Jed Hancock-Brainerd

Strange Attractor Theatre Company in collaboration with composer Chrissy Wolpert, the Providence Preservation Society and a community chorus of (cis & trans) women, two spirit, and non-binary people will be presenting She Died for Our Convenience at the Earnscliffe/Paragon Mills in Olneyville in Providence on May 4, 2019 at 7pm. A choral haunting, She Died for Our Convenience, was created for the Earnscliff/Paragon Mill buildings within the Providence Preservation Society's Sites and Stories Explored initiative, which pairs artists with endangered properties to explore the hidden and layered narratives to Providence's iconic and abandoned buildings.

Strange Attractor Theatre in collaboration with Lippitt House Museum will present Back to the Work: Encounters with Historical & Contemporary Voices at Lippitt House Museum in Providence Tuesday evenings and Sunday afternoons from March 4 to April 29, 2018. Through an experience that is part historic house tour-part interactive installation performance, Back to the Work explores the theme of labor in order to illuminate the human effort and expertise that exists in the clothes we wear, the houses we live in, and the objects that surround us.

Strange Attractor Theatre Company in collaboration with a community of citizens from across Rhode Island will be presenting The Sea Pageant at First Beach in Newport on August 21, 2017 at 1:30pm. The Sea Pageant is a once-in-a-lifetime happening: a one-day-only, 100-person unison performance of movement, song, and celebration designed to honor the ocean and the phenomenon that is the solar eclipse.

Rhode Island's theater community had much to celebrate in 2015.  Outstanding productions graced stages from the East Bay to South County, up-and-coming theatrical companies left their mark on the arts scene, and excellent concerts and dance events made for some of the best performances of the year.

At times, it can be hard to imagine that there was ever a period in history when society was as celebrity-obsessed as we are right now. With the internet, social media, Twitter, 24-hour cable news and everything else, information about the rich and famous is everywhere, all the time. It seems impossible to avoid and seems that the public's appetite for it is insatiable. On the other hand, David Adjmi's play Marie Antoinette, now playing at the Gamm Theatre, casts the famous French queen in much the same kind of world. And while the uneven play doesn't offer much that's new or original, it does provide another lens through which we can view and examine our own society and it's problems.

An audience member sitting by me at the Gamm's performance of Morality Play mentioned that one of the reasons she loves the company is their penchant for putting on plays that are daring, challenging and different. They do not just do the same old thing, she said, and she's absolutely correct. It is one of the characteristics of the Gamm that make it stand out among the theatrical crowd, that they take on plays that are more unique or risky than other companies might dare to produce. Morality Play is, arguably, a bit of a risk. While successful at being something unique, it is not as successful at being an entertaining, compelling or enjoyable piece of theater. Based on a novel of the same name, by Barry Unsworth, Morality Play is adapted for the stage by the Gamm's Tony Estrella. The story revolves around a roving troupe of actors, traveling the harsh English countryside in the winter of 1361. This gang of thespians are among the earliest practitioners of theater, actors who performed morality plays, one of the three major types of drama in the Middle Ages (the other two being miracle plays and mystery plays). In morality plays, a figure representing the common man, often called something like Everyman, is tempted by the personification of qualities such as Vice, Avarice or Lust, but is then saved by the appearance of, for example, Truth, Faith or Conscience. In the case of this play, our actors have just suffered the death of one of their company. Almost immediately, they meet a runaway priest who they allow to join them as a player, to take on the roles of the dead actor. Shortly thereafter, the troupe, very short on funds, arrives at a town where they will perform one of their morality plays. After that play fizzles, they decide to perform a new kind of play, one based on an actual real-life event, a true crime that has just occurred, the murder of a young boy. While doing so, they begin to solve the crime and put their own lives in jeopardy. If that sounds like an interesting idea, actors solving a crime using their powers of performance, it truly is. Unfortunately, this play is more of a collection of interesting ideas and concepts than an engaging piece of theater. Much of the play's early going feels like the Theater History 101 class that every theater major takes in college. It's as if the professor said, “Come up with a morality play and put it on for the class, just how the actors of the time would have.” And I'm willing to give Estrella and director Tyler Dobrowsky the benefit of the doubt that they have accurately recreated the feeling of the times and created an accurate and true recreation of the drama of the Middle Ages. Still, most of it is fascinating but boring and uninspired, not likely to excite many audience members, other than those who took that class in college. After getting through all of the “this is what theater was like in the 1300's” stuff (and it takes a long time), we finally reach the play's central story, the true-crime murder mystery. Unfortunately, this part of the play just demonstrates how many times we've seen all of this before. It quickly becomes an episode of C.S.I.: Broadway, with actors, instead of scientists, running around investigating and solving the crime. And in the third act, there are enough twists and turns to fill a season's worth of Law & Order episodes, with everything from corrupt heads of state to pedophiles and mysterious diseases. Yes, I realize that part of the point is that things that happened way back then are still relevant today, but in this case, they just make for a dull, predictable mystery, rather than an exciting and compelling story. One reason why it's not compelling is that we never really get to know any of these characters, not well enough to really connect with or care about them. The runaway priest, Nicholas Barber, is given a bit of backstory here and there, but not enough (he also may suffer from the fact that he is no longer the central character and narrator of the story, as he is in the novel). The “master player,” Martin Bell, also has some hints thrown his way about a possible checkered past, but not enough is provided to really make us feel for him. The other players are almost nameless and mostly interchangeable. Most of the rest of the characters, the King's Justice, for example, are just stereotypes, given no depth whatsoever, as they are only there to further the plot. Not helping is the actors milling about before the show, interacting with the audience as themselves, not in character, as far as I can tell. It adds to the feeling that we are watching Providence actors giving us a demonstration of early drama, not watching real, developed and believable people who lived at that time. Having said that, the Gamm has assembled an all-star team of some of the area's best acting talent. The dashing and charismatic Jesse Hinson makes his Gamm debut as the priest, Nicholas Barber. Hinson is masterful in the role and provides a number of the play's highlights, from his scene with the accused woman's father to another scene with the acting troupe's “whore,” who is about to get out before it's too late. Hinson makes every moment count and is impossible to not watch when he's in a scene. On the other end of the “who is the protagonist?” tug-of-war is Martin Bell, played by Tony Estrella. Bell is the leader of the troupe of actors, their motivator and moral compass, or at least he tries to be. Estrella, as usual, plays all of the nuances with skill and dexterity. At times, he is the seeker of truth and justice, and at other seems like a bit of a snake-oil salesman. It's a balancing act that he's able to pull off better than most. Our travelling troupe of performers are played by an excellent ensemble, all giving fine performances, even if they aren't ever given the chance or reason to dig very deep emotionally. Steve Kidd is a standout as Stephen, as is Elliot Peters as Springer. Jed Hancock Brainerd is also wonderful, though given a bit less to do. All three shine especially bright during the scenes when the troupe puts on their plays, from the biblical story of Adam to the true-crime tale of murder. All of the movement and physical action in those scenes is especially interesting and partly due, I assume, to Normand Beauregard, who plays one of the actors, Tobias, but is also one of the area's best fight choreographers. In what seems at times like a cast of thousands, a number of other actors appear and vanish. The wonderful Jeanine Kane, as the Innkeeper and wearing a hat she stole from Pharrell Williams, is mostly wasted. Jim O'Brien also gets little to do but does give a brilliant turn in one scene as the weaver, the father of the accused woman. And that woman herself, who is deaf and mute, is played by Clara Weishahn, providing one of the show's best performances. Her scene with Estrella, where they communicate without words, is beautiful and mesmerizing. It's unfortunate that the rest of play could not be as spellbinding or entertaining as that one scene. Instead, it relies of far too much speechifying and talking a lot about big ideas. Much of it is also heavy handed, as if they really want to make sure the audience gets the message, loud and clear. There are certainly some interesting themes and messages for the audience to ponder as they leave the theater, but the rest of the production may leave them cold and wanting more.

Strange Attractor Theatre, Rhode Island's only physical theatre company, invites the community to a free work-in-progress showing of their sixth original work, Idle on March 1, 2014 at 8pm at the Mathewson St. Theatre in downtown Providence. Inspired by company member Jed Hancock-Brainerd's childhood collection of porcelain Dickens Village Christmas Houses and the ever-growing divide between the haves and the have-nots, Idle is an absurdist response to the American dream of working less and having more. The showing will be followed by an informal feedback session with complimentary wine and cheese.

A recent converstion with a friend included the topic of just how much theater there is right now in Rhode Island. There's no denying that theater lovers have many excellent choices, with many plays and musicals of almost every kind. One of the many great aspects of this phenomenon is the fact that even with so much theater happening, there are so many talented performers in this area that the product is not watered down or less enjoyable just because there is so much of it.Take 2nd Story Theatre, for example. They have not one, not two, but three shows opening and running during November. The first one to open, the second show of the DownStage season, is a perfect example of how even with so many shows running, audiences can still see a fantastic ensemble of actors working together perfectly.

Stephen Karam's explosively funny comedy about the extreme suffering of a Lebanese family distantly related to Kahlil Gibranis playing DownStage at 2nd Story from October 25 - November 24, 2013. Check out a first look below!

The Rhode Island performance community-at-large has announced the formation of The Rhode Island Performance Exchange (RIPE). The community-based organization aims to create greater awareness about all activity in the Rhode Island performance community, while connecting people working in the sector to each other in hopes of encouraging new collaborations and resource-sharing, all with the ultimate goal of building better performance through a stronger community, and a stronger community through better performance.

Current world events, financial realities and personal readiness are concerns all couples grapple with when deciding if the time is right to start a family together. However, most couples do not discuss these issues with the hilarious, unrestrained animation of M and W, the engaging young duo at the center of Duncan MacMillan's LUNGS.

The year is 1984…or is it? In a world where Big Brother is always watching, the Thought Police monitor every word and action, and yesterday's news is literally rewritten to correspond with today's most pressing political concerns, even the most basic information - names, dates, key historical events - is distressingly unreliable.

The Wilbury Group is set to kick the new year off with one of its most ambitious productions to date, Eugene Ionesco's poignant comedy-drama, Exit the King, January 5-15, at 95 Empire Street, home of the Perishable Theater.

The Wilbury Group is set to kick the new year off with one of its most ambitious productions to date, Eugene Ionesco's poignant comedy-drama, Exit the King, January 5-15, at 95 Empire Street, home of the Perishable Theater.

The Wilbury Group is set to kick the new year off with one of its most ambitious productions to date, Eugene Ionesco's poignant comedy-drama, Exit the King, January 5-15, at 95 Empire Street, home of the Perishable Theater.

Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow at Juneau's Perseverance Theatre from September 23 through October 16, 2011.

Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow at Juneau's Perseverance Theatre from September 23 through October 16, 2011.

Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow at Juneau's Perseverance Theatre from September 23 through October 16, 2011.