Wednesday, September 12, 2012
WE MOVED! hyperawaretheater.org
****This blog is no longer active. To stay up to date with Hyper Aware Theater, please visit our website at hyperawaretheater.org****
Thursday, October 27, 2011
GUTTEReview
Just what did the NY Theater Review blog have to say about Gutterdrunk?
"Spooky . . . Compelling . . . Energetic and clever . . . Captures the fear of mortality and cynical wit of [Edgar Allan Poe] . . . The show brings us into a little world of its own, one which, while not always comfortable, is always interesting. . . . The music of the production, performed live by a banjo, drums, and a few guitars, is nearly worth going for on its own. Reminiscent of a scaled down Decemberists, it perfectly accentuates the old-timey stories. . . . People will be troubled, so many of the stories [center] on the approach of death, making that abstract notion of an unknown future come into clearer focus."
Full review: The plaque outside the John Street Church says that it sits on the former site of a late 18th century theater at which President Washington attended performances. We can only hope that the first chief executive was treated to as energetic and clever a show as Hyper Aware Theater Company's, GUTTERDRUNK: The Poe Revisions.
A retelling of several stories by Edgar Allen Poe, this partially environmental piece, captures the fear of mortality and cynical wit of one of America's great 19th century writers. Presented as a series of vignettes, which span various periods of history and storytelling styles, the show brings us into a little world of its own, one which while not always comfortable, is always interesting. The show takes place in two locations, the first and most compelling, is the alleyway between the church and it's neighboring building to the west, in this skinny sliver of real estate, the first three short plays occupy the early evening with a kind of atmosphere no set builder can recreate. During this section of plays the fourth wall and temporal reality of the production begin to fray a bit, a technique that continues after the plays move indoors, into the dark confines of the church's basement.
Once in the basement, the show becomes a bit more traditionally presentational. Rows of seats and a staging area, though the shadowy room does provide a spooky backdrop for the remaining 4 plays. Throughout all of this, the figure of Poe himself, wanders about, quill in hand, as if ready to jot down all the strange happenings before him. As the production moves through the 7 plays, multiple styles and time periods are used for the retelling of the tales. Generally speaking, the actors handle these shifts quite effectively, though occasionally some of the more arcane language is stumbled upon in ways that might not be noticed with a more modern script. The music of the production, performed live, by a banjo, drums and a few guitars is nearly worth going for on it's own. Reminiscent of a scaled down Decemberists, it perfectly accentuates the old timey, troubling stories of the master of horror.
Fear is difficult to achieve in a live stage audience, an I don't think anyone will be scared by Gutterdrunk, but I do think people will be troubled, so many of the stories focus on the approach of death, making that abstract notion of an unknown future, come into clearer focus. The writing, done by 7 different playwrights, actually manages to have a single stream kind of feeling, resisting the choppiness that often comes with such projects. And the direction neatly sews everything together, creating a very solid whole. The fun that the actors and band have while guiding us through these stories, keeps it from dipping too far into depression. On the whole, this balance provides for a very recommendable evening of theater.
Full review: The plaque outside the John Street Church says that it sits on the former site of a late 18th century theater at which President Washington attended performances. We can only hope that the first chief executive was treated to as energetic and clever a show as Hyper Aware Theater Company's, GUTTERDRUNK: The Poe Revisions.
A retelling of several stories by Edgar Allen Poe, this partially environmental piece, captures the fear of mortality and cynical wit of one of America's great 19th century writers. Presented as a series of vignettes, which span various periods of history and storytelling styles, the show brings us into a little world of its own, one which while not always comfortable, is always interesting. The show takes place in two locations, the first and most compelling, is the alleyway between the church and it's neighboring building to the west, in this skinny sliver of real estate, the first three short plays occupy the early evening with a kind of atmosphere no set builder can recreate. During this section of plays the fourth wall and temporal reality of the production begin to fray a bit, a technique that continues after the plays move indoors, into the dark confines of the church's basement.
Once in the basement, the show becomes a bit more traditionally presentational. Rows of seats and a staging area, though the shadowy room does provide a spooky backdrop for the remaining 4 plays. Throughout all of this, the figure of Poe himself, wanders about, quill in hand, as if ready to jot down all the strange happenings before him. As the production moves through the 7 plays, multiple styles and time periods are used for the retelling of the tales. Generally speaking, the actors handle these shifts quite effectively, though occasionally some of the more arcane language is stumbled upon in ways that might not be noticed with a more modern script. The music of the production, performed live, by a banjo, drums and a few guitars is nearly worth going for on it's own. Reminiscent of a scaled down Decemberists, it perfectly accentuates the old timey, troubling stories of the master of horror.
Fear is difficult to achieve in a live stage audience, an I don't think anyone will be scared by Gutterdrunk, but I do think people will be troubled, so many of the stories focus on the approach of death, making that abstract notion of an unknown future, come into clearer focus. The writing, done by 7 different playwrights, actually manages to have a single stream kind of feeling, resisting the choppiness that often comes with such projects. And the direction neatly sews everything together, creating a very solid whole. The fun that the actors and band have while guiding us through these stories, keeps it from dipping too far into depression. On the whole, this balance provides for a very recommendable evening of theater.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Guttertour
Take a flash tour of Gutterdrunk's home with director and Hyper Aware Artistic Director, Gary Ferrar.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Gutterdrunk Trailers
Gutterdrunk opens in just one week! To whet your appetite, we're sharing two liquor-soaked promo videos. Enjoy them, and we'll see you soon.
Are you feeling sufficiently teased yet? If so and you haven't bought tickets, you can still get them online here or by clicking on the Gutterdrunk image at the top of the blog. We can't promise that tickets will be available at the door, but we understand that some of you like to live on the edge and we'll do our best to reward your reckless lifestyle.
Are you feeling sufficiently teased yet? If so and you haven't bought tickets, you can still get them online here or by clicking on the Gutterdrunk image at the top of the blog. We can't promise that tickets will be available at the door, but we understand that some of you like to live on the edge and we'll do our best to reward your reckless lifestyle.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Small but significant changes!
As this blog serves as the Hyper Aware digital portal, our online hub, we recently made a few minor changes to its content and layout in an effort to streamline our various social media pages. So please take a look around. You'll find that:
Up top, you can now watch a slideshow of all our production photos from Flickr. While on your right, you can read our most recent Twitter posts and "Like" us on Facebook without ever leaving the blog! But if you happen to want to head over to our full satellite pages, we've installed handy buttons for all three media sites, and one for YouTube (also in the right-side frame). Venturing beyond the blog will bring you deeper into Hyper Aware's rabbit hole, something we highly recommend.
Additionally, you can buy tickets to our latest production, #Gutterdrunk, at the top of the page (via our lovely friends at Brown Paper Tickets), or join our new mailing list courtesy of MailChimp by entering your email over in the ever-popular right panel.
Most importantly, we also updated the color scheme.
Back to rehearsing,
The Hyper Aware Team
Up top, you can now watch a slideshow of all our production photos from Flickr. While on your right, you can read our most recent Twitter posts and "Like" us on Facebook without ever leaving the blog! But if you happen to want to head over to our full satellite pages, we've installed handy buttons for all three media sites, and one for YouTube (also in the right-side frame). Venturing beyond the blog will bring you deeper into Hyper Aware's rabbit hole, something we highly recommend.
Additionally, you can buy tickets to our latest production, #Gutterdrunk, at the top of the page (via our lovely friends at Brown Paper Tickets), or join our new mailing list courtesy of MailChimp by entering your email over in the ever-popular right panel.
Most importantly, we also updated the color scheme.
Back to rehearsing,
The Hyper Aware Team
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Gutterdrunk: The Poe Revisions
Just in time for Halloween, The Hyper Aware Theater Company is thrilled to announce our newest original production, "Gutterdrunk: The Poe Revisions." We're tremendously excited to start rehearsals tonight with our gifted cast, and to bring to life these stunning and startling interpretations of Poe's greatest works. We've been lucky enough to rent out John Street Church in lower Manhattan, built in the 1840s when Poe was living in NYC, just as "The Raven" made him a household name. This is by far Hyper Aware's most ambitious, exciting, and interactive (oh, yes) project to date.
Here's the official poster art and press release:
New York, NY -- The Hyper Aware Theater Company presents its newest work, GUTTERDRUNK: The Poe Revisions, which brings viewers deep into the hallucinatory mind of famed writer, Edgar Allan Poe. GUTTERDRUNK unites seven international playwrights whose original works reimagine many of Poe’s famous stories and poems, such as “The Tell Tale Heart” and “Annabel Lee.” GUTTERDRUNK will have six performances presented both on the grounds and in the basement of the historic John Street Church.
GUTTERDRUNK blends theater, performance art, and live music into a cohesive, interactive evening. As the action unfolds in the shadows, audience members will shape their own intimate experiences by illuminating the environment with flashlights. Actors are buried alive, bricked behind walls, smothered and stabbed, until only a rattled and wasted Poe remains, without fiction to blur his dark reality. GUTTERDRUNK explores the hysterical and haunting effects of alcohol on actor, character and author in a way that tests the limits of theatrical experience. As Poe wrote, we must “consider anew what are the capabilities of the drama—not merely what have been its conventional purposes.”
GUTTERDRUNK is directed by Gary Ferrar and features Louis Aquiler* ("All About Walken"), Naomi Bland (Yale School of Drama), Vance Clemente, Risa Cohen (Circle in the Square), Andrew Huber, Katarina Hughes (NYU Tisch), Rachel Lynn Jackson (The PIT), Chad Miller ("An Ordinary Family," "Wild Blue"), Michael Pantozzi, Clea Rivera* (La MaMa), Charles Rohlfs, and George Walsh; and includes original music and underscoring by The Live Nudes. Playwrights include Lance Tait of France’s Theatre Metropole and author of Plays Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe (Enfield Publishing). *actors courtesy of AEA
John Street Church is located at 44 John Street (and Nassau Street). Closest subway is the Fulton Stop (2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J, and Z trains). Tickets will be available shortly!!
PERFORMANCES (rain or shine):
Thursday 10/20 8PM
Friday 10/21 8PM
Saturday 10/22 8PM
Thursday 10/27 8PM
Saturday 10/29 8PM
Sunday 10/30 8PM
Stay tuned here, and on Facebook and Twitter for updates!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
WILD BLUE photos
We've added select performance photographs from WILD BLUE to our Flickr Account. Click the slideshow at the top of the blog or visit Flickr to see these and additional shots from our previous productions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)