Fight Fest Cracks Heads

Details

Parent Category: Other Festivals

Category: Theater

Published on Thursday, 10 December 2009 03:06

Written by L E Shannon

Fight Fest is a theater festival dedicated to showcasing the art of stage combat. It runs from December 4 to 20, 2009 at The Brick Theater, 575 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

This three-week theater festival of fight choreography is curated by Timothy Haskell, Abby Marcus and Qui Nguyen of Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company, with the staff of The Brick.

Stage combat is one of the unsung arts of the theater. Says Haskell, "People are incorporating stage combat into their productions more and more now because it adds a level of excitement to the theatre that audiences are craving.

"I have always said that most people would rather spend their money on a bad action movie then a good play, so bringing some of those populist ideas to such an intimate setting brings in a  whole new audience that gets excited by such things. It has become very important for actors to have these skills, whether it be for the movies or for the stage, but the fight directors have been largely unrecognized.

"These productions don’t exist without them. This festival in many ways is a celebration of this new, electric, populist theatre that people are very excited about, as well as an opportunity to acknowledge all of the brilliant fight directors who are the driving forces behind them."

Famed fight companies and artists will present work for the first time ever under one roof. From rapier, to chainsaw, martial arts, trash cans, pirate skirmish, firearms, brawling broads, cartoon violence, simian combat and everything in between—all forms of stage battle will be represented. The shows are:

The Ninja Cherry Orchard - In early 1900's Russia, the Ranevsky country estate must be sold for debts. But will the family sell their beloved cherry trees? Will the lovelorn affections of a fading aristocracy triumph over common sense? Or will a 14th-Century Japanese assassin slaughter everyone? Presented by The Brick Theater, Inc. Fight Directed by Qui Nguyen and Alexis Black; assistant directed by Gyda Arber; written and directed by Michael Gardner.

Butterfly, Butterfly, Kill Kill Kill!, inspired by Japanese B-movie director Seijun Suzuki’s 1967 accidental masterpiece Branded to Kill. Presented by Depth Charge. Fight directed by Patrick Harrison, Adam Mazer, Ian Picco; written and directed by Patrick Harrison.

The Buccaneer, a swashbuckling comedy romance. The Buccaneer awakens to find himself blade-to-blade with the Red Leather Fox, an assassin hired by his jilted bride. He must use all his wits to win back his true love's heart while staying one step ahead of the nefarious plots of the evil Queen of Spain. Presented by FightO LLP. Written, Fight directed by Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum.

Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury is a martial-arts fairy tale in which monkeys and monsters beat the crap out of each other. Can one perverted simian overcome his family, a gang of grotesque predators and Mother Nature herself to evolve to the next level of life? Or will he end up just another damn dead monkey? Presented by Piper McKenzie Productions. Conceived by Hope Cartelli and Jeff Lewonczyk; written and directed by Jeff Lewonczyk and created by the Company. Fight Directed by Qui Nguyen and Adam Swiderski.

Deck The Hallmans! is an improvised holiday sitcom (with fights) revolving around Bob and Carol Hallman's Christmas celebration.  The holiday is looking bright for the whole Hallman family, who look forward to celebrating in heavenly peace. Who would fight on Christmas?  Before the evening is over you, too, will want to Deck The Hallmans! Presented by Ten Directions. Improvised by the ensemble from a concept by Audrey Crabtree; directed by Audrey Crabtree; Fight Directed by Adam Swiderski.

Power Burn 3 - When two women must compete for the same promotion at a fitness company, corporate in-fighting spills out of the conference room and onto the mean streets. These ladies don't mind a few broken heels - or broken ribs. Presented by Cat Fight Productions. Fight Directed by Carrie Brewer; written by Alana McNair and Kate Wilkinson; directed by Stephen Brackett.

Last Life - In a burnt-out world, the few remaining inhabitants are at the end of a long, indefinable war. The survivors, not knowing what they are even fighting for, vow to destroy each other and control what remains. Starring Taimak (of the legendary fight film The Last Dragon). Presented by Big Time Action Theatre. Fight directed by Rod Kinter; written by Eric Sanders; directed by Timothy Haskell.

Evolution presents a creative imagining of the genesis of the "badass" from the dawn of man through modern day. A cast of 24 fighters using martial arts, broadswords, spears, guns, rapiers, axes, katanas, switchblades, clubs, smallswords, tomahawks, rocks and anything they can get their hands on explores fighting techniques that have helped shape history—and "badassery!" Presented by En Garde Entertainment. Fight directed by David Dean Hastings; conceived & written by Alexandra Hastings and David Dean Hastings; directed by Alexandra Hastings.

The festival will also feature several cabarets, including a free preview of the mainstage shows on opening night.

The Zombie Project: The Story of Icarus Phoenix is a glimpse of what will hopefully be a full-length production in the near future. The play details the beginning of the zombie attacks and the creation of someone who could be the savior of the world. A girl has to decide if she gives up or if she will use her self-taught skills and wits to overcome the situation into which she's been thrown. A short work written, directed and fight-directed by Stephanie Cox-Williams.

With the theater’s intimate setting, the audience can see every kick, punch and flip right in their faces. And, unlike in film, there’s no room for editing or second takes.

"We’re going to see a level of choreography rarely seen on stage," adds Haskell. "There’s going to be a lot of honesty, as much as possible without someone getting hurt."

• Fight Fest Cabaret - Youngblood returns to The Brick!

New York's most exciting troupe of emerging playwrights bring the fury with five brand new short plays featuring beatings, mayhem and assorted onstage violence. Catch this very special sneak preview before these plays are featured in the January 3, 2010, episode of Youngblood's monthly Sunday Brunch series, The Fight Brunch!

For more information, visit: http://bricktheater.com/

Fight Fest
December 1-20, 2009
The Brick
575 Metropolitan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-907-6189

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