'Happy Fall: A Queer Stunt Spectacular'

Driving home from this 'Spectacular' at the largest Q  Center in the world??  The Moon looms large,waning gibbous at the Sunset Boulevard horizon.  Having just experienced this amazing new production by  Rogue Artists Ensemble, a co-production with the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the Contemporary American Theatre Festival, the burning of the Hollywood sign on stage lingers in memory. This is a queer show.: choose your definition: they all work.

 Queer is the generic and the now popular way that queer people have taken back the pejorative and wear it on their sleeves and probably with rainbow shoulder tattoos.

Queer .. from my experience. in days gone by, the term was a heavy indictment: a label mostly for the swishy kid at school, everyone in the drama program : a label right up there with faggot, fairy and pansy. Language changes and times change and now using this term that was formerly a damning reference is trotted out by Rogue Artists Ensemble to describe their current Spectacular!

Make no mistake. This prop heavy, tech heavy, projection heavy hunk of art . though a  little light on the "acting" side is nothing short of Phantasmagorical.. 

The spectacle rises above the thin love story of Felix (Kurt Kanazawa) and Clay (David Ellard). Felix is the new stunt kid on (the) set ready to  step into the the Cuban heels of a stunt gal who, it seems, just can't cut the physical action, around which the entire production is constructed.

Kurt Kanazawa
Photo by Bryce Darlington

Our Narrator (Amir Levi) puts Rip Taylor and Rip's voice to shame.  The Host may be annoying on purpose? Of couse, when the goal is to crank up the audience and keep the volume at eleven for most of the show, both vocally and visually, it is . at once.. the way director, Sean Cawelti, must have meant for it to be. Nuance is only a vague appellation for this Spectacular. 

Thankfully, we do have nuance now and then. 

As with other favorites from RAE, especially the immersive "Kaidan" and then "Wood Boy Dog Fish," this all in  ensemble presents Rogue behavior first and acting choices right behind.. The presentational  piece explodes with the conceit that this is  what it's like on a challenging low budget movie set.  The love story of  Kanazawa  and Ellard  becomes a threesome with a spectacular rendition of Clay as a full sized, frighteningly realistic mannequin: Design by Jack Pullman. Clay Puppet steals the show leading us to guess that Clay Puppet must represent the closeted queer stunt man (not an 'old timer'  but vintage) who resists embracing his closeted queerness: his denial? of his homosexuality,. Meanwhile, bouncy little Felix blossoms as he attains his stride as a respected stunt performer. There's a slight flavor of All About Eve with Clay playing catch up.

The wonderful thing about Rogue Artists that makes me want to laud them to the skies is their absolute fearless attack of ideas: imagining new ways to incorporate big BIG prop and costume business and lighting and  video and right on the stage video of miniatures in live performance  projected on large  video screens. Use of green screen & 'spectacular' imaginings are worth the price of admission alone.

Parking is a bear at the Center. The continental seatng of the Main Stage means that finding a seat that allows full vision of center stage is a must.

Often Happy Fall is like a three ring circus. Some effects need work. When Clay is displaced by Clay Puppet, we still see the actor giving voice to his alter ego..The puppet steals the show for me, and with a SPECTACULAR Screaming Queen full blown over the top finale, that's saying something.

In the past the broad scope of this dedicated theatre ensemble has been a welcome challenge in the land of often traditional theatricals .. 

My favorite show of RAE remains Kaidan!  Set in an old storage facility in the heart of Los Angeles. "Happy Fall"  shows that RAE has fearlessly taken a huge leap of faith with a ton of cash invested in video, props and costumes. Huge! 

This show turns on Stunt Players.  My stint as a stunt performer  guides me to appreciate the rough and tumble  physicality of this 'spectacular' presentation.

It's fun to boost a tremendous effort and this one is a must see, especially for WeHo and residents of the Swish Alps off Santa Monica Boulevard. Applause to Chelsea Sutton and the Rogue Artists Ensemble!

 

CREATIVE TEAM
COSTUME DESIGN
ANDREW JORDAN
CO-SCENIC DESIGN
KEITH MITCHELL
CHOROEGRAPHER
CODY BRUNELLE-POTTER
VIDEO DESIGNER, 

CO-SCENIC DESIGNER
SEAN CAWELTI
LIGHTING DESIGN
AMBER SHIFT
 

ROGUE ARTISTS ENSEMBLE’S
HAPPY FALL: A Queer Stunt Spectacular
WRITTEN BY
LISA SANAYE DRING with ROGUE ARTISTS ENSEMBLE
DIRECTED BY
SEAN CAWELTI
COMPOSER
ADRIEN PREVOST
CO-PRODUCED BY
ROGUE ARTISTS ENSEMBLE · CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN THEATER FESTIVAL and the
LOS ANGELES LGBT CENTER

Cast:
DAVID ELLARD · AMIR LEVI* · KURT KANAZAWA* LUCAS BRAHME · GABRIEL CROOM* · CACARLOS R CHAVEZ · KELSEY KATO · MAIA LUERTIANA RANDALL-QUANT · MIKKI YAMASHIRO · JERRY ZOU

'Happy Fall: A Queer Stunt Spectacular'

• Written by Lisa Sanaye Dring with Rogue Artists Ensemble
•  Directed by Sean Cawelti
• Co-Produced by Rogue Artists Ensemble, Los Angeles LGBT Center and Contemporary American Theater Festival. 

Renberg Theatre
Los Angeles LGBT Center
The Village at Ed Gould Plaza
1125 N McCadden Place
Los Angeles, CA 90038

 

Performances Aug. 22–Sept. 8
• Thursdays at 8 p.m.: Aug. 22 (opening night), Aug. 29, Sept. 5
• Fridays at 8 p.m.: Aug. 23, Aug. 30, Sept. 6
• Saturdays at 8 p.m.: Aug. 31 and Sept. 7 ONLY (dark Aug. 24)
• Sundays at 3 p.m.: Aug. 25, Sept. 1 (understudy performance), Sept. 8

Special events:
• Sunday, Aug. 25: an interactive stunt demonstration with stunt coordinator Celina Lee Surniak follows the performance.
• Thursday, Aug. 29: a pre-show stunt puppet-making workshop (7 p.m.) at the Advocate & Gochis Galleries; create your own puppet and learn how to get involved in the puppetry community.
• Friday, Aug. 30: a pre-show “Meet-the-Artists” celebration (7:15 p.m.) at the Advocate & Gochis Galleries, to uplift the visual artists whose work is on display at the “Take/Action: Stunts, Spectacle and Queer History” exhibit.
• Saturday, Aug. 31: a pre-show blessing from the Los Angeles chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and a post-show discussion on the history of drag. Come dressed to express and join in the fun!
• Sunday, Sept. 1: post-performance Rogue Artists Ensemble VIP Fundraiser celebrating 20 years of groundbreaking new work in Los Angeles (ticketed event/separate admission; information at rogueartists.org)
• Saturday, Sept. 7: a post-performance conversation with Happy Fall composer Adrien Provost.
• Sunday, Sept. 8: an Action Star Dress–Up event; come dressed as your own action star and join Rogue Artists for a special fashion runway with prizes for selected winners.

TICKETS:
$45-$78 (including fees)
Understudy performance on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 3 p.m.: Pay-What-You-Can
bit.ly/happyfall24