One juggler, two mimes, three typists, and a natural disaster collaborate to create an unique traveling performance sampler that takes to the Shorecrest Performing Arts Center stage for “Collectively Fun Theater Night” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 10.
The spontaneous performance poetry of Typing Explosion, new works and old favorites by Seattle Mime Theatre, the lyrical juggling and movement theater of Thomas Arthur, and humorous fables about natural disasters by Poisonous Toy Theater come together as part of the Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council’s Arts in Culture series.
Typing Explosion Union Local 898, comprised of Seattle poet/performers Sarah Paul Ocampo, Rachel LaRue Kessler, and Sierra Nelson, present a part performance art and part poetry assembly line that defies categorization. Producing nearly 5,000 poems-on-demand to date, the trio stages guerilla poetry construction in such diverse venues as art museums, nightclubs, libraries, beauty salons, rock festivals, gala events, dive bars, bookstores, galleries, theaters, as well as on the street. Conceived five years ago, the trio is internationally recognized for their innovative, interactive performances that encourages audience participation.
Founded in 1977, Seattle Mime Theatre has shed the silent, white face performance of traditional mime to create a distinctive approach to physical theater that fuses elements of theatre, mime, improvisation, storytelling and literature. The company has toured extensively in the last 26 years through the U.S. as well as internationally and has worked extensively in schools from elementary through university levels to introduce their talents to a new generation.
Lyrical Juggler Thomas Arthur creates a universe of motion with a supporting cast of orbiting hoops, spheres, spirals, sticks, stones and cones (and a fully functioning spacetime tunnel). Synchronized with Paul Ely Smith’s original compositions for guitar and fiddle, Arthur’s performance transcends the vaudeville roots of his craft to present an “intricately choreographed dance of visual rhythms.”
The creation of playwright/director Bret Fetzer and writer/chorographer Juliet Waller, Poisonous Toy Theater presents a whole new perspective on natural disasters. In “Tornado,” 7-year-old Windy Green tells how a tornado brought her parents together, to their eventual doom. In “Avalanche,” an Alpine town is brought to disaster though an unfortunate commingling of frustrated love and brass instruments.
Tickets for “Collectively Fun Theater Night” are $15 general, $12 seniors and students, available by calling 206-417-4645, online at www.shorelinearts.net, in the Arts Council Office at the Shoreline Center, 18560 First Ave. NE, or at the door the night of the performance. The Shorecrest Performing Arts Center is located at 15343 25th Ave. NE in Shoreline, on the campus of Shorecrest High School.
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