Splendid Spelling!

Bootless Artworks’ season opened with the spirited 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. This farcical show, with music and lyrics by William Finn and Book by Rachel Sheinkin, worked well on the cafetorium floor of the Reach Academy for Girls in Claymont, Delaware. The four-piece orchestra, conducted from the keyboard by Musical Director Brittany Fisher, played behind the actors. Directed by Kimberly Pryor, choreographed by Alyssa Novello, and produced by James Fuerst, the show included guest “spellers” from the non-profit and arts community. The night I attended, playwright Matt Casarino, AIDS Delaware’s executive director, John Klein and the Draggillious girls lent their orthographic talents.

This sweet little musical has it all: drama, intrigue, improvisation, unrequited love and dysfunctional families. Leaf Coneybear, played endearingly by Justin Walsh, wears capes and flared pants he designs himself. Each turn at the podium, the poor guy (self-described as “not that smart”) must spell rodent words like “Capybara” and “Acouchi”. After he stumbles on “Chinchilla”, he sings a goofy, impassioned goodbye song with the help of his bass-voiced rodent at the microphone.

Logainne SchwartzandGrubeniniere, whose long last name is the result of having two dads, is a kind-hearted competitor who traces words on her arm. Ashli Rice is adorable in the role, lending a perky, innocent touch. She tries hard to please her two self-involved dads (Wade Brodsky and Justin Walsh) but finally asks them, “What about me?”

The first to lose the bee is Chip Tolentino, played convincingly by P.J. Schweizer. His crush on Coneybear’s sister inspires an “erection destroying perfection,” distracting him from his spelling. An all-American boy scout, he returns to haunt the other contestants well after he is eliminated. His ultimate demise is his job hawking candy and potato chips to the audience.

The nimble Jeremy Gable is a neurotic and peanut-allergic William Barfee (that’s “BarfAY!” The accent ague is there for a reason!), who sweeps the shape of every letter with his agile foot. Even while dodging water on the floor, he manages to collect the trophy.

Rosanne DellAversano, the company’s artistic director, is excellent as Rona Lisa Peretti, the bossy head of the bee. A bumbling Vice Principal Panch (William Swezey) is consumed by a hilarious burst of violent rage as he bemoans his “assistant” principal title. As the lovable thug on parole, Mitch Mahoney (Wade Brodsky) gives out juice boxes to the losers of the bee. The versatile actor also appears as several dads in the production.

“The I Love You Song” is one of the most moving numbers in the show. Here, Olive Ostrofsky (Caroline Rhodes) sings sweetly about things “chimerical”- her spelling word – as she grapples with feelings of abandonment. Another character to find herself during the show is Marcy Park (Ahn Truong), a girl expected to do everything perfectly. Her quirky song “I Speak Five Languages” takes us on a whirlwind tour of talents in sports, languages and academics. When she flubs a simple word on purpose, she suddenly feels free.

The show’s theme of self-discovery peeks subtly through its sub-plots. Different every night because of the guest spellers and the improvisation, the show is truly entertaining!

http://www.bootless.org

Fresh Thymes Joins the Loop

Fresh Thymes Art Show Program

Fresh Thymes on Lovering Avenue in Wilmington shared some of their creative eats at the Bite of the Fringe in September -- now they've jumped into the Arts scene full-on, as they hosted their very first Art Loop show on October 1st. Featured was the painter/printmaker Nicole Kristiana FitzGibbon, who showcased her series of fantastical creature prints. Some of the wildly-patterned animals come from fantasy, others are fantastical versions of real animals, from cats and rabbits to an anthropomorphic frog to gryphons and dragons.

The prints are made using a modern printmaking style, a combination of hand painting the outlines and colorful patterns separately, then combining them using a computer. Each detail is a small part of a larger intricate pattern, in a collage of brushstrokes.

In addition to the prints on the wall, all of the pieces can also be printed on a microfiber handbag, and samples of the custom-made bags were also on display. The bags, as well as a large selection of prints, are available in FitzGibbon's Etsy shop.

As for the space, Fresh Thymes is a charming little cafe with bright walls and great fresh food -- no doubt, the free hors d'oeuvres were part of the attraction.

First Friday at Fresh Thymes is a hit -- according to the artist's blog, the show at has been extended through November 30. And if you're disappointed about missing the opening, she'll be back for an encore First Friday at Fresh Thymes on November 5th.

Fresh Thymes Cafe
Lincoln & Lovering
Wilmington

Fringe Wilmington: Fantastic Fun!

Tongue & Groove and First State Ballet Theatre Photos: Joe del Tufo

Fringe Wilmington 2010 went off with a bang at preview night. Performers gave the audience short snippets of their shows, and I was able to figure out quickly which were the shows not to miss.

Also opening that night was the Visual Fringe, in the Shipley Lofts. Much of this work begged for interaction, with “in-your-face” tactile qualities. Melinda Steffy’s wonderfully textured contributions added warmth and depth to the installation. Brookes Britcher is as fascinating as his work, “Life on Paper is a Series of Decisive Moments”. The artist, who began as a photographer, explained to me how this work had developed from a large framed family photograph he had found discarded on the street. Britcher feels photography, as an art from, is still stuck in its “representational” phase. This sculpture, created from an empty postcard display stand, luminescent tape, duct tape, confetti, colored silly-string, a light, extension cord, along with the framed photograph, is an exploration of the abstraction of photography. The faces in the photograph are shadowy, barely visible behind the tape, and the postcard stand is empty, serving as architecture and perhaps stability in Britcher’s whimsical, powerful piece.

See http://brookesbritcher.wordpress.com/.

Friday and Saturday, I squeezed in as many events as I could. I managed to catch the 48-hour film competition screenings, the 21^st Century Ballet, improvs by Tongue and Groove, adult plays by Shel Silverstein, Mosaic’s Slave Narratives, the Sharp Dance Company’s exciting Addictive Fragility, and the hilarious film, 200 Characters or Less.

The First State Ballet Theatre was in top form with the luscious Nonsense in the Sense of Innocence choreographed and scored by Viktor Plotnikov. Music of Vivaldi, Beethoven and others was altered, and electronic blips, creating a foreboding theme, were wound into the familiar tunes. A long, flexible knit “dream” cap on the dancer’s head, connecting her to the ceiling, wound a beautiful, stretchy blue/green thread. The images created by this ever-changing line were endless and dramatic. The image of the cap constantly reminded us the dances embracing her and unfolding on stage before her were products of her dream life.

See http://www.firststateballet.com/.

The Philadelphia based Improv troupe Tongue & Groove was wonderfully fast-paced and entertaining. They used material solicited from the audience: “What is something you wanted to tell someone, but never did? Write down an unusual email or text saved on your phone.” With our answers, the troupe created overlapping scenes and dialogue. I was thrilled when an actor created an entire rant out of my submission, “You need to whiten your teeth.” (Yes, I find myself zoning out, looking at people’s teeth sometimes. Sue me.) Skilled ensemble actors, they did not shy away from the serious or macabre.

See http://www.tongue-groove.com/.

Riveting was Mosaic’s Slave Narratives. Created by Ed Shockley, a Philadelphia writer/actor, the show consists of vignettes of narratives and letters-from Mordechai Vanunu, Galileo, the American slave trade-to the Montgomery Bus boycott. Though the work was a window into individuals and their experiences with slavery, there was a unifying theme-a message about slavery and how it traps and hurts not only those enslaved, but the entire community. lary moten was touching and funny in his various roles. moten brought the audience into the show, clapping and chanting, “I cannot be denied” in Shockley’s tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

See http://www.mosaictheatreproductions.com/.

SCO Productions entertained us with some wildly funny short plays by Shel Silverstein. Ever the linguist, Silverstein develops scenes around rhymes and puns. Dana Michael is hilarious and bawdy in Buy One, Get One Free, a naughty tale in which everything must end in the sound “eeee”. In Smile Jim Burns, Kevin Regan and Gordon Holmes play a bunch of dumb hit-men, who terrorize Gibby (Matt Casarino) for his creation of a “have a nice day” and other insipid expressions. Silverstein is at his absurdist best in No Skronking: an unsuspecting diner (Jason Fawcett) prods his server Bertha (Kerry Kristine McElrone) to explain what “skronking” is, since it’s forbidden.

See http://fringewilmingtonde.org/.