Flux Sunday, 7/12/15

(Flux Sundays are for kissing. Post and iPhone photo by August Schulenburg.)

After a Flux Tuesday focused on FluxForward playwright Kevin R. Free and Adam Szymkowicz, Flux Sunday returned to its regular day and usual ways. One thing we’ll be focusing on the Retreat (only a few days away) we’ll be how the more formally curated development process of FluxForward fits (or doesn’t) with the beautiful chaos of our traditional Flux Sundays. On our happy return to Judson, those questions were there, but most of our energies poured into four strong scripts brought to vivid life.

Playwrights: Marielle Duke (The World to Come), Shaun Fauntleroy (Shadow Walkers), Kevin R. Free (Anatomical Lewis), Jason Tseng (Air bNb)

Directors: Marielle, Emily Hartford, Dara O’Brien, Jason

Actors:  David DelGrosso, Shaun, Kevin, Ken Glickfeld, Justin Hoch, Matilde Keizer, Daryl Lathon, Heather Lee Rogers, Chester Poon, Alisha Spielmann, Isaiah Tanenbaum, Alexis Thomasson, Matthew Trumbull, Stephanie Willing, Cotton Wright

Highlights included:

• Cotton’s let’s-spin-that-awkward-joy-into-comedy laughter as Jai in Marielle’s The World to Come, responding to the charmingly-clumsily sincere (yet trying to be oh-so-cool) romantic overtures of Alexis’ Calden. The before-life has never been so (temporarily) sweet;
• Daryl and Shaun rocking the thorny comedy of Becky talking to a young Lewis about what to do when a dog (read: white person) bites you. Kevin’s writing switched beautifully from an absurd and antic comedy to a moving and unsettling scene about surviving racial violence with ease. We can’t wait for more pages from this FluxForward play!;
• David’s bracing mixture of self-loathing and desire after receiving an upsetting call about his partner’s mother in the seductive duet of Jason’s Air bNB; and
• A heart-stopping portrayal of King’s grief-shadowed kindness in Shaun’s Shadow Walkers.

This was one of those Sunday’s where all the playwrights, directors (Dara’s FS-directing debut!) and actors brought their best selves into the room, and the three hours passed in a blur of creative energy. We’ll miss Flux Sunday while we’re away at the Retreat!

(Marielle and Jason direct each other’s scenes on the very same stairwell.)

(Dara makes her directorial debut in Shaun’s gorgeous scene from Shadow Walkers.)

(Kevin’s new play features a heavy metal song at the beginning. Luckily Alisha knows how to rock hard.)

(Emily directing Daryl to properly play a pile of dismembered body parts (he can play anything!))