Editor's pick: Outside the box

NACL’s Catskill Festival of New Theatre challenges its audiences with the strange and wonderful

WHEN: Friday, August 15 through Sunday, August 17 and Friday, August 22 to Saturday, August 23. 3:00 p.m. on Sunday; 8:00 p.m. all other days

WHERE: The NACL Theatre in Highland Lake, NY

COST: $10-$25; pay what you can. Membership to see any NACL play for a full year costs $50

CONTACT: nacl.org/ or 845/557-0694

HIGHLAND LAKE, NY — Every year, NACL Theatre in Highland Lake assembles a group of cutting-edge theatre companies from around the world to put together a profoundly bold assemblage of performances during the Catskill Festival of New Theatre. The two-weekend event, now in its 9th year, celebrates the experimental, the political, the physical and the craft of the ensemble in performance today. Each performance will be followed by a 20-minute discussion with the artists.

The premiere piece, set for Friday, August 15 at 8:00 p.m. is “Frankenstein,” presented by the New World Performance Laboratory (NWPL) from Akron, OH. It is an investigation of the classic story by Mary Shelley, incorporating images from the novel and scenes from Shelley’s own life. It depicts the epic battle between body, mind and soul fought on a landscape of solitude and horror. The characters of the novel mingle with Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, her husband Percy Shelley and their friends in a gothic nightmare that displays the deeply detailed physical style of NWPL’s actors. It has a haunting vocal score, exploring 19th- century romantic motifs, and new music composed by Megan Elk. The play is directed by Jim Slowiak.

Saturday’s presentation, also at 8:00 p.m., will be “US,” by Alexandra Beller from New York City. Dance Magazine wrote, “Alexandra Beller is built like a burlesque queen and moves like a goddess.” “US” is a scathing, political and controversial dance-theater solo by Beller that attempts to form compassionate bonds to both sides of the aisle, and follows one woman in her search for a healthy relationship to a sick country. The director is Kristin Marting.

The first weekend will conclude on Sunday, August 17 at 3:00 p.m. with “Floating Brothel,” from New York City. Performed on a three-by-six-foot platform, “Floating Brothel” tells the story of three female convicts’ harrowing year-long voyage from the underbelly of 18th-century London to the underside of the world. Created and performed by five actors, the play is detailed in its imagery and physical intelligence.

Performances slated for the second weekend are “Elektra,” by The Ghost Road Company from Los Angeles, CA on Friday, August 22; and “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” by The New York Neo-Futurists from New York City on Saturday, August 23.

All the festival artists are invited to live at the NACL residence, to perform their show once, and to engage in methodological and creative exchanges with one another throughout the duration of the festival.

The festival is sponsored in part by The New York State Council on the Arts, individual donors and media sponsor The River Reporter.