Theater geek-out

Since Jacob requested more descriptions of the fringe, this entry will be devoted to that, rather than all this personal anecdote stuff.
So far my reigning favorite is one of the first shows I saw, Three Sisters by One Continuous Mistake. http://www.onemistake.org/
This piece captured everything beautiful, heartbreaking and profound about the original play but was so much better! The two men who star in this piece are what I would call perfect actors; completely in control of their voice and body. There was a third performer who played all kinds of different weird instruments and reminded me a bit of Ryan, and who also obviously had physical training and was doing some very controlled slow walking while he played at times. I found out after the piece that all three men are in the second year of my program, which makes me SO happy. So far of all the MFACP work I have seen, these guys are my dream collaborators.
Right after 3 Sisters was "From a Distance I can Say", conceived and choreographed by Jennifer Hicks, who is a graduate of my program and now teaches for the program. I wanted very much to like it, but...it starred many of the second year students, and I don't know if it was them or the material they were working with , but I was much less impressed. Jennifer Hicks herself was a Butoh goddess, amazing to behold. She came out with crazy big hair and a tattered flaming red dress, and I suppose she was mean to represent a phoenix in an oil spill. I have never seen anybody be so still and yet take one's breathe away. She reminded me of Amber, also a stunning Butoh goddess in her red dress with crazy big hair. I wish Amber could have seen this piece and told me if it was any good. The other intriguing piece that I wish Fever could have seen was created by Barbara Dilley, who is the meditation teacher for my program and who also teaches the Red Square technique (this might ring a bell to any Fever's who are reading). I observed her class in February, and I remember then a student commenting that he didn't understand the difference between the work she was describing and Viewpoints, and she seemed to have little idea what Viewpoints even was. Apparently she is an old school Buddhist and theater artist, worked with John Cage and all that, and Viewpoints is actually younger than the methods she uses. You can read more about her piece at : http://www.desolatedelight.blogspot.com/
I really wanted to like it, and I did to some degree, but it felt much like watching an open Viewpoints session. It also felt like it was trying to do the same thing that Amber was trying to do with arose, only arose was much better. Apparently they warm up before each performance by flocking together for an hour!
The other pieces I have seen are more "traditional", and not worth talking about much. I am trying not to put too much stake in the work I have seen coming from MFACP graduates, because they are very diverse in their artistic sensibilities. Much of it is not my taste, but almost all of the graduates display immense talent for performing, physical prowess and vocal brilliance. Later this week I am taking a 4-day workshop with Ruth Zaporah (http://www.actiontheater.com/), which I am excited about, and then immediatley afterwards school will start. I will report back.