High 5's Artspedia

• 2011-03-02

  Jewelry as Art; Art as Delight

                     
  
  So, first things first.  When I was in college—and to explain, college was this thing we used to do before we had reality TV shows to star in—I went though a silent-film phase (no, really, I did and trust me, of all the phases I went through, that was the least regrettable).
  
  Because of it’s unique restrictions, silent film has a very particular clarity and beauty to it, not to mention the gorgeous depth of black-and-white film stock, the loss of which in the modern cinema is deeply unfortunate.  But that’s really all beside the point, because I want to talk about Greta Garbo, the queen of silent film.  You know her?  If you don’t, she was an actress, which is akin to saying that Tom Waits has a unique musical style.  Everything anyone ever says, writes, blogs, bleets or tweets about the glamour, elegance, grace and beauty of “Old Hollywood,” they’re really only talking about one person, namely Greta Garbo. What made Garbo, well, Garbo was her innate capacity to project both a smoldering intensity and a glacial indifference, something best exemplified by the ring above.
  
  Designed expressly for her by the storied jewelry company Van Cleef & Arpels, the ring perfectly expresses Garbo’s allure—an icy and serene exterior, lit from within by ultimately unknowable but utterly mesmerizing fires.  Van Cleef & Arpels did more than craft a beautiful ring, they captured the garboness of Garbo in a setting.

  
  It’s in this ability—to take something as prosaic as a ring and transpose the essence of a person inside it—that reveals the genius of Van Cleef & Arpels, a genius that is very much on display in the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum’s Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels, on exhibit through June 5th, 2011.
  
  
  Set in Style is organized into six themes: Innovation, Transformations, Nature as Inspiration, Exoticism, Fashion and Personalities (where Garbo’s ring lives).  It’s a clearly delineated structure through which to experience the masterworks of VC&A, with each theme illustrating a particular dimension of the jewelers’ work.  The overall effect of the exhibition makes visible (in sparkling and bejeweled detail) the ongoing conversation VC&A held not only with the history and craft of their trade, but with wider world as well.
  
  And I know what you’re thinking—jewelry is jewelry is jewelry, but what VC&A did was elevate craftsmanship and technique to such a height that the work transcends the idea of jewelry as being a mere lady’s accoutrement and into pure and perfect art.  Ultimately, the purpose of art is to delight and that is exactly what the broaches, bracelets and rings of VC&A do—from technical innovations like the famed Zipper Necklace, that adopts the mundane, everyday zipper and transforms it into the extraordinary or their adaptation of the flow and drape of lace and silk into something new, surprising and ultimately, delightful. 
  
  

• 2010-11-16

  NYC Art Scene POPS to Life!

  Pop art is splashed across the walls of New York City’s art spaces this fall. From the endless white walls of the City’s cultural institutions to the auction house playgrounds of the extremely wealthy to warehouses nestled deep in the Meatpacking District, pop art is all around us. In an age where celebrity and fame are omnipresent, tabloids and tweets tell us where celebrities eat, what they eat or if they are eating at all; pop art takes on a whole new meaning.  Most of us spend more time than we care to admit loving or loathing the stars that take residence on the covers of magazines and our obsession is validated when the latest celebrity arrest is fodder for headline news on CNN. And now celebrity has made its way into the halls of great art. But what does this all mean? We know that pop art takes the pictures of products and celebrities that we see every day and reinvents them, adding the right touches of color to give stale, cliché images new meaning and life. But what are these soup cans and pop icons telling us? That’s exactly what I set out to learn on an artistic pilgrimage that took me (and my Warhol-worshipping roommate) across the city and through the evolution of pop art.
  

  We started close to home at the Brooklyn Museum, which, in the waning days of summer, hosted an exhibition that featured art from the last decade of Andy Warhol’s life. Accustomed to Warhol’s Marilyns and soup cans and intrigued by his wild nights at Studio 54, my sidekick and I thought we had Warhol all figured out. How wrong we were. Warhol’s final paintings possessed a great deal more depth and self-reflection than his more famous works, as if he used the principles of  pop art he created to hold a mirror to himself. The idolatry Warhol typically showered upon his muse, Marilyn Monroe, was replaced with painting after painting of Christ-like figures, which made me wonder what kind of spiritual journey Warhol may have taken at toward the end of his days. Portraits of Elvis had transformed into portraits of himself and an artist’s search for identity and meaning was beautifully rendered in classic Warhol style. I left the Brooklyn Museum feeling privy to the deepest secrets from the mind of a master, as if Warhol himself were whispering his most personal thoughts and questions into my ear.
  
  The intimacy that captivated me at the Brooklyn Museum was starkly contrasted by the On To Pop exhibit at MoMA.  On To Pop features the classic pop art I had expected to see in Brooklyn. But this exhibition focuses on more than just Warhol. Alongside Warhol’s Double Elvis (1963, silkscreen) and Gold Marilyn (painted in 1962, the year of Monroe’s suicide), were works by other pop artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns and Edward Ruscha. The art that adorned the walls of MoMA was inspired not only by pop icons, but by our everyday worlds. My roommate and I fell in love with a 1963 work by Roy Lichtenstein entitled Drowning Girl. Painted in comic book style Benday dots, the work was inspired by a DC Comics book called Run for Love! The woman in the painting is drowning, but asserts that she’d rather drown than ask her ex-lover for help. The bright colors and in-your-face boldness of the painting pack a punch, communicating a powerful feminist message in the playful way that only pop art can. Though small and featuring more mainstream work, On to Pop is absolutely worth a visit for anyone interested in pop art and serves as a colorful reminder of the power of pop. (While you’re at MoMA, take a walk around the Abstract Expressionist exhibition for a big-picture glimpse at the roots of pop art. And check out the Jackson Pollack works!)
  
  After looking at the classic images of pop art and the self-application of its principles from one artist, I found myself wondering about the cultural context of pop art. Are these images trapped within the golden age of the Marilyn, Elvis and the Hollywood pf yesteryear? Or will we be seeing silkscreen and Benday dot paintings of Britney Spears or Justin Beiber in exhibitions to come?

  I found the answer to my question crammed inside a tiny warehouse in the heart of the Meatpacking District at the latest exhibition of renowned graffiti artist Mr. Brainwash entitled ICONS. A key player in the graffiti art movement, Mr. Brainwash has been at large in the art world since he first exploded on the scene in 2008. ICONS showcases some of the most provocative and insightful artwork I’ve seen since arriving to New York. Mr. Brainwash takes the classic pop art style and revolutionizes it by creating a perfect marriage of pop and graffiti art. Using mixed media, his works take icons from across the eras, from Charlie Chaplin to The Beatles to Snoopy and immortalizes them using spray paint, silk screen, tires and broken pieces of old records. These brazen images are complemented with words that communicate peace, love and hope in a time of uncertainty. They contemporize the messages of activists Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lennon, they pay tribute to artists like Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol (Brainwash turns Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans into spray paint cans) and they worship the modern beauty of Kate Moss and Madonna.  As I strolled past the sculptures and paintings of ICONS, I realized that pop art will always be around, always relevant, as long as artists use their creative genius to explore and revolutionize pop culture.

• 2010-08-17

  FringeHIGH Artist Profile: Christian Santilli

  Meet Christian Santilli

  Christina Santilli plays Brandon in When Lilacs Last, a coming-of-age story set to the poetry of Walt Whitman.

  The Stats

  What’s next on your Netflix queue?

  Do not have a netflix
  
  What’s playing on your iPod right now?

  Tupac
  
  Last good book you read was…

  1984
  
  Favorite restaurant in the city?

  Carmines
  
  All-time, hands-down favorite piece of theater?

  A Street Car Named Desire
  
  Why Christian Loves Fringe and the Arts

  What’s the best thing about the Fringe Festival?
  

  It allows people that are interested in theatre and maybe not so interested in it but would like to see some without having to kill themselves to go out and fine good accessible theatre.
  
  Whats the #1 reason people should see your show?

  Because it has a message very relevant to today’s issues and I hope it will really bring it into the forefront of peoples thoughts.
  
  Do you have any Opening Night Rituals?

  Nope. Just go out there and do it
  
  What are the craziest performance conditions you’ve ever had to work under?

  We once were doing a performance outside and it rained that day so, whilst it rained, we had to move the entire set inside and do the performance in an entirely new space.
  
  How did you get involved in the arts?

  I got involved in the arts kind of by accident. My Latin teacher who was one of the Shakespeare directions at the time, needed help with doing accents and she heard I could do them so I came to help out and than they asked me to try out being in the show and loved it ever since.

  Learn more at the FringeHIGH web page and buy your tickets to When Lilacs Last today!

• 2010-08-11

  FringeHIGH Artist Profile: Jessica Greer Morris, Ashley Marinaccio & Elizabeth Koke, Executive Directors/Editors

  Meet Jessica, Ashley & Elizabeth

  Jessica, Ashley and Elizabeth are Executive Directors and Editors of Project Girl Performance Collective, an organization that uses the performing arts as a platform and catalyst to discuss social issues. The Project Girl Performance Collective is showcasing GirlPower: Survival of the Fittest at Fringe 2010.

  What’s next on your Netflix queue?
  
  Jessica - I don’t know.  Hubby babysits our queue and I’m afraid he often picks some doozies.
  
  Ashley - I’ve put a moratorium on Netflix because I just finished watching the entire HBO series Oz in under a month (all 6 seasons!). I couldn’t stop watching. Hands down, it’s the best episodic television series I’ve ever seen. I ended up buying it. So, no Netflix for the moment.
  
  Elizabeth - I don’t have Netflix.
  
  What’s playing on your iPod right now?
  
  Ashley - The soundtracks to Flashdance, The Newsies, Fame and All That Jazz
  
  Elizabeth - Patti Smith’s cover of White Rabbit.
  
  Jessica - Eminem, Not Afraid; Adele, Make you Feel My Love; Death Cab for Cutie, I Will Follow You Into the Dark
  
  Last good book you read was…
  
  Ashley - The Damage Done by Warren Fellows.
  
  Elizabeth -  If You Have To Cry Go Outside by Kelly Cutrone
  
  Jessica - Pippi Longstocking (I have 7 year old identical twin boys)
  
  Favorite restaurant in the city?
  
  Jessica - Momofuko
  
  Ashley - Amy Ruth’s in Harlem
  
  Elizabeth -  Pure Food and Wine
  
  All-time, hands-down favorite piece of theater?
  
  Jessica - Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan; Lynn Nottage, Ruined; Cole Porter, Kiss Me Kate
  
  Ashley - The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Project
  
  Elizabeth - The NYC Subway during rush hour.
  
  Why Jessica, Ashely & Elizabeth Love Fringe and the Arts
  
  What’s the best thing about Fringe?
  
  Ashley - We had such a fantastic experience last year in the Fringe Festival that we couldn’t wait to return. I love meeting the other artists and seeing all of the new and innovative work that’s being presented. The girls love it because it’s such a huge event. Everyone in the theatre world knows that August in NYC means Fringe is here!
  
  Jessica - The name, Fringe.
  
  Elizabeth - So many fabulous shows and lovely people.
  
  What’s the #1 reason people should come see your show?
  
  Jessica - Project Girl is the real thing.  Our girls — from Wesport, CT to Bed Stuy— are crazy talented writers, performers, songwriters and singers.  Each one  tells her remarkable story which will break you heart open. 
  
  Ashley - Talented girls with a message. Audiences will leave feeling inspired and empowered regardless of age and gender.
  
  Do you have any Opening Night rituals?
  
  Ashley - I’m generally running around like a chicken without a head… sometimes I fold programs.
  
  Jessica - Party!  Come to our fabulous cast party at Bowery Bar, following our debut.

  What are the craziest performance conditions you’ve had to work under?
  
  Jessica - I had a one-woman cabaret show that was invited to perform at a Jewish artist festival.  Little did I know that they’d put me in a gym with no sound equipment or lights with an audience full of senior citizens who were only tolerating my performance as they waited for the real star, Mandy Patankin to perform.
  
  Ashley - I recently directed a show where for a number of reasons the space was not conducive to the play and we had to make it work. There were 3 entrances and exits for the actors but no where to cross and reenter from backstage. It was gruelling on the actors. A few of them ended up making in dept color-coded diagrams mapping out entrances/exits/costumes/props because there was absolutely no way to get a missing item if it was set in the wrong place. It was certainly an important lesson in picking the right kind of space. 

  How did you get involved with the arts?
  
  Elizabeth -  My mom signed me up for dance class when I was 2 1/2 years old.
  
  Ashley- I was hooked by age 5 after performing 6 Little Ducks at my dance recital!

  Learn more at FringeHIGH and buy your tickets to GirlPower: Survival of the Fittest today!

  Don’t miss the  Opening Night Fundraiser and Cast Party! RSVP on Facebook. AND purchase your Project Girl Performance Collective t-shirt (featured in GirlPower: Survival of the Fittest) at the show or the after party!

• 2010-08-10

  FringeHIGH Artist Profile: Michael Karas, Performer

  Meet Michael Karas

  Michael Karas is a featured juggler in Playing By Air, which is making its premiere at the Fringe Festival 2010.

  The Stats
  
  What’s next on your Netflix queue?
  
  I really want to see Capitalism: A Love Story by Michael Moore.
  
  What’s playing on your iPod right now?

  Let’s see…Successful by Drake.  Favorite lyric - “I know that it’s coming, I just hope that I’m alive for it…”
  
  Last good book you read was…
  
  Life of Pi by Yann Martel
  
  Favorite restaurant in the city?

  I like Dorian’s Diner near the Vernon-Jackson 7 stop.
  
  All-time, hands-down favorite piece of theater?
  
  Streb’s Run Up Walls (Brooklyn!)

  Why Michael Loves the Fringe and the Arts

  What’s the best thing about Fringe?

  All my life I’ve been a fan of the “fringe” with a lowercase f - theater that goes against the grain, theater that defies description and skirts genre.  There are a lot of plays and musicals in the Fringe Festival, but to me, the best part is the chance for plays that wouldn’t get produced anywhere else to be seen, and appreciated by adventurous theatergoers.
  
  What’s the #1 reason people should come see your show?

  When most people think of juggling and clowning, they think of the circus.  The coolest part about our show is that it isn’t a circus in the slightest.  It’s an actual theatrical production, with a story to tell.  The story just happens to involve juggling and physical comedy.  I think people will be surprised at the range of emotions we encounter as our main violinist character makes his way through his enchanted world.
  
  Do you have any Opening Night rituals?
  
  Yes!  Before every show, we chant “juggle juggle juggle”, getting slowly louder and louder before getting charged up and starting the show.  You may hear us if you’re quiet about five minutes before the show.  
  
  What are the craziest performance conditions you’ve had to work under?
  
  Let’s just say that 9 foot ceilings don’t work well for a juggling show!
  
  How did you get involved with the arts?

  I have Jim Henson to thank for that!  When I was young, I was fascinated with puppetry and I pleaded with my parents to make me a puppet stage.  They did and ever since, I’ve been passionate about the variety arts, the “fringe” arts!

  Learn more at the FringeHIGH web page and buy your tickets to Playing By Air today!

• 2010-08-09

  FringeHIGH Artist Profile: Sarah Walker Thornton, Actor

  Meet Sarah Walker Thornton

  Sarah Walker Thornton plays Rosalind in BAMA Theater Company’s gender-bending production of As You Like It.

  The Stats

  What’s next on your Netflix queue?
  

  I actually try to forget my queue so that it’s a surprise when I open the movie envelope! But I think it might be either Greenberg starring Ben Stiller or The Last Station with Helen Mirren (one of my favorite actors!) .

  What’s playing on your iPod right now?      

  I love the James Taylor and Carole King CD of their recent tour, Live at the Troubadour. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Regina Spektor, and Dave Matthews Band (since I just saw them in concert at Citi Field!)  

  Last good book you read was…   

  I just finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. It is an amazing book.  

  Favorite restaurant in the city?

  Mojave and Watawa in Astoria, Yum Yum Bangkok, and I’m always game for a milkshake at Five Napkin Burger!  

  All-time, hands-down favorite piece of theater? 

  Well, my favorite plays (Shakespeare excepted) are Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, and Chekhov’s The Seagull. But I saw a production of Macbeth as a child that made me want to be an actor, so that’s one that sticks with me.  

  Why Sarah Loves the Fringe and the Arts

  What’s the best thing about Fringe?

  There is an incredible feeling of community in the Fringe among the artists involved and the audiences. Everyone is there to enjoy the artistic experience together, and that is really special.  

  What’s the #1 reason people should come see your show?

  BAMA does Shakespeare like you’ve never seen it before. We really love what we do, and the audience gets to share in the fun with us. For people who are Shakespeare fans, you will really enjoy the simplicity and creative story-telling, and for people who are tentative about Shakespeare, you will be surprised at how much you understand and enjoy it!  

  Do you have any Opening Night rituals?

  Well, this isn’t specific to opening nights, but before every show I lay down on my yoga block for a while with my ipod in my ears. It helps me ground myself a bit and shake away some of those jitters. I also like to jump around and dance a bit in the dressing room just to get my energy up!  

  What are the craziest performance conditions you’ve had to work under?

  I have a history of having to do really fast costume changes in almost every show I’ve been in. There have been shows where I’ve literally run offstage and had five people jump me and start painting me with silver paint while I’m running to the other side of the stage, or one person starts strapping me into body harnesses while another rips one wig off my head and puts another one on. I’ve gone from a 12-year-old kid to a giant spider in minutes, a housemaid to a mermaid, overalls into a giant ham costume, a housewife to a ghost… It goes on and on! BAMA Theatre Company embraces the idea of changing characters without having to change my clothes at all, which is a very welcome idea!  

  How did you get involved with the arts?  

  My father is an actor, so I’ve really grown up in the theatre. I was lucky enough to see a lot of theatre as a child, and the community within the walls of the theatre became a family to me. I was acting professionally by the time I was 11-years-old, and I just fell in love with it. Who would have thought back then that I’d be here in NYC preparing to play one of Shakespeare’s few leading heroines? Rosalind is a gift, and I’m thrilled to get to know her. I’m especially lucky to be playing this role with such an incredible company of actors and friends. We are having a blast!

  Learn more at the FringeHIGH web page and buy your tickets to As You Like It today!

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  FringeHIGH Artist Profile: Lillian Meredith, Director

  Meet Lillian Meredith

  Lillian Meredith directed HAMLETTES, produced for Fringe 2010 by FullStop Collective. HAMLETTES is a quirky comedy in which three 12 year-old girls staging THE PLAY make a vow to never drop character.

  The Stats

  What’s next on your Netflix queue?

  I don’t have Netflix, but if i did it would be Wall-E.

  What’s playing on your  iPod right now?

  Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel

  Last good book you read was…

  a biography of Shakespeare by Bill Bryson

  Favorite restaurant in the city?
  Shake Shack

  All-time, hands-down favorite piece of theater?

  Complicite’s The Elephant Vanishes

  Why Lillian Loves the Fringe and the Arts
  
  What’s the best thing about the Fringe Festival?

  The sheer number of shows going on in such a short span of time.

  What’s the #1 reason people should come see your show?

  It’s a lot of fun. And it has a bathtub and a ridiculous number of beads.

  Do you have any Opening Night rituals?

  I usually pace back and forth and wring my hands.

  What are the craziest performance conditions you’ve had to work under?

  Once, I launched a show on 2 hours of sleep and then had to answer questions after the performance. I’m not entirely sure that I was coherent.

  How did you get involved with the arts?

  I started doing theater when I was 8, acting during the summer with a children’s musical theater group. By the time I got to high school, I realized that all I wanted to do was be in the theater. I went to college for my degree in drama, and have been doing it professionally ever since.

  Learn more at the FringeHIGH webpage and buy your tickets for HAMLETTES today!

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  FringeHIGH Artist Profile: Jenni Wolfson, Playwright/Performer

  Meet Jenni Wolfson

  Jenni Wolfson, human rights activist, playwright and performer, is showcasing RASH at Fringe 2010. A one-woman play, RASH follows the story of a Scottish UN human rights worker living in post-genocide Rwanda.

  The Stats

  What’s next on your Netflix queue?

  My Kid Could Paint That about a 4 year old artist.

  What’s playing on your iPod right now?

  Citizen Cope by Citizen Cope.  I dare you not to want to start swaying.
  
  Last good book you read was…

  The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
  
  Favorite restaurant in the city?

  The Smoke Joint in Fort Greene, Brooklyn
  
  All-time, hands-down favorite piece of theater?

  The Exonerated about death row
  
  Why Jenni Loves the Fringe and the Arts

  What’s the best thing about the Fringe Festival?

  The variety of innovative performance pieces
  
  What’s the #1 reason people should come see your show?

  It will inspire you and it’s a true story.
  
  Do you have any opening-night rituals?

  I listen to the song Mdlewembe by Zola from the film Tsotsi because it gets me energized

  What are the craziest performance conditions you’ve had to work under?

  My flight was canceled to Boston because of snow, so I had to jump on a train, and I got to Harvard University where I was performing 5 minutes before my show was due to begin and the tech team had to run it without a rehearsal.

  How did you get involved with the arts?
  Initially as an escape from my intense day job at the United Nations doing human rights and humanitarian work.

  Learn more at the FringeHIGH web page and buy your tickets to Rash today!

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  FringeHIGH Artist Profile: Jon-Michael Reese, Actor

  Meet Jon-Michael Reese

  Jon-Michael Reese is the lead actor in When Last We Flew, an extraordinary story that begins on an “ordinary” Midwestern day when misfit teen Paul steals a copy of Angels in America and events unfold that change his life forever.

  The Stats
  
  What’s next on your Netflix queue?

  A Place in the Sun, because I think Montgomery Clift is just the bees knees. Instant watch? Arrested Development and Strangers with Candy.  Always.
  
  What’s playing on your  iPod right now?

  Underneath the Stars, Mariah Carey. It’s literally my JAM. Like, I want to say “Ooh girl, that’s my JAM!” every time it comes on.
  
  Last good book you read was…

  Well, I’ve been reading Angels in America over and over and over again. So, that’s been wonderful, and not as exhausting as it may sound.  But Middlesex was my last good pleasure read.  
  
  Favorite restaurant in the city?

  Oh goodness - I don’t get out much.  I like my corner deli and my Netflix Instant Watch.
  
  All-time, hands-down favorite piece of theater?

  Woof. Depending on my mood, either Sweeney Todd or Sunday in the Park with George.
  
  Why Jon-Michael Loves Fringe and the Arts

  What’s the best thing about the Fringe Festival?

  This my first Fringe, but just looking at all of the different pieces being performed, it’s an incredible chance for people to see all different kinds of work under the very broad umbrella of theatre. So, that’s awesome.
  
  What’s the #1 reason people should come see your show?

  Awkward inter-racial groping. Seriously though, to witness the emergence of a new voice in American Theatre.
  
  Do you have any Opening Night rituals?

  Not really, actually.  Just prayer and a moment of silence.  
  
  What are the craziest performance conditions you’ve had to work under?

  My first professional gig was the male understudy in a revue of 70s pop songs.  Lots of variations on step touching, tight harmonies, inanely high singing, and platform shoes. I was at the rehearsals, ya know, step touching on the side and lip syncing on the side, but no one ever really specifically taught me anything.  Come 3rd or 4th preview, I sit down to watch the show, and one of the male performers just leaves during the middle of a number.  Turns out he’s upchucking in the bathroom.  Fine. We ask if he’s ok.  He says yes. He goes back onstage for a few numbers, and then in the middle of another, starts apologizing to the audience - I go backstage, and the stage manager tells me to go put on my bell bottoms and afro.  And after the number, he exits, and I enter, hand held mic in hand, feet wobbling in platform shoes, doing a show I haven’t rehearsed. But I do it.  Including a 10 minute disco medley.  The things your brain can do are astounding.
  
  How did you get involved with the arts?

  Well, when I was young, I wanted to be rich.  So, I was either going to be a doctor or an actor.  I was in church plays - and those were fun.  I played the viola, saxophone, piano, and I started singing somewhere in middle school.  I did plays in high school, and I was VERY serious about them.  (How can you not be serious when you’re playing Torvald in A Doll’s House at 17?) Then I went to school for acting, and now I live in New York and I act.  I guess the point is, the arts were always there. And everyone supported me - so I never made a decision to get involved; it was kind of a natural progression and no one ever questioned it.  I’m very blessed in that regard.

  Learn more at the FringeHIGH web page and buy your tickets to When Last We Flew today!

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  FringeHIGH Artist Profile: Ben Whiting, Writer/Performer

  Meet Ben Whiting

  Ben Whiting is the writer and performer of American Gypsy, a dazzling new show that combines theatre and slight-of-hand. Ben also co-founded the MagicMouth Theatre and has performed magic on streets around the world.
  
  The Stats
  
  What’s next on your Netflix queue?

  I don’t own a television, but I have the entire series of Slings &
  Arrows saved on my computer.
  
  What’s playing on your iPod right now?

  Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen
  
  Last good book you read was…

  I’m generally reading 4 or 5 books at a time. I recently gave myself the task of rereading all the books from High School I was too dumb or too immature to appreciate at the time. It’s hard to beat Brave New World or 1984.
  
  Favorite restaurant in the city?

  This is the first time I’ve spent more than a few days in NYC so the city is still pretty new to me. I had Ray’s Pizza the other night and can’t complain :)

  All-time, hands-down favorite piece of theater?

  That’s like asking me what my favorite body part is. I can’t be complete without all of them. I’ve learned just as much from the theatre I’ve hated as the theatre I’ve loved.

  Why Ben Loves Fringe and the Arts
  
  What’s the best thing about Fringe?

  It’s great seeing so many people working together for something they’re passionate about and love. I’ve yet to come across a single ego.
  
  What’s the #1 reason people should come see your show?

  I truly feel American Gypsy is unique. It’s not a magic show; magic is the main narrative tool used to tell a compelling story. If you like good theatre, you’ll like American Gypsy. If you like good magic, you’ll like American Gypsy. MagicMouth Theatre has taken some of the stereotypical “cheese” (Gob from Arrested Development anybody?) out of magic and turned it into an incendiary medium for telling a great story.
  
  Do you have any opening-night rituals?

  Yes. I have a top-secret play list my best friend and I have been listening to since 2003 before every show and I will usually eat something that is not good for me.
  
  What are the craziest performance conditions you’ve had to work under?

  Ha! Every time I street perform! Try walking onto an empty sidewalk where no one is expecting to see anything, gather a crowd, and be entertaining enough to keep them there until the grand finale when you ask them to pay you what they think the show was worth. It’s how I paid my rent the first 6 months I was in Chicago.
  
  How did you get involved with the arts?

  I was about to graduate from Wake Forest University a year early with a degree in Psychology when I met Jim Cellini, my mentor in magic and street performance (American Gypsy is inspired by and dedicated to him). He took me around the world teaching me how to busk by performing magic for strangers on the sidewalk. Then one day, my best friend Matt Gutschick had the idea to produce a play that would combine magic with theatre. It was an idea that eventually turned into the MagicMouth Theatre Company and I changed major second semester my junior year from Psych to Theatre and never looked back (although I must say it was an interesting conversation to have with my parents!).

  Learn more at FringeHIGH and buy your tickets to American Gypsy today!