ticktock dance performing on Miguel Edward’s “Perseus”. Photo by Terry Wallace.
This is a big, big week in terms of performing arts in Seattle. First, tonight is the opening of the Rep’s God of Carnage, Yasmina Reza’s most recent 90-minute verbal battle of class snobbery and interpersonal emotional violence (tickets $15-$59). Normally, I wouldn’t have much truck with Reza, but the Rep has brought back Wilson Milam to direct, and damn if I ain’t sad to be missing it. This is the London-based (but Seattle-raised) director’s third directing job for the Rep in three years, and he’s long since proven his capacity for carefully crafting combative, dialogue-driven plays with both The Seafarer and Glengarry Glen Ross.
The trick here is that this is the first time we get to see how Milam handles women (both other plays were all-male casts). Whatever the case, Milam’s not just some big-shot import, he’s done amazing work over the years, launching his career alongside Tracy Letts and specializing for two decades in directing new plays, including Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore, which is opening at ACT in just a week. And fortunately, The SunBreak, being your best local resource for all things theatre and performing arts, has previously sat down with Milam to get the skivvy on all sorts of good stuff.
Otherwise,this weekend Sextet opens at Washington Ensemble Theatre (tickets $10-$25). This is a new play by playwright Tommy Smith, a long-time Seattleite turned NYC-transplant (and, oh yeah!, we’ve also interviewed him along with collaborator Reggie Watts). And then there’s Christian Rizzo’s b.c, janvier 1545, fontainebleau, a magnificent dance solo for an incredible dancer named Julie Guibert that I saw last week here in New York (tickets $25). And, look at that!, we’ve also interviewed him.
Lucien Postlewaite and Andrew Bartee in rehearsal for Men in Dance
And then there’s the Eighth Annual Men in Dance Festival, opening at the Broadway Performance Hall this Friday for a two-weekend run (tickets $12-$20). It features about a dozen choreographers, of whom I can only claim to have interviewed two: Eva Stone and Donald Byrd, who will be choreographing a new solo for PNB artistic director Peter Boal. Also, Olivier Wevers of Whim W’Him is presenting a new piece for the festival, and if I’m not mistaken, our own Michael van Baker is currently sitting in studio with the company.
So wow, that’s a lot. And you can kick it all off all chill-like tomorrow, Thurs. Oct. 7, down in Pioneer Square, where the talented trio of ticktock dance (that would Bridget Gunning, Jill Marissa, and Elizabeth Rose) are reprising their performance installation on sculptor Miguel Edward’s Perseus, which is being installed inside the old Elliott Bay Book Co. space by the good people at CoCA as part of the 18th Annual Art Marathon and Auction. Performances are at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m., and again at 8:30 p.m. on Friday.