Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – A roundup of recent in-person theatrical experiences: ELECTRIC FEELING MAYBE, TEMPING, GHOUL-A-RAMA, etc.

• By drediman
• November 3, 2020
• No Comments

Happily, creatively rendered in-person theatrical happenings have continued to come out of the woodworks. Here is a roundup of my thoughts on some recent experiences.

ELECTRIC FEELING MAYBE
Target Margin Theater

On a chilly fall evening last week, I attended one of the final performances of Target Margin Theater’s Electric Feeling Maybe (RECOMMENDED). Staged outdoors by artistic director David Heskovits in front of the Doxsee — the theater company’s warehouse-like home in Sunset Park — the devised piece is the culmination of a series of pop-up performances in the neighborhood. The folks at Target Margin have long specialized in playful investigations of mythologies and their contemporary relevance. With this bittersweet teaser of a show, they’ve turned their attention to the now-mythology that has become theater as the springboard for their inquiries. It’s hard to pin-point the exact tone of the work, which I think was intentional. It struck me as both a spectral elegy, as well as a celebratory reminder of live theater as we knew it. As a result, I came away from the piece uncertain of the form in which theater ought to return after the pandemic (regardless, I await the day with titillated anticipation). With a running time of scarcely 30 nonlinear minutes, Electric Feeling Maybe may leave some unsatisfied and bewildered. However, I found it jolting in its clear-eyed refusal to offer a pat way forward.

TEMPING
Dutch Kills Theater

Over and above my day job, I recently found myself with some spare time to do some Temping (RECOMMENDED). That is, Dutch Kills Theater’s ingenious and covid-friendly piece of immersive theater at the Wild Project. Upon arriving at the East Village venue, participants are asked to take on the role of a newly-hired temp. Once comfortably situated in your cube, you’re then subjected to perform the various duties of a junior actuary. However, what starts off as a series of menial computer-based tasks (FYI, it’s helpful if you have a working knowledge of Microsoft Office products) eventually takes on a more serious tone. One of the goals of Temping is to encourage audiences to look beyond actuarial statistics to the human lives underlying the numbers (an exercise that’s particularly pertinent now). Thankfully, this is subtly but theatrically accomplished without totally taking you away from the alternate reality that’s been so meticulously created. Despite not having any in-person interaction, the hourlong experience manages to cleverly incorporate other characters into the narrative via phone messages, email exchanges, and even printer mishaps. The result is not only an amusing office satire, but also a pointed critique of “bottom line” corporate culture.

GHOUL-A-RAMA, OR FUN HOUSE FROM HELL, etc.
Rubulad

On Halloween proper, I ventured out to Bushwick to explore Rubulad’s Ghoul-A-Rama (RECOMMENDED). Appropriately subtitled “Fun House from Hell”, the endeavor can be best described as an artsy haunted house with quirky contemporary nods (e.g., Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s tombstone) and elements of live performance (e.g., live musicians, an illusionist) sprinkled throughout. As the product of a collective of artists, the overall experience is understandably overstuffed and scattershot, which is admittedly part of its charm. By cheekily embracing kitsch, the end product is more quirky than scary, which is a welcome change from the predictable horror film aesthetic of your typical haunted house. On my way back from Brooklyn to Hell’s Kitchen, I made a pitstop to catch the annual appearance of Zohra — a giant spider created by master puppeteer Basil Twist — which oversees Halloween festivities from atop the Jefferson Market Library’s looming clock tower in Greenwich Village. To further celebrate the spooky holiday, I had also planned to watch Rogue Ensemble Theater Company’s production of Shakespeare’s ultra-bloody Titus Andronicus on the steps of Grant’s Tomb; alas, the Sunday night performance I was scheduled to attend had to be cancelled due to inclement weather.