Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The Twin Poets' Powerful Premiere of "Why I Write"

The Twin Poets. Photo: Teleduction
 A full-length movie featuring nothing but the spoken word art of Al Mills and Nnamdi Chukwuocha, also known as the Twin Poets, would be compelling, entertaining and moving. "Why I Write," the Hearts and Minds Films documentary about the duo takes it further and offers so much more. Directed by Sharon Baker, the film intersperses the twins'  amazing art with their amazing social work, showing how interconnected all of it is.

Identical twins Al and Nnamdi -- social workers, activists, military veterans and poets -- grew up in the harsh Riverside neighborhood of Wilmington they serve. Unlike so many kids growing up in Riverside, they had a strong parental base, and were especially influenced by their late father, activist William "Hicks" Anderson. Al and Nnamdi are walking examples of the power of involved fatherhood in the inner city community, and, no surprise, are involved fathers themselves, not only to their biological children, but to all of the children in Riverside. They are tireless in their devotion -- they spend their days working with kids at Kingswood Community Center, public and inner-city charter schools, afterschool programs, and in the homes of high-risk kids. They comfort fearful youngsters, counsel young boys treading perilously close to being lost and encourage young girls to respect themselves and reach their goals. They shed tears with children who have lost parents to violence. It's a difficult calling, but, somehow, they keep their senses of humor.

If Al and Nnamdi wanted it, they could be millionaires, living in California mansions, instead of being social workers in lil' old Wilmington. Their spoken word poems, delivered in a distinct way that I'm not sure would be possible for non-twins, are that good. They've had their own HBO special, and they've had offers from rappers who wanted to use their words. The Twin Poets, while they work in words, are not rappers, and have no interest in being connected to to the often thuggish genre, even for big money. Their integrity is almost overwhelming. Honestly, judging by the reaction to their work, they might land that success anyway.

Teleduction has plans to show "Why I Write" around Wilmington and in film festivals around the country. Connect with the "Why I Write" Facebook page for information about the upcoming DVD.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

B-Sides, Rarities & Unreleased Tracks at the CTC

What do you get when you mix one writer, four directors, 15 actors, 17 short plays and a DJ? An evening of B-Sides, Rarities and Unreleased Tracks at the City Theater Company. The title of the collection infers a rock music theme -- and while a couple of the shorts are about popular music in one way or another, it's more metaphorical. The short plays by Alex Dremann, each under ten minutes long (in some cases, well under), are small bites, individual "songs" that don't necessarily connect, but go together like an album.

Dremann's plays, directed by Kathy Buterbaugh, Josh Hitchens, Todd Holtsberry and James Kassees, are comic, while at the same time very dark. We meet a serial killer who bowls people to death, a mental patient about to eat his one friend, and self-aware zombie throwing a cocktail party for his less sentient friends. A recurring theme is interpersonal relationships, especially love relationships between a man and a woman (a couple of the shorts do have gay themes, but these also involve men with women, at least for the moment).

Most members of the cast played multiple roles in different plays, but some pairs, such as Brian McAleese and Amanda Bernhardt and Tim Donovan and Mary Catherine Kelley, appeared together repeatedly. There are a couple of solo pieces -- Greg O'Neil in "Cantaloupe," Kat J. Simon in "Elvis at Stuckey's" and Becky Balaguer in "Chum," but most are shorts for two people. My favorites? Probably "On the Floor," "Cantaloupe" and "Zombie Asthete."


B-Sides, Rarities & Unreleased Tracks will have its second and last two-day run this weekend at the Black Box at Opera Delaware Studios -- don't miss it!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Rabbit Hole at the Chapel Street Players

(Photo of Kate Brennan and Jason Fawcett by David Sokolowski)


What incredible risks Anthony Bosco took for the new Chapel Street Players production of Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire! First of all, the cast were almost all new to CSP. Secondly, he was taking on a play which the playwright himself had just adapted for a movie with Nicole Kidman. And thirdly, he is the father of two small children taking on a play about how a couple deals with the death of their child.


But on opening night on February 25, his willingness to take risks paid off. Kate Brennan as Becca and Jessica Rowland-Eppler as her sister Izzie had the audience so involved one lady couldn’t resist mumbling in response to their rants. And when it became clear that the clothing that Becca was folding so carefully had belonged to her four-year-old son who had died months earlier– it was hard to decide whether to laugh or cry.


Howie, Becca’s husband, played by Jason Fawcett, seems to be cool, collected and ready to kiss his wife back to normal. But even he has a limit to his patience. It is easy to empathize with him until Izzie raises suspicions about just how he might be coping.


Performances by Marlene Hummel, who plays Becca’s unrestrained mother, and Neil Redfield, who plays the hapless youth Jason, are catalytic. They force Howie and Becca to break their controlled postures and vent their grief.


The play presents each character against contrasting personalities. Becca’s neurotic quelling of her grief is highlighted by her exchanges with her carefree and shockingly direct sister Izzie -- Howie’s calm control is upset gradually by his warm but outspoken mother-in-law and all four of them react intensely to Jason’s apologetic entry into their lives.


In spite of all the grief and ranting, the play ends with a note of hope. The actors were so good that it is hard to resist the urge to call and see how they are doing. Performances are 8:00 p.m. on February 25, 26, March 4, 5, 11, 12. Matinee 2:00 p.m. March 6 and 12.


See www.chapelstreetplayers.org