NaCl setting up for longest season yet

HIGHLAND LAKE, NY — The North American Cultural Laboratory’s (NaCl) eclectic international festival of original theater, The Catskill Festival of New Theatre, will span over seven weeks this summer. Produced by NaCl founders Brad Krumholz and Tannis Kowalchuk, the festival, featuring daring artists from the United States, Canada and Europe, will begin its sixth season on Friday, July 16.

The first performance of the festival will feature the OBIE award-winning company of women acrobats and dancers, Lava. The troupe’s performance, “(w)HOLE,” presents new work that explores phenomena such as rock and volcano formation, punctuated equilibrium theory, and magnetic polarity reversal. People of all ages are invited to Lava’s performances, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, July 15 and 16 at 8:00 p.m.

Following is the festival’s schedule:

• The Curious Theatre Branch of Chicago will present “Cant and Elsie’s Blues” on July 22 and 23 at 8:00 p.m. “Cant and Elsie’s Blues,” written and performed by Jenny Magnus, explores the relationship between a woman and her doppleganger, a bag of rice the exact weight of her only child. The show is a new work by Beau O’Reilly (a frequent contributor to National Public Radio’s “This American Life”) for two voices, instrument and song.

• An Evening of Physical Comedy and Clown Cabaret will be presented on July 29 and 30 at 8:00 p.m. The evening of vaudeville, clown high jinks and madcap humor will featured performers including The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, Jeff Glassman and Lisa Fay, Grand Falloons Family Theatre, and veterans of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit Hilary Chaplain, Deborah Kaufman and Vince Tortorici.

• Peggy Shaw and her OBIE award-winning company Split Britches will perform “To My Chagrin” on August 5 and 6 at 8:00 p.m. Written and performed by Shaw, in collaboration with Vivian Stoll, Split Britches has been a major force in experimental theater since the 1970s. In “To My Chagrin,” Shaw talks about aging and grandmotherhood, love and cars to a live soundtrack of R&B and British pop. The performance is edited and directed by Lois Weaver. On August 6, Shaw will lead a free workshop.

• Number Eleven Theatre of Toronto, Canada will perform “The Curious History of Peter Schlemihl” on Sunday, August 7 at 3:00 p.m., and again on August 14, also at 3:00. The outdoor afternoon show, based on a tale by Adalbert von Chamisso, features stilts, puppets and whimsical physical storytelling that bring to life the fantastical story of a man who sells his shadow in return for a bottomless bag of gold.

• DAH Teatar of Belgrade, Serbia will perform “Dancing in Darkness/Inner Mandala” on August 12 and 13 at 8:00 p.m. This evening of solo performances by Maja Mitic and Sanja Krsmanovi-Tasic will showcase the imagistic style and technique that has made DAH one of the leading experimental companies in Europe. The production is directed by Dijana Milosevic.

• The first annual “Buskers Experience,” a collaboration between NaCl and the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, will be performed on August 14 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Bethel Woods. The show promises an extraordinary array of buskers, or musicians, jugglers, clowns and other outdoor entertainers. The show is curated by NaCL Artistic Director Brad Krumholz.

• Brave New Words will feature the first stagings of new plays by Sybil Kempson and Ruth Margraff on August 19 and 20 at 8:00 p.m. On Friday night playwright Kempson and her ensemble will present “The Secret Death of Puppets,” an exploration of objects that “poke around in the uncomfortable places where the supernatural meets the grotesque.” On Saturday, Margraff will present “Songs of the Table from Café Antarsia,” a new Greek/Ottoman world folk opera with live music by The Café Hasani Ensemble.

• NaCl will perform “The Mystery of Lakewood House” on August 26 and 27 at 8:-00 p.m. This world premiere will delve into the spirits, both real and imagined, that inhabit Lakewood House (the artists’ residence next door to the theatre). This metaphysical whodunit is filled with suspense, humor, local history and theatrical delight. It was created by Sarah Dey Hirshan, Krumholz, Kowalchuk, Laura May, Jane Wells, Ker Wells, and playwright Mike Geither.

NaCL is located at 110 Highland Lake Road. Tickets will be sold for $8 to $20 on a sliding scale (patrons are asked to pay what they can.

For more information call 845/557-0694 or visit nacl.org.