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Last year, Youngblood Theatre used a costume shopto stage the poetic, contemporary Spiritsto Enforce. The company follows last year’s critical success with anequally poetic show being staged in a storage warehouse. Carson Kreitzer’s Freakshowabout a group of sideshowfreaks at the turn of the last centuryis an interesting choice for anoff-center show.
The script presentsYoungblood with a number of challenges, not the least of which is bringing thephysical reality of the freaks to the stage. There’s a human salamander, adog-faced lady and more. The charactersare described in breathtaking detail in monologues. There’s a patchwork feel tothe script, which is pieced together in more than 25 individual scenes that mixexpository poetry with moody, shadowy dialogue.
The rhythm of a scriptlike Kreitzer’s is a key challenge. Director Jason Economus has been workingextensively with a large cast that includes Youngblood co-founders Tess Cinpinski,Rich Gillard, Andrew Edwin Voss and Benjamin James Wilson.
Economus and the castare approaching rather fantastic characters from a sympathetic perspective,looking to find out what makes the characters “normal.” The right approachshould allow the audience to identify with the characters by pointing out thefantastic elements in everyday life. Ideally, the right mood, rhythm andatmosphere will fall into place behind compelling, human characters.
The richness of the moodisn’t being carried entirely by the cast, however. “There is something creepyabout the space itself,” Economus says. “[Costume designer] Frank Barrows ishelping to really flesh it out in a believable, creative way.”
Barrows, a costumeproduction student at UWM, is part of a young, talented design crew that alsofeatures scenic designer Evan Crain, who has done impressive work for recentstudio theater shows, seasoned lighting designer Jason Fassl and sound designerLoren M. Watson. Economus also speaks of using sound as a character in and ofitself.
Youngblood Theatre’sproduction of Freakshow runs Oct.29-Nov. 20 at the Lincoln Storage Warehouse, 2018 S. First St.
Theater Happenings
The script presentsYoungblood with a number of challenges, not the least of which is bringing thephysical reality of the freaks to the stage. There’s a human salamander, adog-faced lady and more. The charactersare described in breathtaking detail in monologues. There’s a patchwork feel tothe script, which is pieced together in more than 25 individual scenes that mixexpository poetry with moody, shadowy dialogue.
The rhythm of a scriptlike Kreitzer’s is a key challenge. Director Jason Economus has been workingextensively with a large cast that includes Youngblood co-founders Tess Cinpinski,Rich Gillard, Andrew Edwin Voss and Benjamin James Wilson.
Economus and the castare approaching rather fantastic characters from a sympathetic perspective,looking to find out what makes the characters “normal.” The right approachshould allow the audience to identify with the characters by pointing out thefantastic elements in everyday life. Ideally, the right mood, rhythm andatmosphere will fall into place behind compelling, human characters.
The richness of the moodisn’t being carried entirely by the cast, however. “There is something creepyabout the space itself,” Economus says. “[Costume designer] Frank Barrows ishelping to really flesh it out in a believable, creative way.”
Barrows, a costumeproduction student at UWM, is part of a young, talented design crew that alsofeatures scenic designer Evan Crain, who has done impressive work for recentstudio theater shows, seasoned lighting designer Jason Fassl and sound designerLoren M. Watson. Economus also speaks of using sound as a character in and ofitself.
Youngblood Theatre’sproduction of Freakshow runs Oct.29-Nov. 20 at the Lincoln Storage Warehouse, 2018 S. First St.
Theater Happenings
- Acacia Theatre Company presents Tom Key’s stage adaptation ofJohn Bunyan’s classic 17th-century Christian allegory Pilgrim’s Progress Oct. 29-Nov. 7 at Concordia University’sTodd Wehr Auditorium. Call 414-744-5995 for more information.
- The touring Broadway production of MelBrooks’ musical comedy Young Frankensteinrolls through town next week. Thebig-budget show appears at the MarcusCenter Nov. 2-7. Call 414-273-7206 for more information.
