“The Art of Facing Fear”
Produced by Company of Angels and Rob Lecrone,
in co-production with Os Satyros (Brazil) and Darling Desperados (Sweden)
THE ART OF FACING FEAR
An Internationally-Produced LIVE virtual play
Saturdays 5pm Pacific and Sundays 3pm Pacific
September 5-27
International Digital Play, The Art of Facing Fear, comes to the United States with an all-new American Cast
What happens when an experimental theatre group known for innovative use of technology finds themselves in a worldwide pandemic limiting their ability to work with each other and audiences in person? They develop a production designed specifically to push the boundaries of how we connect with digital theatre, and then they build a new community of international artists.
The Art of Facing Fear, a one-hour virtual play, is a wildly surreal and cathartic experience inspired by our current world situation. In a possible not-too-distant dystopian future, with the quarantine at 5,555 days, a diverse ensemble of individuals deal with the stress and fear of being confined to home during this time of pandemic. The main themes of the performance are the effects of the Corona virus on everyday lives, as well as an encroaching authoritarianism and intolerance which threatens our life, liberty, and identity as free people of the world. Amidst all this is hope.
Opening in São Paulo, Brazil to audiences of as many as 600 viewing devices per night, and followed by an African/European run featuring a cast from three different continents, The Art of Facing Fear arrives in the United States Saturday, September 5th and runs through Sunday, September 27th. This U.S. production features a cast of actors performing from across the U.S., including California, New York, Oregon, Nevada, Georgia, and Alaska.
With each production, The Art of Facing Fear has grown to include new artists and audiences. The large and diverse United States cast joins the Brazilian and African/European versions as part of an expansive international family. What started in Brazil has grown into a movement that includes 10 countries. New performers and audiences from the world over continue to unite to face the fear of our current world situation, and each version of The Art of Facing Fear tailors the script and new devised work to the countries in which it is performed, pushing the boundaries of digital theatre.
The Art of Facing Fear is written by Ivam Cabral and Rodolfo García Vázquez, founders of São Paulo’s experimental theatre group, Os Satyros and is directed by Vázquez. Because of the unique aspects of digital theatre both will remain on the American project, and Vázquez has directed all three productions of the piece to date.
“We don’t know each other, but somehow our humanity in this pandemic makes us all very close to each other. There is a feeling of the human community and that we all belong to the same race and we are experiencing versions of the same thing right now,” director Vázquez said during the first rehearsal with the U.S. team, speaking to the reactions from audience members in the Brazilian and African/European post-performance talk-backs.
Ensemble: Jessica Berón, Rogelio Douglas III, Bryan Ha, Megan Skye Hale, Mia Hjelte, Jessenia Ingram, Zed E. Jones, Rob Lecrone, Andre Engracia Mello, Mia Mountain, Nakasha Norwood, Michael James Nuells, Therese Olson, Danielle Rabinovitch, Amable Junior Rosa, Terrence Robinson
Director: Rodolfo García Vázquez (Brazil)
Playwright: Ivam Cabral and Rodolfo García Vázquez (Brazil)
Music Composer: Marcelo Nassi (Brazil)
Visual designer: Adriana Vaz | Rogério Romualdo (Brazil)
Sound Operator: Léo Pegozzi (Brazil)
Photographer: Andre Stefano (Brazil)
Multimedia Designer: Henrique Mello (Brazil)
Lighting: Rodolfo García Vázquez (Brazil)
Producers: Armando Molina (Company of Angels) and Rob Lecrone, with Janna Julian (Os Satyros), Ulrika Malmgren and Katta Pa°lson (Darling Desperados), and Matthew Quinn (Combined Artform.)
Showtimes: Saturdays 5pm Pacific and Sundays 3pm Pacific, September 5-27
Tickets: Suggested $15 ticket price or choose between discounted tickets ($2, $5, $10) or tickets at additional donation levels, advance ticket required, limited availability at each price level.
Box office (sales close an hour before the show): http://www.companyofangels.org/aoff
Zoom link for each performance will be emailed a half hour before the show.
Website: http://www.companyofangels.org/aoff
Praise for previous productions of The Art of Facing Fear:
“With The Art of Facing Fear, we see the world in all its charm, its colour, its diversity, its vagaries, its shared weakness and hope. But more than these, we get a glimpse of a world badly in need of healing.” – The Daily Report, Nigeria
“Here, the opportunities and limitations that technology offers are utilized to reveal a potential that can be magnificent. For that I want to give “The Art of Facing Fear” a standing ovation…” – Expressions , Sweden
COMPANY BIOS
Company of Angels – Los Angeles
Company of Angels was founded in 1959, making it the oldest equity waiver repertory company in LA. Early company members included actors Richard Chamberlain, Vic Morrow, and Leonard Nimoy. The Company of diverse theater artists fosters mutual learning partnerships with the residents of Los Angeles through artistic development opportunities, community building enterprises, and life experiences. They produce theater that reflects and responds to the richness, diversity, and complexity that is LA. Company of Angels develops emerging artists, creates new work, and re-envisions theater to entertain new audiences.
https://www.companyofangels.org / @coangels (Los Angeles, California)
Os Satyros – Brazil
Os Satyros is a Brazilian theatre company founded in 1989 by Ivam Cabral and Rodolfo García Vázquez. The company has produced over 100 plays which have been performed in more than 20 countries. They have also produced 2 fiction films. For over 10 years, Os Satyros has been researching the relationship between technology and theatre, with several of the company´s productions embracing the use of the internet, robots, apps and cell phones on stage. When the pandemic started, they decided to go into research on new possibilities for digital theatre using the Zoom app.
Fonte: Talkin Broadway
