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  1. Mixed Media: Cross-Discipline Perfromances in February & April Tuesday, February 02, 2010

    Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga, Chattanooga’s cutting edge theatre specialists, have devised a production that they hope will bridge the gap between theatre artists and visual artists in a city that is nationally recognized for its support of the visual arts. “Art is Art, whether it is on stage or whether it is on a canvas. There exists a divide, generally speaking of course, between the disciplines of art.  One of our goals this year with our season to really start to break down those barriers,” Producing Artistic Director Posey mentions. 

    MIXED MEDIA is a presentation of four short plays and five pieces of visual art. Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga, along with an anonymous donor, contacted local glass artist Thomas Spake to create a glass and metal sculpture. “Basically, I asked him to create something that was theatrical, that perhaps could be seen as different things or used in different ways,” says Posey. The sculpture, standing taller than 8’ when complete, is called the Juggler. Its composition consists of a sculpted metal base resembling a hand supporting a series of stacked metal rings filled with one of four different colors of glass. More metal rings hover above the sculpture as well, frozen in mid air. “The moment I saw the sketch, I knew it would be the perfect starting point for the project I wanted to create,” beams Posey.

    Posey asked Spake to provide him with four components of information concerning the sculpture: a sketch and then statements concerning his inspiration, his nuts and bolts process of creating it and then his artistic vision of the piece. Each of those four components were sent to four different playwrights, one in New York, one in North Carolina and two in Chicago. Each of these playwrights has a personal relationship with ETC, allowing the theatre company to present their new works as readings or full productions.

    Rob Smith of Chicago received the process statement and from that created a play called “Strands,” which focuses on the creation of man with regards to his DNA makeup. Spake’s artistic vision of The Juggler made its way to Derek Barham, also of Chicago, and he wrote a play called “Dollhouse,” which focuses on an artist’s incessant desire to use his art to control his life. Peter Macklin, of New York City, penned “Pop” based solely on Spake’s sketch and his play finds a girl too scared to accept a marriage proposal because she thinks that she is cursed. Finally Anthony Garcai-Copian of Raleigh, NC created his play “Teena and the Alien” based on Spake’s statement of his inspiration for The Juggler. Garcia-Copian’s play deals with an artist who finds so much security in her creations, that she remains hidden from society.

    “Once I received the plays, I saw this project going one step further,” offers Posey. “I figured why can’t we make this cyclical and have each play, in return, inspire more art.” With drafts of the original plays in hand, Posey hit the streets trying to find visual artists that were interested in the project. Four local artists expressed sincere interest: Matthew Dutton, Chandra Morgan, Shaun LaRose and Cathy Collier. Each artist was then assigned a play and from that play created another piece of visual art.  All five pieces figure prominently in the staging of the plays. “Visual art, in essence, has become a character within each play,” notes Posey. Part of the project was to allow the whims of creativity to create continuity amongst what was being created. To that end, none of the playwrights or visual artists has had any contact with each other. “I wanted to keep it secretive, to allow the element of surprise to carry us forward. And it certainly has,” finishes Posey.

    Mixed Media will play three performances in February at various venues across Chattanooga.  Seven additional performances are planned for April.

    February 13, Mixed Media performs at the Mountain Music Folk School on Forrest Avenue.  On February 20, Mixed Media heads to the Red Bank Gallery on Dayton Blvd. Show times are at 7:30; in lieu of tickets, donations will be accepted. The February 27 performance location was not available at time of printing.  “We are hoping these remote shows will introduce the kind of work we are doing with ETC to a broader audience, as well as providing more exposure for our artists,” adds Posey.

    For more information about the show, please call 423-987-5141 or visit us on the web at http://www.ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com.

    Posted by Administrator in Arts