Not everything a critic writes makes it into their final review. Most of our notes get published in one form or another, but sometimes... well. We're a wordy people, and editors exist for a reason. In The Fleecing's case, I went a little deeper than I normally would for a general review because my experience hinged heavily on interactions with specific actors. My editor rightfully reigned me in (thanks Kathryn!) so the following is not so much part of NoPro's official review, but a coda to the above. Imagine we're having a coffee. It's cool out and we've got nowhere to be, so you're politely listening to me wax about a recent art obsession. I promise I'll return the favor, but for now...
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Are you a Freak or a Mystic? A Daemon or an Evangelical? You don’t have to decide up front. You can pick one at random or you can review their histories and read their poetry before moving on to greener pastures.
“Our flock is seen as fools
But you, our friend, know the truth
That greeting the shadows as a lover
Can give birth to queens
From maltreated sleuths
There’s no one better to trust
In escaping alive from this ruse than THE FREAKS”
I found myself drawn to the Freaks, primarily because Fruna — played by the empathetic and unflinching Mia Donata-Rocchio, accompanied on the ukulele by Stephen Peterson — and the hauntingly isolated Clegg (Lauren Johns) made me comfortably uncomfortable. This was a flock that didn’t need to be anything other than what they were. I’m pretty sure they weren’t even trying to invoke the Bumblefish? They just wanted to find each other, and that made me feel right at home.
“We are the unknown.
The ufo’s.
The bottom of the sea.
The ghosts that seem to exist elsewhere.
We push limits not always to the satisfaction of others
and to a seemingly dangerous degree.”
Of course, Fruna did do an interpretive dance about what it’s like to accidentally pee your pants. That helped.
Friends of mine favored the paranoid numerology of Nathan Alford-Tate’s Neurotic Triclopse, which might be why the Mystics ended up winning three out of four of The Fleecing’s 4-show run, but there wasn’t a weak link in the cast. Every single performer was a shining star. I was especially enamored of Mae West’s sprawling (but surprisingly competent) SoundCloud rapper, Raedeskiki the Maverick. Yannick Trapman-O’Brien brought his signature sideways rapport to a holier-than-thou Abacus Bearer, which played perfectly off of Maya Jackson’s manic Adjudicant. Ben Grinberg took hilarious turns as “Office of the United States Senate Senior Senator from the State” Jon Ossoff and his conspiracy-subplot-lynchpin-slash-goth-babe-intern, Tracee. There are performers I’m not mentioning, but only because I didn’t get to spend as much time as I might have liked with the Daemons, Evangelicals, or the Mystics. Interestingly, Alford-Tate (lead artist), Donata-Rocchio, Grinberg, Johns, and West — along with “Hand of the Bumblefish” Kate Hanley — didn’t just give some of my favorite performances of the night, they were also the show’s co-producers.
Almanac Dance Circus Theatre is interested in theatre that’s “light and generous, sincere and direct, dynamic and poetic.” The Fleecing hits all of these marks, favoring connection over “the pretty, the perfect, or the precious.” This year’s Fleecing is over, but you’ll find these themes repeated in everything Almanac does, online and off. Many of the company’s regular offerings, like community classes, have moved online for the foreseeable future. Since these classes are “virtual and free but donations are always welcomed,” I’m looking forward to taking Donata-Rocchio’s inclusive movement-exploration class, “Falling In A Chair” through April. Then time will pass, new shows will come and go, and in a couple of years (if we’re lucky — the Bumblefish keeps to a strange and temperamental, if roughly biannual, schedule) The Fleecing will be back, asking us to find the authentic beauty and absurd humanity of whatever form it takes next.
Until then, close your eyes and enjoy. https://soundcloud.com/user-319310192
