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New theatre at the NaCl

By MARY GREENE

HIGHLAND LAKE — In its third performance season, the North American Cultural Laboratory (NaCl) is presenting a festival of new theatre highlighting artists and ensemble groups from Canada, Thailand and the Ukraine as well as the U.S. The shows  take place in the beautifully renovated Highland Lake theatre, a versatile space that was once a church. In this intimate and warm setting, the NaCl performances have one thing in common: they engage the audience in a way that is very important to  co-founders Brad Krumholz and Tannis Kowalchuk.

“We are interested in connecting with a general audience,” said Krumholz. “Much of the energy in our work is in trying to connect with that audience. This connection is essential to our understanding of the piece. The theatre that is created is a gift for the audience, not for ourselves.”

NaCl was founded in November of 1997 in New York City, and moved its summer operation upstate in 1999. That summer, they were mainly involved in renovation work. They gave their first festival in 2000.

“This year,” said Kowalchuk, “we are presenting a more diverse selection of work, including acrobatic work, dancers, light shows and jazz. Even the martial arts. We are interested not just in the NaCl style of new theatre, but in stretching the boundaries of what might be considered performance theatre.”

NaCl is the North American component of a tradition that was founded in Poland in the early 1960’s by an actor named Grotowski. “His influence is still very big,” said Kowalchuk. “We are a part of that influence.”

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The performers, for the most part, develop their own work. “We spend a lot of time building a performance,” said Krumholz. “That time spent creates a deep connection with the work, in the actors and audience alike.”

In addition to the festival, this summer NaCl presented the work of several local artists in their “Performance Getaway Series,” which featured poets, dancers and songwriters. “Because we are artists ourselves,” said Kowalchuk, “we understand the needs of these performers and things worked out really well.”

In addition to the work hosted and presented in Highland Lake, NaCl runs acting workshops in the city and upstate, travels to Europe to study and perform and is involved in public schools in New York City, working with young students in “The Time Cycle,” using “a capella song, stilt walking, inventive costumes, science and the imagination” to introduce theatre to young children. Krumholz and Kowalchuk will be teaching at Rutgers this year, acting as guest directors in a student performance there. Locally, NaCl has taught the art of stilt walking to Eldred high school students and they are hopeful that, through BOCES, they may be able to expand their involvement in local schools. “We are lucky,” said Kowalchuk, “to be involved in theatre in this way.”

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And hey, what’s the significance of “NaCl” (the chemical formula for salt), anyway? “Salt is necessary for existence,” said Krumholz with a smile, “and it’s also a luxury. It makes things taste better. I like to think it represents the elemental power of theatre.”

Go see for yourself what he’s talking about at the NaCl this summer. You’ll be so very glad you did.

Tickets are $15 at the door, $12 for students and low income and a Festival Pass can be had for $75. For information and reservations call 845/557-0694, e-mail nacl@nacl.org or visit them on the web at www.nacl.org.