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International Fringe 2017: A welcome to theater from around the world coming to the Philadelphia Fringe Festival

9/15/2017

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By Henrik Eger
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ith Philadelphia’s Fringe Arts now entering their third decade, their festival has grown to include not only local and regional artists, but performers and creators from around the world—an annual high point of the Philadelphia theater arts scene—based on the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival. To show the worldwide scope of the 21st Philadelphia Fringe Festival, we included not only performers from abroad, but also productions by American artists that included a global perspective.

Phindie writer Henrik Eger bids everyone a hearty WELCOME to the City of Brotherly Love—this year in 19 different languages: Afrikaans, Arabic, English, Esperanto, Farsi, Flemish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Irish, Mandarin, Mossi, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Zulu.

We start this year’s overview with a special welcome to three programs featuring a wide range of global creators.


INTERNATIONAL CREATIVES

1. Bonvenon & welcome to the world as seen from the perspective of Bill Forchion and Billy Higgins, who recently returned from a feature performance with the Turkmen State Circus in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Between them, Bill and Billy have performed in Japan, Australia, Ireland, Indonesia, and Canada, as well as throughout the United States. They relate their experiences in Bill & Billy: How Did We Get Here?! At the Art Church of West Philadelphia. Sept. 15-23. For more information, click Fringe Arts Bill & Billy: How Did We Get Here?! Fringe Arts catalog p. 101.

 2. Witamy & Willkommen & Bine ati venit.  Welcome to Stranger in a Strange Land, with songs by composers and poets whose careers took them away from their homeland, including Polish songs by Frédéric Chopin, along with works by George Enescu (Romania), Kurt Weill (Germany), and others. Performed by Erin Brittain, Rachael Basescu and Grant Mech, accompanied by Dr. Akiko Hosaki. At Christ’s United Presbyterian Church. Sept. 23, 3:00 PM. For more information, click Fringe Arts Stranger in a Strange Land. Fringe Arts catalog p. 96. 

3. Bonvenon & welcome to Radio Atlas, an English-language home for subtitled audio from around the world. A place to hear inventive documentaries, dramas, and works of sound art that have been made in languages you don’t necessarily speak. At WHYY. Sept. 16, 5:00 PM. For more information, click Fringe Arts Radio Atlas. Fringe Arts catalog p. 41.​
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ALGERIA

أهلابك (ahlaan bik) & bienvenu. Welcome to Compagnie Herve Koubi, the French-based, Algerian-rooted dance troupe, performing Ce que le jour doit a la nuit (What the day owes to the night). Produced by Next Move Dance at the Prince Theater. Oct 12-15. For more information, click here. Fringe Arts catalog p. 59.

AUSTRIA

1. Willkommen. Welcome to Vienna-born Mia Zabelka, with your experimental violin and vocal compositions, performed with Xiu Xiu, a California-based band. Sept. 17, 8:00 PM. For more information, click Fringe Arts Mia Zabelka. Fringe Arts catalog p. 41.

2. Willkommen. Welcome to pianist, singer, and vocal pedagogue Eva Kastner-Puschl, originally from Graz, Austria and now a conservatory teacher at Rider University. Along with Jessica Renfro and Lynda Saponara, she performs in Lost in the Woods, a new musical interpretation of Hansel and Gretel. At the German Society of Pennsylvania. Sept. 17, 3:00 PM. For more information, click Fringe Arts Lost in the Woods. Fringe Arts catalog p. 83.

BELGIUM

Welgekomen & bienvenu. Welcome to BaronessAnne Teresa De Keersmaeker, contemporary dance choreographer, in cooperation with Spain’s Salva Sanchez, in ALove Supreme.At FringeArts.Sept. 22-24. For more information, click Fringe Arts A Love Supreme. Fringe Arts catalog p. 53.

BURKINA FASO

Bienvenu & Ne y zabré. Welcome to Olivier Tarpaga, dancer, choreographer, musician, composer, songwriter, performing arts consultant, and storyteller, along with his all-male cast from Burkina Faso and a live band. They will be performing in Declassified Memory Fragment. At FringeArts. Oct. 12-14. For more information, click Fringe Arts Declassified Memory Fragment. Fringe Arts catalog p. 53.

CHINA

欢迎 (Huānyíng). Welcome to Beijing-educated Hua Hua Zhang, puppeteer and performance artist, in White Nights, at the Asian Arts Initiative, Dance Studio C. Sept. 19, 7:30 & 9:00 PM. For more information, click Fringe Arts White Nights. Fringe Arts catalog p. 83.

COLOMBIA

Bienvenido. Welcome, Columbian composer Juan Gabriel Turbay, director Thaddeus Phillips, installation artist Steven Dufala, and the real-life father-son acting duo Michael and Winslow Fegley, performing A Billion Nights on Earth. At FringeArts. Sept. 14-17.  For more information, click Fringe Arts A Billion Nights on Earth. Fringe Arts catalog p. 39.

CUBA

Bienvenido. Welcome to Huberal Herrera from Havana, along with Spanish mezzo-soprano Doña Ana Maria Ruimonte and American jazz musician Alan Lewine, performing in Fiesta Owlsong at the Philadelphia Art Alliance. The show includes songs by Cuba’s Ernesto Lecuona. Sept. 15, 7:00 PM. For more information, click Fringe Arts Fiesta Owlsong. Fringe Arts catalog p. 68.

ENGLAND

1. Welcome to the Cambridge Footlights—the group that launched Monty Python and Last Week Tonight’sJohn Oliver—and the Philly Improv Theater, performing Dream Sequence at the Adrienne Theatre. Sept. 15, 8:30 & 10 PM. For more information, click Fringe Arts Dream Sequence. Fringe Arts catalog p. 66.

2. Welcome to Rosey Hay, British director of the REV Theatre Company, with the latest version of one of the most popular Fringe events, the Graveyard Cabaret, with Rudy Caporaso, Sandy D’Oria, and Hannah Wolff. Titled Death is a Cabaret, Ol’ Chum, this year’s performance includes British songs “Haunted,” “Drunken Sailor,” and “Sailor’s Wife.” At the Laurel Hill Cemetery. Sept. 14-16. 7:30 PM. Rain date Sept. 17. For more information, click Fringe Arts Graveyard Cabaret. Fringe Arts catalog p. 75.

3. Welcome to Airswimming, by Britain’s Charlotte Jones and performed by the Half Key Theater Company, about two women imprisoned in an Irish mental hospital for daring to challenge society’s definition of womanhood. At the Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5. Sept. 17-24. For more information, click Fringe Arts Airswimming. Fringe Arts catalog p. 69.

4. Welcome to Samuel Pepys, the famous 17th century diarist who witnessed and recorded the events of the Great London Fire of 1666 before ending each entry “And so to bed.” Interpretations of his work, titled 17c, performed by the Big Dance Theater. At FringeArts. For more information, click Fringe Arts 17c. Fringe Arts catalog pp. 32-33.

5. Welcome to Shakespeare’sCymbeline, directed by James Ijames in the Revolution Shakespeare  production in Hawthorne Park. Sept. 20-21 (previews) & 22-24, 6:30 PM. For more information, click Fringe Arts Cymbeline. Fringe Arts catalog p. 96.

6. Welcome to Shakespeare’sPericles, with original music and movement. Directed by Brenna Geffers and designed by Thom Weaver for Philadelphia’s newest theater company, Die-Cast.  At the Rotunda. For more information, click Fringe Arts Pericles. Fringe Arts catalog p. 102.

7. Welcome to Shakespeare’sTempest, in an ensemble-crafted twist, using the original Elizabethan text and performed in a movement-based production, playing with minimalism and magic in nature. Performed by Indecorous Theatre Productions at the Spring Gardens Community Garden. For more information, click here. Fringe Arts catalog p. 76.

FRANCE

Bienvenu. Welcome to Compagnie Herve Koubi, the French-based, Algerian-rooted dance troupe, performing Ce que le jour doit a la nuit (What the day owes to the night). Produced by Next Move Dance at the Prince Theater. Oct 12-15. For more information, click here. Fringe Arts catalog p. 59.
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GERMANY

​1. Willkommen. Welcome to Dieter Rita Scholl, a prominent German actor, author and chanson artist, known for playing androgynous roles, and Philadelphia’s much-celebrated John Jarboe, as they perform at the monthly Get Pegged show in a special free performance for the Festival. At FringeArts. Sept. 15, 10:30 PM. For more information, click Fringe Arts Festival Gets Pegged. Fringe Arts catalog p. 01.

2. Willkommen. Welcome to Bertolt Brecht’sThe Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. DBAD Productions stages Brecht’s classic play of American-made Fascism as it takes on new meaning in the age of Donald Trump. At The Shambles.  Sept. 14, 17, & 21.For more information, click Fringe Arts The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Fringe Arts catalog p. 92.

GREECE

Καλωσόρισμα (kalosórisma). Welcome to Euripedes’Iphigenia at Aulis, directed by Dan Hodge for the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective, the much talked-about Fringe Festival veterans.  Performed onboard the historic USS Olympia off Columbus Boulevard. Sept. 14-16 & 18-22, 8:00 PM.For more information, click Fringe Arts Iphigenia at Aulis. Fringe Arts catalog p. 92.

INDIA

स्वागतहे (svaagat he) & welcome to Krish Mohan, socially conscious Indian standup comedian and writer, and his new show, Approaching Happiness with Krish Mohan. At the Art Church of West Philadelphia. Sept. 15, 8:00 PM. For more information, click Fringe Arts Approaching Happiness with Krish Mohan. Fringe Arts catalog p. 100.

IRAN

خوشآمدی (khosh amadid). Welcome to Rouzbeh & Berryanna, the Iranian and American teen lovers, characters created by Terrell Green inBlack Berry, where a newly elected leader declares war on Iran and removes all Iranian immigrants. At the Arts Sanctuary. For more information, click Fringe Arts Black Berry. Fringe Arts catalog p. 95.

IRELAND

Fáilte & welcome to Christine Rich, whose show, Hope Street, brings to life family legends of her Irish ancestors, whose first address in America was on Philly’s Hope Street. At the Northeast Philly Comedy Cabaret. Sept. 16, 9:00 PM. For more information, click Fringe Arts Hope Street. Fringe Arts catalog p. 80.

NEW ZEALAND

Welcome to New Zealand-born Kate McIntosh, the Brussels-based artist who works across the boundaries of performance, theater, video, and installation. Guiding live art project Worktable for Children at the Boys’ Locker Room. Sept. 15-18. For more information, click Fringe Arts Worktable for Children. Fringe Arts catalog pp. 42-43.

NORWAY

Velkommen. Welcome to August Strindberg’s(miss) Julie in a physical, ensemble-driven adaptation by Svaha Theatre Collective. At Bainbridge Green. For more information, click Fringe Arts (miss) Julie. Fringe Arts catalog p. 97.

PHILIPPINES

Maligayang pagdating. Welcome to an indigenous Filipina who explores her pre-Colonial matrilineal bloodlines in Gavino’s HERstory, part of Mujeres, a compilation of work by choreographers Evalina Carbonell and Annielille Gavino. Also included is Milk, Carbonell’s meditation on motherhood. At the CHI Movements Art Center. Sept. 20-24. For more information, click Fringe Arts Mujeres. Fringe Arts catalog p. 95.

ROMANIA

Bine ati venit. Bienvenu. Welcome, Eugene Ionesco’sBald Soprano, in the IRC production under the direction of Tina Brock. Starring Brock, Tomas Dura, Arlen Hancock, Sonja Robson, Bob Schmidt, and John Zak. At the Bethany Mission Gallery, one of Philadelphia’s largest galleries. Sept. 14-16 & 19-24. For more information, click Fringe Arts Bald Soprano. Fringe Arts catalog p. 76.

SCOTLAND

Fàilte & welcome to Mary, Queen of Scots and her royal rival, Queen Elizabeth I, as their deadly struggle is seen from the perspective of one peasant and an audience of newly hired servants in Monarch. The show is written and produced by Christine Doidge, Amanda Holston, and James Miller. At the Fleisher Art Memorial. Sept. 15 & 17. For more information, click Fringe Arts Monarch. Fringe Arts catalog p. 97.

SOUTH AFRICA

Wamukelekile & welkom.Welcome to Athol Fugard’sStatements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act, a tale of interracial love and longing under the ugly restraints of apartheid South Africa. Produced and performed by Blue Mercury Theatre at the Independence Library. Sept. 14-17 & 21-24. For more information, click Fringe Arts Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act. Fringe Arts catalog p. 92.

SPAIN

1. Bienvenido. Welcome to Salva Sanchis, Spanish dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher, in cooperation with Belgium’s BaronessAnne Teresa De Keersmaeker, in ALove Supreme.  Sept. 22-24. For more information, click Fringe Arts A Love Supreme. Fringe Arts catalog p.  53

2. Bienvenido. Welcome to Spanish mezzo-soprano Doña Ana Maria Ruimonte and American jazz musician Alan Lewine, performing in Fiesta Owlsong at the Philadelphia Art Alliance. The show includes special guest Huberal Herrera from Havana, with songs by Cuba’s Ernesto Lecuona. Sept. 15, 7:00 PM. For more information, click Fringe Arts Fiesta Owlsong. Fringe Arts catalog p. 68.

TAIWAN

欢迎 (Huānyíng).Welcome to Taiwan-born Kun-Yang Lin, an artist-educator who dances in the spaces between East and West, and her Philadelphia-based Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers. Performing Mar. 22-24, 2018 at the Prince Theater. For more information, click here. Fringe Arts catalog p. 58.
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Originally published by Phindie ​, Philadelphia, September 15, 2017.
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Queer women pushing each other to new heights

9/6/2017

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By Henrik Eger
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Tangle Members Lee Thompson and Lauren Rile Smith Photo: Michael Emilio
​Seven women of all backgrounds collide and are changed forever in "Life Lines," one of Philadelphia’s most dynamic circus-theater shows.

The much-talked about Tangle Movement Arts was founded in 2011 by Lauren Rile Smith, a Philadelphia poet and performer.

In this interview, Rebecca MoDavis and Maura Kirk, two of Tangle’s aerial artists, talk openly about their experiences on and off the flying trapeze, revealing how even the breakup of dysfunctional relationships and the bringing of new life into this world can lead to beautiful new breakthroughs. 

PGN: No one is born a natural acrobat. How did you discover your interest and hone your skills in one of the most dangerous forms of art?

Maura Kirk: My flair for the dramatic was innate: I danced competitively from a young age, did community theater and generally took every opportunity to get on stage. In my mid-20s, I ended a long-term abusive relationship. The day my restraining order was finalized was the same day that I learned you could take aerial classes at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts. I had never even considered that it was something you could learn as an adult. I signed up for my first intro class that night, so my aerial practice has always been entwined with the drive to gain strength and independence — and trust my intuition. 

Rebecca MoDavis: In 2009, my roommate convinced me to accompany her in a quest for entertaining non-drinking activities, and we ended up in an aerial-arts class. Within the span of a class time, I was obsessed with the physical high and the potential to conquer a specific fear. 

PGN: Writers, actors and dancers can make mistakes and rectify them. Aerial artists, swinging from one trapeze to another, cannot afford a single mistake. What did you learn about yourself and others while exposing yourself to life-enhancing, but also to life-threatening situations?

RM: Commitment. You cannot second-guess yourself or another person, whether that's in executing a trick, or in just physically showing up to practice. I value the weekly facetime of working with other women artists and the supportive environment for creative exploration.  

PGN: Tangle Arts calls itself Philadelphia's "queer female aerial dance company." What does that mean to you personally and what do you hope to convey to your audience, including the next generation of girls and young women — ultimately, to all of us?

RM: My heart is in the telling of the female experience. To show the strength and beauty of women — together and alone. Tangle has provided a strong platform to express this philosophy, working collaboratively with women of varied artistic and personal backgrounds. I hope my own daughter will grow up being proud of her body, sexuality, and capabilities.

MK:  Our queerness informs our relationships, the ways in which we relate to the world and the ways in which we depict ourselves on stage. I identify as a queer femme, and this cohort has been invaluable to me. It allows space for expression with a lack of presumptions. We've each experienced significant events and personal milestones throughout our time working together, and there's an understanding that an experience may be more nuanced or complex than a mainstream narrative would depict. We're able to give each other that space and explore it in our art. Not everyone in our company identifies as queer, and our audience is similarly diverse. The ideas of meaningful, supportive and complicated female relationships resonate deeply with all of us.

PGN: Is there anything else you would like to share?

RM: This is my first Tangle show since having a baby in January. I had to bring Jolene to half of our rehearsals. All the members have helped by including her in the stretching routines and occupying her while I get some trapeze time in. This situation wouldn't be possible in many other groups. I'm blown away, humbled and grateful to the company for accommodating this arrangement. 

"Life Lines" plays September 6-9, 2017 at 3 pm and 8 pm at The 2017 Philadelphia Fringe Festival and is presented by Neighborhood House (20 N. American Street, Philadelphia PA 19106); running time: 90 minutes, including a 10-minute intermission.

For tickets, call the Fringe box office at 215-413-1318, or purchase them online.
Originally published by Philadelphia Gay News,​ September 6, 2017.
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“I Just Wanted To Be Happy": SUICIDE STORIES, a Fringe preview

9/5/2017

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By Henrik Eger
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Lauren Shover (Artistic Director/ Director), Andrew Chupa (as Rob). Photo by Phil Czekner.
How would you feel if your entire life was summed up by a single number? A suicide statistic. Lauren M. Stover of Elephant Room Productions was inspired to tell the stories behind the numbers after watching a youtube performance of “The Destruction Artist,” which is a monologue from A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer, part of The Vagina Monologues project. “We were taken by the personal retelling of the story, the breaking the fourth wall and the exposure and vulnerability of the character,” she says. “When it came to thinking of which topic we wanted to address it was not much of a discussion, as we all knew we wanted to talk about suicide.”
The resulting project is a gallery of living art to tell various stories at the same time which will run as part of the 2017 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Nine playwrights contributed (see interview here) and I was so moved that I asked them to share with me the essence of their plays. Maybe these quotations from the nine wide-ranging plays will lead to discussions that we always wanted to have with each other, but never did—before it is too late. Let’s break the silence.
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Brittany Griffiths (Choreographer), Mahala Roberson (the Dancer), “Casual Rape." Photo by Lauren Shover.
Henrik Eger: Some of the quotes from your plays on suicide are so focused that they have a profound impact on an audience. Could you quote a passage that presents the essence of your play?
David Meyers (Broken): “I just wanted to be happy. To be part of it . . .”
Dano Madden (Jason Dotson): “I saw you fail and fail and fail and try and try and try. I saw your inability to recognize talent within yourself.”
Henrik Eger: Some writers give themselves permission to handle a tough topic with in-your-face language.
Daryl Banner (The Problem with Mickey): “In high school, everyone talks shit about everyone. [. . .] you rub shoulders with these people all day . . . teens are going to bully each other. [. . .] We hate seeing those groups of people we don’t belong to [. . .] We’re all a bunch of fuckin’ performers. Me, me, me. I’m cool, you’re not. [. . .] I finally started asking the real questions. Did we do this? [. . .] Did we all do this to him?”
Henrik: Some of you presented the perspective of a survivor who tries to come to terms with a person’s suicide.
Chris G. Ulloth (Museum Bar): “And then you think, maybe that’s the difference between you and I. Maybe you have trouble caring about things that will be gone soon.”
Bridget Mundy (Dark Windows): “Do you think people realize when they look at windows, [. . .] windows to a dark room, do you wonder if people know that they could potentially [. . .] [be] looking into someone’s eyes? Looking into the life and death of a moment in time?”
Henrik: Sometimes the voice of a character and that of the playwright seem to merge.
Brian Grace-Duff (I Forget What Eight Was For): “None of this is me. I’m really an artist, visual one, charcoals mostly. [. . .] And not all artists are suicidal. Sorry. That’s my own . . . personal . . . I just feel strongly about people knowing that. Labels. Crazy. Crazy-artist.”
Kevin White (Rob): “I hope that one day mental health issues are not such a stigma that they’re ignored, swept under the rug, and result in situations like mine. That’s all I can do right now: hope, and that drives me fucking crazy. There’s no answer right now. But I’m going to make one.”
Henrik: What image did you use to make the final act visible?
Kat Wilson (The SS Marty):“Tom and Reggie would eventually make their way into the tiny tub, taken over by bubbles and boats and their ‘captain’ Marty. All aboard the bath time ship . . . The SS Marty.”
Brittany Brewer (Casual Rape): “Because the truth of it, the tree’s truth of it, is that it did fall. Rubbed raw by the repeated thrashings of the Lumberjack, Torn down and apart and through by his tactics,
Until it was just staring solemnly up at the sky, bared to the world, Internally begging for “no” to be enough as he continued to bury his blows, The tree was felled by the facade of trust.”
[Asian Arts Initiative, 1219 Vine Street] September 12-16, 2017; fringearts.com/event/suicide-stories-gallery-untold/
Running time: Two hours with no intermission. Come and go as you please.

Originally published by Phindie, September 5, 2017.

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Singing From a Trapeze: Interview with Tangle Movement Arts’ founder, Lauren Rile Smith

9/4/2017

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Lauren Rile Smith, a Philadelphia poet and performer, founded Tangle Movement Arts in 2011.

She has trained trapeze and other circus arts at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts and many other places. As a circus instructor, she’s committed to creating a safe, fun environment that welcomes all people. Tangle’s newest show, Life Lines, is part of the 2017 Philadelphia Fringe Festival.
​

When not on a trapeze, Lauren lives in West Philadelphia. She works at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Pennsylvania, and edits poetry for Cleaver Magazine.
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Lauren Rile Smith. Photo courtesy Tangle Movement Arts.
Henrik Eger: When first did you realize that you were fascinated by acrobats and what did you do to get the necessary training?

Lauren Rile Smith: Like a lot of people, I grew up with depictions of circus acrobats in children’s books. My first real connection with aerial arts came in 2007 when I saw LAVA, the Brooklyn-based feminist dance troupe, perform trapeze as part of queer contemporary dance. I was instantly hooked.

A few years later, I had the chance to start training trapeze myself, and was inspired to start a Philly-based aerial dance theater company. I wanted to use the highly physical language of circus arts to tell stories about female bodies and queer relationships. We launched Tangle in the 2011 Philly Fringe Festival. I’m proud to still be working with largely the same ensemble — six years and twelve shows later.

Henrik: What did you learn about yourself as an aerial artist and as a human being in working with your fellow acrobats, swinging high up in the air?
​

Lauren: Tangle’s work is created by the entire company, with no single director or choreographer. On top of the physical daring of aerial acrobatics, this collective process requires a serious commitment of trust and communication. Over years of creative collaboration, we’ve pushed each other to new heights (if you’ll pardon the pun) and are always seeking fresh ways to grow — as artists and as friends. In Life Lines, you’ll see us pursuing brand-new performance aspects, including live music — and singing on trapeze.
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Lauren Rile Smith. Photo courtesy Tangle Movement Arts.
Henrik: You and Tangle Arts are well-known for having fostered “queer circus-theater” to such an extent that, going by the responses from critics and audience members alike, you are touching on many raw nerves where people recognize that you are opening unexpected doors — high up in the air.

Lauren: Many Tangle performers identify as queer in their personal lives. More importantly to us as a company, “queer circus-theater” is Tangle’s commitment to depict a range of relationships between women onstage — from the passionate to the platonic.

In a world where women’s relationships are frequently flattened into stereotypes (or entirely missing from the stage) we make shows that take women seriously — as friends, lovers, coworkers, or enemies. The physical storytelling inherent in circus arts lets us explore how women might hold each other up — or let each other fall.

Henrik: We heard through the grapevine that you gave the world a special gift. How has that situation affected your art of swinging high up through the air?

Lauren: At this year’s Fringe Arts Festival, I won’t be up in the air myself because I’m recovering from having delivered a baby earlier this summer. My body has been through many changes in the past year. It’s not always easy to see the path back toward the intensity of circus training. However, I will be performing as part of the ensemble in Life Lines.

Is there anything else you would like to share?
​

Lauren: I’m deeply inspired to be sharing a stage in Life Lines with three other Tangle members who have also delivered babies in the past two years. I’ve learned a great deal about strength and resilience from my associates and fellow travelers through the air, and I’m looking forward to getting back onto the trapeze to tell — and maybe even sing — new stories.
Running time: 90 minutes, including a 10 minute intermission.
​
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Lee Thompson and Lauren Rile Smith in 2016’s Surface Tension. Photo by Michael Ermilio.
​Life Lines plays September 6-9, 2017 at The 2017 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, performing at Christ Church Neighborhood House – 20 North American Street, in Philadelphia, PA. For tickets, call the Fringe box office at (215) 413-1318, or purchase them online.
This interview was originally published by DC Metro Theater Arts on September 4, 2017. 
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from Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, and  Azerbaijani to Vietnamese, Welsh, Xhosa, Yiddish, Yoruba, and  Zulu—​thanks to the latest version of Google Translate.
Picture
Tower Of Babel
by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1563).
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Copyright Henrik Eger, 2014-2020.
Update: December 30, 2020.
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