More Cruel Theatre productions
Material Witness
Material Witness - In 2000, two young men were at a casino when one of them took a 9 year old girl into a bathroom stall and molested and strangled her. The murderer’s friend witnessed part of the attack and did nothing to stop it. Material Witness dealt with the legislation proposed to stop such a crime from ever occurring: if you witness a serious felony you are required to call the police and try to stop it, or you can be held criminally responsible for doing nothing. The cast for Material Witness included: Nicole Tessier, Mathew Allbright, Christy Hauptman, Ermielinda Calimpong, Thomas Isao Morinaka and Eric Dixon Burns. Cruel Theatre’s completely unique one-actor-one-audience totally interactive environmental performances continued with Material Witness (the audience has complete control, a character and costume piece, etc). This time, the structure Cruel Theatre used was, roughly: 1.) (each performance for a single audience member began every 30 minutes) audience member/primary actor endowment/establishing relationship scene 2.) audience member/primary actor +2nd actor (3 person scene) - revelation that actor is about to commit a crime--2nd actor is tied up in a car in the abandoned parking lot outside the American Dream Bar 3.) audience member/primary actor + 2nd actor - crime (usually committed by actor) 4.) audience member/primary actor + another 3rd actor (3 person scene in which audience member has the choice of turning in the actor and reporting the crime to the “police officer” (3rd actor)) 5.) audience member/primary actor final scene (*Of course, if the audience changed the show, none of the above structure occurred…)
Edmond with Late Night Theatre
Edmond (with Late Night Theatre) - A cruel--yet with Brechtian elements and utterly Post-Modern staging of one of David Mamet’s masterpieces. The cast was: Moses Goods, Christy Hauptman, Kathy Hunter, Ben Lukey, Henry West
Edmond entered the theatre through the box office and “purchased” a ticket, sitting in the audience. The audience therefore (obviously) represents society. As the play progressed, he moved further and further away from the audience until, finally, he was as far upstage as possible. The four other actors sat in the front row of the audience and did a stylized movement sequence to get in and out of character. The only real prop was the knife. There was a Brechtian-type easel, announcing each scene on the downstage right side of the proscenium. The actress who played Glenna (his victim) also did the interrogating, interrogation scene was divided into a three person interrogation, after Glenna’s death, and until the final moments of the play, there was no music.
Edmond entered the theatre through the box office and “purchased” a ticket, sitting in the audience. The audience therefore (obviously) represents society. As the play progressed, he moved further and further away from the audience until, finally, he was as far upstage as possible. The four other actors sat in the front row of the audience and did a stylized movement sequence to get in and out of character. The only real prop was the knife. There was a Brechtian-type easel, announcing each scene on the downstage right side of the proscenium. The actress who played Glenna (his victim) also did the interrogating, interrogation scene was divided into a three person interrogation, after Glenna’s death, and until the final moments of the play, there was no music.
Derelict
Derelict - Dealing with addiction and life on the streets, Derelict’s six different young actors each presented an alternate story line through an entirely interactive structure. Performed at The American Dream bar and in the surrounding streets. The cast of Derelict included: Mariko Neubauer, Danel Verdugo, Doug Upp, Shawn Thomsen, Kathy Hunter, Mike Marianni and Henry West.
The structure for Derelict involved: 1.) audience member/actor endowment scene 2.) audience member/ actor + audience member/actor scene (4 person scene) 3.) audience member/actor 4.) audience member/actor + audience member/actor (2nd four person scene) 5.) audience member/actor 6.) audience member/actor + extra actor (3 person scene) OR audience member/actor + audience member/actor + audience member/actor + actor (7 person final scene)
The structure for Derelict involved: 1.) audience member/actor endowment scene 2.) audience member/ actor + audience member/actor scene (4 person scene) 3.) audience member/actor 4.) audience member/actor + audience member/actor (2nd four person scene) 5.) audience member/actor 6.) audience member/actor + extra actor (3 person scene) OR audience member/actor + audience member/actor + audience member/actor + actor (7 person final scene)
Heresy (re-staged)
Heresy - This 2nd incarnation of Heresy performed by candle light at the Church of the Crossroads was set in mid 15th century England. Unlike trials on continental Europe, UK trials were not ecclesiastical and therefore the victim (witch) was not burned, but rather hung. Most performances of Heresy ended with at least one hanging. The cast was:Mariko Neubauer as Emma Blackstone, Danel Verdugo as Eve Woodley, Aaron as Isaac Jacobs, Ben Lukey as William Becker, Chris Garre as Timothy Woodley and Jason Natale as Gregory Hunter.
This greatly improved re-staging of Heresy took place in 16th century England (instead of Germany) and used period dialect (thou, thee, god-ye-goodeen, etc). Incense and music helped set the candle-lit scene. The group interactive structure was, roughly: 1.) Pre-show - individual - endowment (actors interact with a number of audience members alone, in pairs, establish relationships and endow/gather information) 2.) the town meeting was called and every one gathered in a circle inside the church for a group prayer (of Our Father) 3.) Tribunal of witch-finders introduced themselves and set-up investigation 4.) the audience was asked to introduce themselves one by one, out loud in a circle (as their characters) 5.)Accusation and testimony (of audience members and/or actors, in character of course) 6.) Torture or threat of torture 7.) Hanging or end of show (typically "successfully" ended with hangings)
This greatly improved re-staging of Heresy took place in 16th century England (instead of Germany) and used period dialect (thou, thee, god-ye-goodeen, etc). Incense and music helped set the candle-lit scene. The group interactive structure was, roughly: 1.) Pre-show - individual - endowment (actors interact with a number of audience members alone, in pairs, establish relationships and endow/gather information) 2.) the town meeting was called and every one gathered in a circle inside the church for a group prayer (of Our Father) 3.) Tribunal of witch-finders introduced themselves and set-up investigation 4.) the audience was asked to introduce themselves one by one, out loud in a circle (as their characters) 5.)Accusation and testimony (of audience members and/or actors, in character of course) 6.) Torture or threat of torture 7.) Hanging or end of show (typically "successfully" ended with hangings)
