Featured Member: banished? productions

An interdisciplinary theatre company devoted to re-discovering and re-inventing the art of narration, banished? productions vows to awaken its audiences’ sense of wonder.  Celebrating the 100th anniversary of Futurism, the Washington DC-based company’s current production, “A Tactile Dinner”, promises “a synæsthetic experience in seven courses.”  banished? co-founder Carmen C. Wong further enticed me with this interview…

Describe the “Tactile Dinners” that you are presenting as part of the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival. What can attendees expect to experience at a Tactile Dinner?

Without giving too much away, the experience emphasizes “sensory feasting” over “eating for nourishment” and encourages audience members to consume through the body’s various receptors. They should come expecting to tuck into playfulness and fun and to feed their senses, not just their stomachs.

You’ve had a few Tactile Dinners already and have two more sittings on July 19th.

Actually four more sittings! We’ve added two more shows to the lineup:  Monday, July 20th, at 7:00 PM & 9:00 PM.

How have the performances been received thus far?

I think most folks get it, even if they think they don’t — trying to intellectualize, in my opinion, robs you of being in that experience. Most people are game at the get-go, some need a little more coaxing from their peers. My goal is to have folks leave with a sensation that what they’ve seen or done is like nothing they have ever seen or done. I think the buzz around it has been positive: people at the very core, no matter what age, generally enjoy an opportunity to laugh and do something fun, different, silly. And what better way to relax them than by inviting them to commune over dinner?

Which futurists have you been most influenced by?

Futurism as a movement has been more inspirational than influential, with their quest for sensual/sensory experiences in all art forms, including gastronomy. “A Tactile Dinner” has made me feel a little kinship with Marinetti insofar as the food-art-experience is concerned, because I’m always trying to hybridize art in all its different expressions.

Is there any part of your work touched by a bit of Fluxus?

I think as a group we have been most influenced by the aesthetics, attitude and ideology of Dada, which would make us a form of Neo-Fluxus?

I like to call us avant-pop: experiential, inter-disciplinary theatre which has its pulse on pop/media culture, and is really for everyone who would like to challenge the everyday/status-quo or straight-laced theatre that takes itself too seriously.

Dada, Pop art, art nouveau, absurdism, Japanese anime, Surrealism, Iranian cinema, Teatro de los Sentidos, European-based dance-theatre are among the many works/groups/movements that pique our interest and worm their way into our work.

Can you tell us a little about “My Comic Valentine”?

“My Comic Valentine” was a show that brought golden-age, romance genre comic book stories to life on stage, and was co-produced with Rotogravure Entertainment. Some of the stories were tender and compelling, some melodramatic and involving gangsters, and a few were based on true stories. One of the “real life” stories I directed had a simple love-triangle formula: guy and gal fall in love, but his best friend also fancies the girl and plots against their romance while the men are away at war. My concept was to have the characters wear cardboard-cutout costumes (like paper dolls) and speak in absolute gibberish. The stellar acting and heartfelt narrative made for a moving story that could be understood even without language, lush sets or period costumes. I also directed an advertisement for “Twin Allure” deodorant, (literally an ad off a comic book) which resulted in tap-dancing life-size deodorant tubes who rub themselves into the armpits of the tallest, strapping male actor in the show wearing a cute kelly-green dress and a Lucille Ball wig. Fun times.

For those not familiar with it, can you describe the arts scene in the DC area? What is terrific about it and what is challenging?

The DC arts scene can tend to be formulaic. It is well-supported by the DC government/foundations/donors/arts institutions, but Washingtonians (audience and artists) need to be cajoled into trying new things or pushing boundaries. Some artists are even afraid of non-traditional collaboration, or even sharing art-administration-type information and I find that challenging.

On the other hand, it has pushed small groups like banished? to seek out and connect with like-minded artists who value the give-and-take of collaborative art efforts. What’s terrific is when these factors collide positively: collaborations work out, audiences get a taste of it, and recognition comes pretty easily because the local media is thirsty for something different, refreshing. I think it is easier to gain recognition for producing innovative or good work here than say in New York, where many talented groups compete for attention.

That said, there is a great crafts circle, indie music and DJ scene here. I think it is quite awesome to be able to visit the museums in DC for free, or go to the many free concerts and movies in the park, all of which help get creative juices flowing.

What has been banished? productions’ greatest success to date?

I feel like I might jinx myself with this question… It is like wondering which of your children have succeeded the most: how do you measure success? Can I respond by saying that great success always is to come, that we always seek to outdo ourselves?

How did you find out about Fractured Atlas and what motivated you to become a member?

I was looking around for an organization through whom we could get fiscal sponsorship and one of my actors pointed me to Fractured Atlas. I thought that this would be a great next step for banished?’s growth since we aren’t quite ready to become a 501(c)(3) quite yet. I think Fractured Atlas provides a wonderful service for groups or artists who are in sort of an incubator stage administratively.

How do you use your Fractured Atlas membership?

Mostly for processing tax-exempt cash donations and in-kind gifts through our fiscal sponsorship. I am interested in finding out more about applying for grants that may be available to our group. Once things settle a little after the show, I’m definitely going to fiddle around and explore all the neat services that Fractured Atlas offers, and see how I can add to my grant-writing/development experience. I’m also interested in seeing if there are opportunities to find performing venues in New York.  (editor’s note: One of Fractured Atlas’s technology projects, NYC Performing Arts Spaces, provides free online databases of NYC rehearsal spaces and performance venues.)

Please finish the following sentence:  “A world without art is…”
“A world without art is like having to live life knowing of but never meeting your twin.”

(Our dramaturg, Otis Ramsey-Zöe, phrased it pretty cerebrally… I had some lousy glazeless donut metaphor.)

What’s next on your professional horizon?

We hope to be able to travel “A Tactile Dinner” a little more after the Fringe. There are several venues that I would like to recreate the dinner at, with a different menu. It would be great to be able to do it again and in different cities too…  New York in particular because Levia Lew, our resident lighting and set designer, lives there.

Other projects on the backburner: co-producer Niell DuVal wants to make an updated version of our storytelling machine “ballades mechanique”; a site-specific play à la “Rear Window”; and my dream performance project that involves chocolates and holograms.

How can we experience your work and learn more about banished? productions?

We have a few videos up on our website, which also has all the info you ever needed to know about us.

We also welcome folks who would like to work with us, whether helping us produce a piece in a new venue or as an artist-collaborator. I’m always looking for videographers, musicians, dancer/choreographers, chefs and people who enjoy playing double-duty/multi-tasking/hustling — something that I love about our generation.

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Tickets for the July 19th and 20th shows of “A Tactile Dinner” can be purchased through the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival.

Photo credits (top to bottom):
“A Tactile Dinner” by emile benjamin;
“bobrauschenbergamerica” by Kristian Whipple;
“My Comic Valentine”: Twin Allure and Faith in Their Love by Stuart Garwood.