by Matthew A. Everett • July 31, 2008 •
“…a dark, brooding, blood-thirsty monstrosity known only as a dancer!”
“Uncorked and mischievous, the Whisky Faerie captures a wandering storyteller. Together they dance, soliloquize and spar through bizarre Celtic tales. Will he get his whisky or will she keep her freedom?
Single White Fringe Geek (and Mom) is the blog of Matthew A. Everett, one of five bloggers covering the Minnesota Fringe Festival for the Daily Planet.
Join husband and wife team Joseph Scrimshaw (“King of Comedy” -MN Monthly) and Sara Stevenson Scrimshaw (“lanky livewire” -mnartists.org) for a dance & storytelling exploration of Celtic myths – fun, quirky, and comic, with a few insights along the way. And in the end, who does end up with the whisky?”
“Passion, conflict, hope and knowledge. A fusion of life’s desires. ‘Modern Muses’ interconnects life’s desires through the movement of modern dance with four women performing the roles of the Muse of Passion, Muse of Conflict, Muse of Hope and Muse of Knowledge. The Muse characters thread as individuals and fuse as a whole representing the emotions and challenges presented in everyday life choices.”
Now I suppose I could have just slipped Sara in under the general Scrimshaw umbrella, but though she’s also got a sense of humor like her generally wackier husband, Sara’s primary mode of expression is dance (often amusing dance, but still a different kind of comedy than that based more on words). So I figured she merited special mention.
First, it’s her own show (though performed and created in tandem with Joseph Scrimshaw). Also, just like most years in the Fringe, she’s doing double duty, as part of the dancing company of DRP Dance – which I saw a couple of previews for last year and was really bummed to have missed.
There are video previews for both Whisky Faerie and Modern Muses on the Fringe’s YouTube page full of clips of the two Fringe-For-All showcases. Check them out here and here.
Whisky Faerie looks like a great merging of the strengths of one of the Fringe’s favorite artistic odd couples – though I hope it’s not a reflection of their marriage, where Sara withholds alcohol and then kicks Joseph around a lot. (However, it would make parties at their home really interesting for guests.)
Modern Muses strikes me as another sampling of what DRP’s Artistic Director/Choreographer Danielle Robinson-Prater does best, create visually beautiful stage pictures full of movement – in unison, in opposition, in waves of overlapping repetition. It’s the kind of thing I find almost impossible to recount afterward, but it has its own subconscious logic to it that’s extremely satisfying to watch. Like good music, it sort of washes over you, submerging you in its world. It’s lovely stuff.
More information for Fringe and beyond at http://josephscrimshaw.com/
Both shows come
Very Highly Recommended
Location, dates and show times, and ticket info for the two shows available here and here
Entering his sixth year of blogging about the Minnesota Fringe Festival (and bringing Mom along for the ride as a guest reviewer), Matthew A. Everett is also a local playwright and three-time recipient of grant support from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Information on Matthew and his plays can be found at matthewaeverett.com.
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