we have his vote of confidence:

“Mayor Fenty believes the Source Festival Opening Night will be phenomenal.”

-Melanie Hom, Mayor’s Scheduling Specialist

And it was.

Sometimes a little rough around the edges (hey, it IS the Source Festival), always authentic. Home-made lemonade was consumed en masse and the rice crispy treats were not to be missed.

Opening Night is not the last opportunity you’ll have to schmooze the Festival’s coolest artists – we are hanging out every Wednesday night late nite at Policy. You can find us on the second floor, dominating the $2 PBR drink specials. Because, hey, its Source Festival time.

We’ll take you to the Twilight Zone

Source Festival Producer Sarah Coleman with a Festival pre-show.

We’re in! The risers are in place. The signs are up in the front windows. And our scenic painter, Amy, has painted us a beautiful upstage wall and spiffed up the set pieces. We’re all enjoying being back on 14th Street, watching the comings and goings of Manny & Olga’s.

It feels like we’re so much more on top of it this year. Wait. That’s because last year we were moving into a brand new building with less than half the amps we needed to run the lighting system. So far, so good this year. Although, we’ve still got costumes/props to load in, speakers to wire and lights to focus…

Directors and actors having been in and out for rehearsals and the producers are excited to finally see the plays come to life. Tech for the 10-minute plays starts bright and early Sunday morning; right on the heels of our opening night celebration.

Sunday night (June 21) at 8pm – for FREE – we’ve got a play reading of Gregory S. Moss’ THE AMAZON (An Adventure Story for Men) directed by David Muse and performed by an impressive cast of DC actors: Erica Chamblee, Jason Lott, Karl Miller, Nigel Reed, Jim Zedar, Peter Vance, Leo Ericson, Jeff Allin & Tony Bullock. A gender-bending look at the Wild West. Not to be missed.

The mash-ups are in great shape, you couldn’t ask for a more diverse group of pieces. It’s pretty amazing to see the time, energy and creativity each group as put in. Some things to be on the lookout for that week…blue ping pong balls, red paint, a rooster, a great band, a token and a trip to the twlight zone.

Curious? Buy tickets here.

We Need You

We are still searching for LOTS of volunteer help for Source Festival performances on June 20 – July 12, 2009. Volunteers will be assisting with set-up and selling of concessions preshow and during intermission. Just think, you will get to hang out at Source over some snacks & drinks while connecting with the DC theatre scene and supporting the arts – win, win! And as a bonus, you get to see the show for FREE (standing room promised, seats if available). These should be really fun, super easy volunteer gigs – so grab a friend and sign-up for a performance (or two).

To sign-up, click here. Questions? Contact Mary Clark – maryclark (at) culturaldc.org.

Spotlight: Festival Mash-Up Artist

Kate McGraw stormed into Flashpoint’s world with artist partner Ann Tarantino this past March for their exhibition Workbook. Now, Kate is bringing her signature physically-intensive mark-making process to the Source Festival. She will be performing with musician Scott Burgess and playwright Allyson Currin. Kate says:

The beauty in our mash-up, Combustion, is found in the way our three artistic disciplines coalesce on stage. Scott fuses his improvisational soundscape while I offer my intuitive mark-making all while Ally lays the foundation with her script. We are simultaneously creator and actor. It has become a kind of jazz trio on stage and we rely on that synergistic blend to carry us throughout the piece, and throughout the struggle of our character. Using our individual artistic disciplines, we each represent a facet of our character’s psyche as she is forced to tune into her inner symphony and reexamine the marks she has made in her life. This mash-up has been a wild ride and I’ve had such a blast being a part of it! 

For more about Kate, visit her website. 

Kate’s Combustion performs at Source Festival on June 30 at 8pm; July 2 at 8pm; July 5 at 2pm.

Q & A with a Festival Playwright

We asked Renee Calaraco, author of the Festival One Act Play The Mating of Angela Weiss, to answer five of James Lipton’s famed 10 questions. Get all of the details while performing your best Lipton impersonation. Renee lives and works in Washington, DC. Her play Short Order Stories received the 2007 Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play. She’s an Artistic Associate at Charter Theater and teaches improv comedy for the Theatre Lab.

What is your favorite word?

Spectacular.

What is your least favorite word?

Decadent.

What sound or noise do you love?

The oboe’s tuning pitch for an orchestra.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Art conservator.

What profession would you not like to do?

Roadkill remover. Or pharmaceutical company sales rep. 

Renee’s The Mating of Angela Weiss performs at the Source Festival July 8 and 10 at 8pm; July 11 at 2pm.

Month in Source

Source is packed this month. Constellation Theatre Company’s Crazyface is currently in the Black Box and will be in the space through June 14. DCist just called Crazyface, “spellbinding theater,” and who doesn’t want to be spellbound, right? Count me in.

Right after Crazyface we have a week of tech for Source Festival (contact Mary Clark at 202.315.1321 or maryclark (at) culturaldc.org if you want to be a part of the run crew!) and, on June 20, three weeks of edgy, 100% new performing arts begin. Check out a PDF of the Source Festival Brochure or visit the Source Festival site for all the details. Tickets on sale today!

20 (or maybe just 6) Questions with Dan

Find Dan VanHoozer at Source Festival this July 1, 3, 5 with his mash-up group performing Unscheduled Track Maintenance. 

Hi. The Source peeps have asked me to write a blog entry. Since this is my first time ever writing for (is that the right preposition or should it be ‘in’?) a blog, I’m going to make my (and the 12 of you reading this) life easier by just answering the questions the nice people were kind enough to give me on what the hell to write. Although, that seems kinda boring, so let’s do this is as a sort of impromptu interview…

What is your creative focus and what have you been a part of in the past?

What the hell kind of question is that, Mort!?

(Really, there’s no one named Mort. But if you’re going to be interviewed by someone and then get irate right away, his name should be Mort or possibly Morty.)

Okay, okay, okay, I apologize Morty. You don’t mind if I call you Morty, right? Oh, you do. Well, this is a pisser. Say what? Oh, the question…yeah, yeah, yeah. My creative focus…hmmm? Well, I care about the audience a lot, so I like making experiences. Most often they look like plays surrounded by a bit of tomfoolery.

What you talked about at your latest meeting with your group?

Well, Waldo talked about being loaded on some cruise after drinking too many hefeweizens. What’s that? Oh, Morty…Mort, sorry, you meant about the piece. Geez…just say so next time. Uh, we talked about various things. Mainly, about the conflict and what we’d like the audience to feel in the middle of the piece. The piece we’re making…what’s that? Oh, Unscheduled Track Maintenance. Yup, that’s the title. Yeah, the structure of rehearsals is always about everyone contributing from writing to movement to whatever. So, in the last rehearsal we rewrote the conflict together. Changing bits, words, moving things. Oh, we also talked about when the next rehearsal would be.

What is your concept and what does it mean?

Seriously? (sigh)

Well, the idea is that at any one point a DC metro car is the most unique environment in the world. Mainly because you can’t visually identify power or maybe it’s asking what the value of identity is in that environment. As far as what it means, well…you’ll just have to come and see it and judge for yourself now won’t you Morty.

What are the different creative disciplines that are a part of your group? 

Well, Psalm – who I was originally paired with to make this – is sort of a quadruple threat: singer, actor, dancer, writer. But, he asked his band – PS24 – to be a part of this thing with us. And that’s Waldo and Jali. Waldo plays the guitar and Jali is a writer, drummer, ETC. And there’s Josh who is an actor, and Joe is our sound guy.

What is your “portion” of the mash up performance? 

God knows at this point. Maybe I’ll be the bloody guy in the aisle.

What it’s like to work with artists from different creative backgrounds?

It’s cool.

Oh, is that it? Alright then…take it easy Big Mort. Yeah, come and see it – July 1, 3, and 5. Werd.

This Just In – 09′ 10-Minute and One Acts

And… It’s official. We have announced the Source Festival 10-minute playwrights and one act playwrights. First – a big thank you to everyone who submitted, the work this year was exceptional. Second – Yes! Congratulations to the 18 10-minute playwrights and the five one act playwrights for your stellar work. We can’t wait to see your plays in action at Source Festival – June 20 – July 12, 2009. Check out the full details on the winners in the Source news section.

Source Festival wants YOU!

An appeal from Cultural Development Corporation’s Mary Clark Gaston, programs impresario, volunteer manager, artist and keeper of 10,000 more interesting and fantastical thoughts, activities, hobbies and interests (just ask her).

We are working super hard to generate three weeks of inventive, smashtastic art at Source Festival. 200+ artists have been writing, rehearsing, “mashing-up” and putting their blood, sweat and tears into the best performances you’ll see this year. What next?

We want you to join the Festival! Your blood, your sweat, your tears. Ok, maybe not that dramatic, we just need your hand in making it all run smoothly… For each performance, we are looking for two fabulously fantastic, spectacular volunteers to set up and sell concessions. That’s 58 volunteers total.

SAVE the date. SPREAD the word. SIGN up! And in return, SEE the show (for free, of course). And while we can’t promise you an actual seat, we do promise that you’ll get the best standing room in the house – where only the best and brightest volunteers watch the show. Who cares about sitting anyway, right? I heard fashionably standing is the new black.

And for those of you looking to be more involved (come on, you know you want to!) – we are also looking for a few volunteers to serve as Run Crew during the Festival. If you have experience in theatre, a flexible schedule and want to make connections or gain some behind-the-scenes experience – this is the gig for you!

Questions? Contact me – Mary Clark – at maryclark (at) culturaldc.org.