Showcase 2 More about each performance below…
Dad Noise, Image courtesy of artist
Dads are noisy. We joke about it, and there’s humor in the noise. But behind the stereotypes lies a shifting category of identity shaped at the intersection of media, tradition, history, family, and self. This piece explores one dad’s noises through sonic experimentation, spoken word reflection, and video/visual collage.
I am a musician, arts administrator, educator, community music maker, and dad. Most of the time I’m a performing arts/theatre and creative arts director. Sometimes I’m writing songs that dig into the mundane for the remarkable. In the current season I’m taking a left turn and exploring the noises that dads make. Dad noise. Found sound, live processing, tape bending, spoken word pieces about the sounds of dad, from the humorous to the deeply personal silences and outbursts that are created and shaped by dads. All in pursuit of digging deeper on what it means to dad in the current landscape.
Arachne THTR, Photo courtesy of artist
“Are you a feminist?” Four beauty contestants answer their interview questions onstage. As the pageant progresses, the stage becomes a confession booth. The brutal work of the performance of femininity is revealed, and the contestants wonder if they can even feel equality under contest.
Arachne THTR is a new, elevated pop-up performance art experience founded by Alli B. Graham. We are dedicated to doing the shadow work of Charlotte’s artistic community. We use a combination of ensemble acting and writing techniques, based on Viewpoints and Chekhovian gesture, to get the stories out of the bodies and onto the stage. We have aligned ourselves with prominent visual artists to collaborate on stellar technical design.
Alli has been doing theatre since childhood, but decided to do technical and costume design in college. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in 2008, and worked in the fashion industry in Los Angeles, CA until she decided to come back to the theatre. She graduated with her B.A. in Theatre Arts with a Performance Emphasis from Cal State University of Long Beach. It was there she was mentored by Alexandra Billings and got into the Steppenwolf West program in 2014. She continued her work in NYC and attended the Bill Esper Meisner program. This combination of experience and training has brought a unique twist to her ability to direct and pull shows together with a variety of talents.
Our vision is to build a creative incubator for original work where actors, writers, and designers can risk, dream, collaborate, and ultimately create the high-quality experience the city is hungry for.
Vanessa, Photo courtesy of artist
Memento Mori- remember you must die. Something we all fear: death. We believe what we leave behind will be our creations and the impact on others. With the rise of A.I. in art, we feel as if creativity is dying and we have lost what started as our only form of expression: art. But this is no Memento Mori. We can explore where art comes from and how it can never be taken away. Our art will never die.
Vanessa is an 18 year old professional theatre major at North Carolina A&T. She is a writer and actor who believes in social change and stands for what she believes in. Vanessa has used writing to express her opinions and to persuade others into thinking more openly and with more humanity in mind.
Showing at: BOOM Fringe Theater: Shoppes at University City Place
Showcase 2:
Brian Sullivan: Dad Noise
Arachne THTR: A Contest
Vanessa: This is no memento mori
Show Times:
Friday 5/1 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Saturday 5/2 9:00pm – 10:00pm
Sunday 5/3 4:00pm – 5:00pm