Courtesy of Test Market Theater
TSTMRKT (or Test Market Theater Group) is currently touring the U.S. with co-founder/writer/director/actor Ernest Hemmings’ latest piece, JFKFC, and will make a stop at Milwaukee’s Theatre Unchained (1024 S. Fifth St.) for one night only, Friday, April 17.
Not familiar with this Las Vegas theater company? Let’s just say if it’s being produced by TSTMRKT, it’s going to be high-risk and, in some way, a “thinking” production that engages and challenges audiences in unexpected (and sometimes slightly uncomfortable) ways. TSTMRKT promotes that each show is “formulated and prepared with no regard for audience reaction.” They’ve been around for more than 10 years, so they must be doing something right.
JFKFC is billed as a “broken soundscape that devolves into a stage performance that melds man, machine, time and space.” According to the press release, the set is constructed through sound that is pre-recorded in “real time” and played back during the live performance. Everything is automated except the actors.
“[JFKFC] is a lot more ambitious than anything we’ve ever done before,” Hemmings said in an Erie Times-News interview last October at the beginning of the tour. “I feel strongly about the content. This one is a lot more immersive as far as the audio. The pieces aren't necessarily flat-out comedy. It’s a lot darker. Everything blends together and the character shifts are smooth. I'm pretty proud of it.” TSTMRKT is currently comprised of Hemmings, Alex Olson and Breon Jenay.
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Doors open at 7:30 p.m. at Theater Unchained with a half-hour preshow presentation titled Nothing and JFKFC beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door; call 702-366-9680 or 414-391-7145 or email info@testmarkettheater.com or theatreunchained@yahoo.com.
