Rochester Fringe Festival

Immersive Igloo

Thurdsay night, I dragged Charlie to one of the fringier shows of the Rochester Fringe Festival – 3D Sound Experience in the Immersive Igloo. It was a variety of spatial soundscapes presented through eight speakers which surrounded the audience, who were seated on the “floor” (fairly comfortable seats on the otherwise parking lot…).

The new-age-y electronic music began as pulses of sound around the igloo in phases, then seemed to synch up, and then the music took off. I found the sonority very relaxing, almost hypnotic, and I could feel the music as well as hear it and “watch” it bounce around the igloo. Charlie, however, was restless and hot (there were about 50 people in the enclosed space that lacked any ventilation…).

Tom Montagliano

The artist, Tom Montagliano, encouraged people to “let the sound waves just wash over you,” (which I did), and “close your eyes and let your mind wander, escape from the world, immerse yourself in the journey.” I couldn’t close my eyes – I was too mesmerized by the randomly changing colors of the igloo – soft white, to soft purples and greens and blues, then reds and yellows and more vibrant blues and greens, and back to the softer colors.

But many did, and it looked like at least one person fell asleep. I found the experience very meditative – focusing on the music and light allowed me to ignore the harsh realities of Harvey and Irma and Donald for an hour.

Plasticiens Volants

I was determined to make it to the free outdoor show this year. Undaunted by Charlie’s reaction to the igloo, I lured him downtown Friday night to see Plasticiens Volantsin  BIG BANG on Parcel 5 (thankfully, he enjoyed it so much he said I’d redeemed myself…). We invited a friend whom we ran into at dinner on Goodman Street to join us, and when we arrived at the “park” (please, can we start calling it a park and maybe it’ll become one?!) after a nice walk, we ran into another friend, one of my fellow Rocappella singers!

one of the many artists

The show started slowly, with projections on one of the inflatables, and narration about the big bang. But then it got weird and wonderful and wacky – all sorts of inflatables started emerging and dancing over the crowd (and it was truly crowded – could there have been over 1000 people there? Was anyone counting?). Everyone was laughing and taking pictures and having an absolutely joyous time. At one point, in racing after one of the handlers for a photo, I randomly ran into another friend – a fellow Geva trustee.

I asked a woman standing next to me (who initially mistook the sperm for jellyfish…) where she was from, and she answered Wyoming, New York. Yes, she had traveled almost an hour to join in the fun, and she commented that “if you can’t find something to do in Rochester, it’s your own fault.”

There was such an energetic vibe in this space that could be, should be a park, not another hulking apartment building, and certainly not a subsidized theatre for one specific organization. The energy continued on our walk back to Goodman Street – people were out everywhere, walking on our usually deserted streets.

the place was packed!

The Fringe Festival not only brings curious entertainment to downtown, but it shows us the potential of Rochester to have a downtown. Sadly, both open gathering spots we visited are destined by our unimaginative city planners to become private buildings at some point.

yes, sperm...

I have two more shows on my agenda (without Charlie) – The Polite Abductress (a short operetta by the late Doug Lowry) in the Cabaret Hall of the Lyric Theatre, and Merged V (co-choreographed by my friend Jim Hansen) in the Fielding Stage at Geva. These will seem tame in comparison!

The Immersive Igloo appears to be sold out, but Saturday night will be another perfect evening for the Plasticiens at Parcel 5, so go if you’re free! For the full calendar of Fringe events, visit: http://rochesterfringe.com

Arc + Flame Center

So, I “won” a gift certificate at a recent charity silent auction… for a glass fusing class at the Arc + Flame Center. I had a nice chat with Matt, the manager, when I booked my class, and learned that in the past six years, they’ve had over 1000 people per year take classes (working with metal as well as glass). Most of their resources are devoted to vocational welder training with MCC, and they graduate up to 64 students annually, with an 85% placement rate.

Phil and Lisa

There were two other students in my Fusing Sampler class, taught by Phil and Lisa Rogerson, who were both very friendly and helpful, in addition to being extremely knowledgeable. The organization is expanding – adding not just 6000 addition square feet, but also glass blowing. Phil and Lisa were actually packing up their materials as the class progressed, to protect them from the impending construction and their move to different quarters.

demonstration projects - I wanted to make a sail-
boat. That apparently will take much more practice...

Before we got to touch any of the tools, we got an overview of different types of glass used for fusing (which can’t be used together or they’ll explode in the kiln!), and the different temperatures required for different textures: 1475 degrees gives a full fuse (like the sailboat pictured left), 1300 gives full texture, and 1375, the temperature they’d use for our class, would produce a contour fuse – there’d still be texture, but the glass would be rounded. The fusing of the glass itself takes only 10-25 minutes at the operating temperature, but the heating up and cooling down takes over 24 hours. Slumping (shaping into a mold) then takes another 20-28 hours in the kiln. This type of project is not for those requiring immediate gratification!

Our beginner project was to be a stacked mosaic. They showed us how to score the glass, and we all practiced on a small sample. We were also cautioned that, when it came to gluing our bits down, “a dot is a lot,” and too much more might cause the glass to slide off in transit to the kiln. And we were advised to clean our glass with alcohol before gluing, or dirt and dust on it would crystalize. An even more dire warning was not to get blood on the glass, since the iron in blood turns the glass brown!

my stacked mosaic, "before"...

After the great introduction to the process and the tools we would use, we got to work. It was very satisfying sorting through the bins of broken glass, which were arranged by color (of course, we all had gloves to protect us from getting cut). I decided that these shards were sufficient for my first stab at this – my own inept cutting wouldn’t result in anything more interesting that what was available…). 

...and "after"

I completed my project in about an hour, and was exhausted from standing for so long (the other couple sat to glue theirs, but for some reason, I needed to stand to get just the right placement angle…). Because of all of the construction, our pieces wouldn’t be ready for 2+ weeks. As it turned out, the construction disruption was actually over a month, so when I finally picked up my piece, Arc + Flame gave me a voucher for 50% off another class! This could become an expensive hobby… 

Another Opening, Another Show: Geva’s “In the Heights”

My anticipation for this show has been building ever since Artistic Director Mark Cuddy announced it as the opening show for the 2017-18 season, and was heightened (pun intended) by my behind-the-scenes peeks at auditions, rehearsals, and an informal presentation by Scenic Designer Adam Koch, who discussed the challenges and opportunities he faced in designing this set for Geva: Keeping to budget, which meant silhouettes of fire escapes substitute for the real thing. Painting of the backdrop, which couldn’t begin until the scenery was moved out, because of space constraints in Geva’s combined scenery/paint shop. Bringing something fresh to the design (he and Director Melissa Rain Anderson both envisioned an intense color palette for the buildings to reflect the colors of the music and the eclecticism of the culture). In researching the George Washington Bridge, which provides a looming backdrop not just to the stage but also the real Washington Heights, he learned that the bridge itself is an “underdog story”: it was originally supposed to be clad in concrete and granite, but cost (it was begun right before the Depression) and fashion (exposed steel coming into vogue) left it unfinished. The bridge is not just a powerful physical presence, but it also a metaphor – for the journeys many of the characters have taken or are about to undertake.

This show brought other challenges/opportunities for Geva – because of the size and style of music, which required two full percussion setups, the existing sound board was insufficient for the demands (the show apparently uses almost 70 channels!), so a new board was purchased that not only increased capacity but allowed them to go all digital. And the roughly 130-minute show (not counting intermission) has over 1000 light cues. You can do the math…

But I’ve buried the lead, as usual: this is by far one of the best shows I’ve seen at Geva. And if I hadn’t been in Geva’s 550-seat theatre, I would have sworn I was seeing a Broadway show – it was that good. A bonus of the intimacy of the Wilson Stage is there’s really no bad seat in the house, compared to Broadway theatres, which range from 650 to just under 2000, or RBTL’s hulking 2400.

Opening Night toasts

We attended the sold-out opening night (the entire first week was sold out), and the buzz was palpable. From the first sounds of the orchestra to the final bow, I was riveted. The music is fast paced – this is a mostly “sung through” musical, with very little spoken dialog, which can take a bit of getting used to if you’re not attuned to it. But lyrics repetition is your friend, and you don’t need to know any Spanish, even though some of the lyrics are in that language, since Miranda gives us the English as well (and it’s a great way to learn a few words, like “Paciencia Y Fe”). I don’t want to give away any of the plot, but in addition to fantastic music, acting, singing, and dancing, it’s a truly heartwarming story – dramatic, funny, a bit sad, hopeful – a story for our times. I went home humming the final duet, “When the Sun Goes Down,” (yes, there are plenty of ballads in addition to the rap!), and I can’t wait to see the show again in two weeks, on my regular subscription night. I’m taking a young friend who grew up in Rochester and who, incredibly, has never seen a Geva production. What an introduction this will be for her!

For more information and tickets, visit: https://www.gevatheatre.org