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Eastman’s ghost
“From Darkness a Morning Glory” | Spiegelgarden | Sept. 15 | Free | All ages
For a non-Rochesterian, actor and puppeteer Oscar Olivo brings remarkable insight into the original sin of Kodak. Namely, that George Eastman is directly responsible for — as Olivo reflects during his riveting and manic play “From Darkness a Morning Glory” — tainting the very act of remembering itself.
“I didn’t know that my memories were poison,” Olivio says with the aid of hand puppets and photographs, and the metaphorical runoff from Eastman’s patented chemical emulsion process drips like muck.
“From Darkness,” which Olivo premiered in Germany earlier this year, is magnetic. But in the Rochester Fringe Festival’s Spiegelgarden on Sept. 14, it seemed that Eastman’s ghost prevented Olivo from executing it in the manner he wanted. Microphone problems persisted long into the show, so Olivo worked them into the piece itself. He played with the unorthodox venue, at one point rolling himself up into one of the bewildering fake turf mats laid down by the garden’s designers.
In short, he had some fun with it, even as the constant issues threatened to derail the festival premiere of a very strong piece. At heart, “From Darkness” is a story about taking a trip to Rochester with a photobook of wonderful memories and realizing, through talking to both local activists and a 40-year Kodak employee (personified through a suitably horrifying mask), that the company responsible for preserving those memories is also complicit in negligent pollution.
“From Darkness” is also certainly the only nostalgia- and environmental calamity-themed puppet show ever staged for audience members wolfing down racks of ribs and buffalo chicken grilled cheese sandwiches — that day’s available fare in the Spiegelgarden.
As motorcycles brapped down Main Street and Olivo kept tending to shorting lav mics, “From Darkness” became living theater exhilaratingly at war with its environment. It didn’t just break the fourth wall. No such wall ever existed. —PATRICK HOSKEN
Mathematical magic
“The Enigmatist: Magic and Puzzles with David Kwong” | Spiegeltent | Sept. 15 | From $42 | Ages 5+
David Kwong can guess your card. He can hand you a kiwi and, 30 minutes later, cut into it to reveal the same dollar bill another audience member autographed earlier. He can also construct an entire “New York Times”-caliber crossword puzzle on a large board in real time and hide several secret messages across the grid.
He can, and does, do all this as part of his extraordinary one-man show “The Enigmatist,” which turns the Spiegeltent into a dazzling hall of magic. But nothing is more dazzling than Kwong himself, a preternatural showman who leaned into his roots during his first-ever run of performing magic in his hometown. (Technically, he’s from Brighton, but you get it.)
What makes “The Enigmatist” so endearing is how Kwong structures it. There’s a larger story, both historical and intriguing as it weaves in Shakespearean code-breaking and chemical elements, but he leans all the way into seemingly quick tricks involving the periodic table and even Wikipedia. These end up being relevant later, but you probably figured that. Nothing is coincidental when a magician’s at the helm.
Kwong’s illusions are fun, and he manages to flex his mathematical mind with an accessible, charming delivery — no easy feat. On Sept. 14, he shouted out his parents multiple times (who sweetly attended in person) and gave props to the fellow nerds and puzzle-heads in the audience.
At each seat is a pencil and a sheet of paper for jotting down answers to audience puzzles stitched into the main show. You might find yourself likewise spelling out a single word: wow. —PATRICK HOSKEN
Rolling by the river
“Roc River Ride” | One day only
Rochester bike enthusiasts know that any trip along the Genesee Riverway Trail on a sunny day is a good one. Add in some Fringe and you can’t go wrong.
Now in its third year, Roc River Ride is a group biking tour hosted by the Southwest Rotary Club to encourage healthy and active engagement with nature in Southwest Rochester. They partnered with a host of local organizations including R Community Bikes, who was on site to address any bike issues (and indeed, helped my friend with a troublesome gear)
The opening at the Genesee Waterways Center had the energy of the start of a race, with DJ Denaro McCray playing upbeat hits. But there was no rush: every fifteen minutes a new wave of up to 25 cyclists were sent along the trail, guided by volunteers for a “slow stroll” along the confluence of the Genesee River and Erie Canal.
Every mile or so, the group paused for a performance offering a unique historical or artistic perspective on Rochester. These included a short presentation by Trish Corcoran from the Haudenosaunee Nation about her family’s heritage and the upcoming Every Child Matters Day, a heartfelt spoken word poem by Shamere Lawrence from Teen Empowerment, a poetry and dance collaboration with three trees on the University of Rochester campus by the Anne Harris Wilcox dance troupe, an Afro-Puerto Rican drumming and dance piece by Bomba Yague, and a historical overview of sights visible from the downtown Promenade by Wade Norwood of Common Ground Health. Storyteller Almeta Whitis gave a rousing conclusion with Kenyan folklore and group singing.
Cyclists could choose to ride for three, seven, or ten miles, although it was unclear to me as well as the volunteer I asked which groups were leaving at which times. I ended up in one of the ten mile groups, which took about three hours to complete all the performances, missing the closing band Still One Left at the end of the ride.
But no matter. It was a beautiful day for cyclists of all ages, the youngest I saw being a toddler in a kiddie seat attached to their mom’s bike. Whether it’s your first time on the trails or your 100th, it’s hard to imagine a better way to experience the water, the trees, and the complex history of the land. —KATHERINE VARGA
Defying gravity
"Aerial 51" | Aerial Arts of Rochester: Aerial Arena | Sept. 15 | $17 | 16+
Earthlings, beware: the talented acts of Aerial 51 not only defied gravity, but also shattered any preconceived notions of the human body's capabilities. Directed by Kiendra Simpson, this production interpreted galactic life through aerial arts.
Upon entrance, audience members were greeted by two eerie extraterrestrials on four-legged stilts that almost seemed to invade any sentiment of personal space. Hence, the otherworldliness of the experience was sold pretty early on. The performers’ costume design—with neon, psychedelic attire and sparkle-studded makeup—was also spot-on with the cosmic theme and immediately enhanced the visual appeal of the performance.
The show featured some remarkable contortionist-like movements that evoked traditional horror scenes such as the spider walk from "The Exorcist" almost amateur in comparison. Watching a performer back-bend in a way that made her spine appear gelatinous, the audience found a new reason for applause with each minute. There were a variety of other acts that exhibited sheer strength and expertise in this performance, such as performers who hoisted their bodies up onto rotating prismatic platforms and showcased powerful (and painful-looking) flexibility holds.
Some displays, like the women who synchronously unraveled their way down 20-foot-high purple silks, incited an adrenaline-heavy thrill in the seeming danger of it all. There was even a singing component near the end: Katy Perry’s “E.T.” belted in the midst of a trapeze act, where the artist hung upside down and somehow still failed to miss a single note in the song.
There were parts, however, that didn’t quite hit that 'wow' factor and came across more awkward than mesmerizing. The hula hoop juggling and off-string yoyo tricks (that didn’t always land) felt more suited to a teenage summer camp production than a $20-per-ticket show. But overall, the performance showcased some incredible stunts, with more landing than falling short. —COLETTE GOLDSTEIN
Threads of History
“Colored Silk: A Civil War Odyssey" | SOTA: Black Box Theatre | Sept. 15 | $25 | Ages 16+
Reducing the life of a historical figure to an hour and a half seems like a Herculean task, but Tamy Tyree, like her non-fiction character Elizabeth Keckley, believes nothing is out of reach. On Saturday, Sept. 14, audience members were invited to embark on “Colored Silk: A Civil War Odyssey," a journey through Lizzie's memories.
On stage is a table with a tea set. A book sits beside a pinkish chair with a chest where a blanket is laid. In the distance, almost shrouded in darkness, stands a dress on a mannequin, a relic of an old life. On this bare stage, Tyree is both captain and sole sailor on this voyage, a one-woman show that she performs and wrote.
It recounts the solitary journey of the famous dressmaker to Mary Todd Lincoln, an enslaved woman who forged her way to the White House through sheer tenacity and hope. Keckley’s journey of success and sorrow is told through Tyree’s tremendous performance, her talent too immense to be confined to the small black box. Yet despite her all-out effort in this off-Broadway show, the constant entry of photographers, nerve-wracking lighting and distracting projection of a poster behind her were like sirens, drawing the attention of some audience members away.
Like Homer before her, Tyree guides us through a long odyssey toward home and freedom, shaped by the experiences and losses of war. “When a country is divided, the result can be war,” she writes — a lesson from the past that serves as a warning to the present. —MATHILDE REFLOCH
Participation grade
“Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind” | SOTA: Club SOTA | Sept. 15 | $20 | 16+
Upon entrance to Club SOTA at the School of Arts, audience members are greeted by one of the self-appointed ‘unsemble’ members of “Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind” with a very loud “What’s your name?” After answering, one realizes the person asking is wearing noise-canceling headphones and wrote whatever they think they heard on a name tag.
It's just a sneak peek of what the next 40 minutes will entail.
As the show starts, the members of the unsemble, — Kamryn Marck, Amy Johnson, Eric Ruelle and Cassandra Svacha — promise to bring a high-energy show that will involve audience participation (with consent, of course).
The unsemble will attempt to perform 20 plays in 40 minutes. The order in which the plays will be performed is decided by the audience, as they shout the number of the play they want to see next after the word “curtain” is said at the end of each play.
Each audience member is also given a “menu” that has all the plays listed, from one to 20. The numbers of the plays are also taped on the wall to help the audience and unsemble members keep track of what has been performed.
All four cast members make sure the audience is involved with the show, whether they are simply walking through the audience, bringing people up on stage to compete in the 'Dictionlympics' or allowing the audience two minutes of playtime to get their inner child out.
The show is fast-paced and high-energy, with something for everyone. Some of the plays are pure comedy, some emotional, some just outright weird. The show's unsemble does an immaculate job of keeping the audience entertained, but it's truly up to the attendees as to how the show will go; a very “you get out what you put in” type of show. —SARA ATENCIO-GONZALES
“From Darkness a Morning Glory” | Spiegelgarden | Sept. 15 | Free | All ages
For a non-Rochesterian, actor and puppeteer Oscar Olivo brings remarkable insight into the original sin of Kodak. Namely, that George Eastman is directly responsible for — as Olivo reflects during his riveting and manic play “From Darkness a Morning Glory” — tainting the very act of remembering itself.
“I didn’t know that my memories were poison,” Olivio says with the aid of hand puppets and photographs, and the metaphorical runoff from Eastman’s patented chemical emulsion process drips like muck.
“From Darkness,” which Olivo premiered in Germany earlier this year, is magnetic. But in the Rochester Fringe Festival’s Spiegelgarden on Sept. 14, it seemed that Eastman’s ghost prevented Olivo from executing it in the manner he wanted. Microphone problems persisted long into the show, so Olivo worked them into the piece itself. He played with the unorthodox venue, at one point rolling himself up into one of the bewildering fake turf mats laid down by the garden’s designers.
In short, he had some fun with it, even as the constant issues threatened to derail the festival premiere of a very strong piece. At heart, “From Darkness” is a story about taking a trip to Rochester with a photobook of wonderful memories and realizing, through talking to both local activists and a 40-year Kodak employee (personified through a suitably horrifying mask), that the company responsible for preserving those memories is also complicit in negligent pollution.
“From Darkness” is also certainly the only nostalgia- and environmental calamity-themed puppet show ever staged for audience members wolfing down racks of ribs and buffalo chicken grilled cheese sandwiches — that day’s available fare in the Spiegelgarden.
As motorcycles brapped down Main Street and Olivo kept tending to shorting lav mics, “From Darkness” became living theater exhilaratingly at war with its environment. It didn’t just break the fourth wall. No such wall ever existed. —PATRICK HOSKEN
Mathematical magic
“The Enigmatist: Magic and Puzzles with David Kwong” | Spiegeltent | Sept. 15 | From $42 | Ages 5+
David Kwong can guess your card. He can hand you a kiwi and, 30 minutes later, cut into it to reveal the same dollar bill another audience member autographed earlier. He can also construct an entire “New York Times”-caliber crossword puzzle on a large board in real time and hide several secret messages across the grid.
He can, and does, do all this as part of his extraordinary one-man show “The Enigmatist,” which turns the Spiegeltent into a dazzling hall of magic. But nothing is more dazzling than Kwong himself, a preternatural showman who leaned into his roots during his first-ever run of performing magic in his hometown. (Technically, he’s from Brighton, but you get it.)
What makes “The Enigmatist” so endearing is how Kwong structures it. There’s a larger story, both historical and intriguing as it weaves in Shakespearean code-breaking and chemical elements, but he leans all the way into seemingly quick tricks involving the periodic table and even Wikipedia. These end up being relevant later, but you probably figured that. Nothing is coincidental when a magician’s at the helm.
Kwong’s illusions are fun, and he manages to flex his mathematical mind with an accessible, charming delivery — no easy feat. On Sept. 14, he shouted out his parents multiple times (who sweetly attended in person) and gave props to the fellow nerds and puzzle-heads in the audience.
At each seat is a pencil and a sheet of paper for jotting down answers to audience puzzles stitched into the main show. You might find yourself likewise spelling out a single word: wow. —PATRICK HOSKEN
Rolling by the river
“Roc River Ride” | One day only
Rochester bike enthusiasts know that any trip along the Genesee Riverway Trail on a sunny day is a good one. Add in some Fringe and you can’t go wrong.
Now in its third year, Roc River Ride is a group biking tour hosted by the Southwest Rotary Club to encourage healthy and active engagement with nature in Southwest Rochester. They partnered with a host of local organizations including R Community Bikes, who was on site to address any bike issues (and indeed, helped my friend with a troublesome gear)
The opening at the Genesee Waterways Center had the energy of the start of a race, with DJ Denaro McCray playing upbeat hits. But there was no rush: every fifteen minutes a new wave of up to 25 cyclists were sent along the trail, guided by volunteers for a “slow stroll” along the confluence of the Genesee River and Erie Canal.
Every mile or so, the group paused for a performance offering a unique historical or artistic perspective on Rochester. These included a short presentation by Trish Corcoran from the Haudenosaunee Nation about her family’s heritage and the upcoming Every Child Matters Day, a heartfelt spoken word poem by Shamere Lawrence from Teen Empowerment, a poetry and dance collaboration with three trees on the University of Rochester campus by the Anne Harris Wilcox dance troupe, an Afro-Puerto Rican drumming and dance piece by Bomba Yague, and a historical overview of sights visible from the downtown Promenade by Wade Norwood of Common Ground Health. Storyteller Almeta Whitis gave a rousing conclusion with Kenyan folklore and group singing.
Cyclists could choose to ride for three, seven, or ten miles, although it was unclear to me as well as the volunteer I asked which groups were leaving at which times. I ended up in one of the ten mile groups, which took about three hours to complete all the performances, missing the closing band Still One Left at the end of the ride.
But no matter. It was a beautiful day for cyclists of all ages, the youngest I saw being a toddler in a kiddie seat attached to their mom’s bike. Whether it’s your first time on the trails or your 100th, it’s hard to imagine a better way to experience the water, the trees, and the complex history of the land. —KATHERINE VARGA
Defying gravity
"Aerial 51" | Aerial Arts of Rochester: Aerial Arena | Sept. 15 | $17 | 16+
Earthlings, beware: the talented acts of Aerial 51 not only defied gravity, but also shattered any preconceived notions of the human body's capabilities. Directed by Kiendra Simpson, this production interpreted galactic life through aerial arts.
Upon entrance, audience members were greeted by two eerie extraterrestrials on four-legged stilts that almost seemed to invade any sentiment of personal space. Hence, the otherworldliness of the experience was sold pretty early on. The performers’ costume design—with neon, psychedelic attire and sparkle-studded makeup—was also spot-on with the cosmic theme and immediately enhanced the visual appeal of the performance.
The show featured some remarkable contortionist-like movements that evoked traditional horror scenes such as the spider walk from "The Exorcist" almost amateur in comparison. Watching a performer back-bend in a way that made her spine appear gelatinous, the audience found a new reason for applause with each minute. There were a variety of other acts that exhibited sheer strength and expertise in this performance, such as performers who hoisted their bodies up onto rotating prismatic platforms and showcased powerful (and painful-looking) flexibility holds.
Some displays, like the women who synchronously unraveled their way down 20-foot-high purple silks, incited an adrenaline-heavy thrill in the seeming danger of it all. There was even a singing component near the end: Katy Perry’s “E.T.” belted in the midst of a trapeze act, where the artist hung upside down and somehow still failed to miss a single note in the song.
There were parts, however, that didn’t quite hit that 'wow' factor and came across more awkward than mesmerizing. The hula hoop juggling and off-string yoyo tricks (that didn’t always land) felt more suited to a teenage summer camp production than a $20-per-ticket show. But overall, the performance showcased some incredible stunts, with more landing than falling short. —COLETTE GOLDSTEIN
Threads of History
“Colored Silk: A Civil War Odyssey" | SOTA: Black Box Theatre | Sept. 15 | $25 | Ages 16+
Reducing the life of a historical figure to an hour and a half seems like a Herculean task, but Tamy Tyree, like her non-fiction character Elizabeth Keckley, believes nothing is out of reach. On Saturday, Sept. 14, audience members were invited to embark on “Colored Silk: A Civil War Odyssey," a journey through Lizzie's memories.
On stage is a table with a tea set. A book sits beside a pinkish chair with a chest where a blanket is laid. In the distance, almost shrouded in darkness, stands a dress on a mannequin, a relic of an old life. On this bare stage, Tyree is both captain and sole sailor on this voyage, a one-woman show that she performs and wrote.
It recounts the solitary journey of the famous dressmaker to Mary Todd Lincoln, an enslaved woman who forged her way to the White House through sheer tenacity and hope. Keckley’s journey of success and sorrow is told through Tyree’s tremendous performance, her talent too immense to be confined to the small black box. Yet despite her all-out effort in this off-Broadway show, the constant entry of photographers, nerve-wracking lighting and distracting projection of a poster behind her were like sirens, drawing the attention of some audience members away.
Like Homer before her, Tyree guides us through a long odyssey toward home and freedom, shaped by the experiences and losses of war. “When a country is divided, the result can be war,” she writes — a lesson from the past that serves as a warning to the present. —MATHILDE REFLOCH
Participation grade
“Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind” | SOTA: Club SOTA | Sept. 15 | $20 | 16+
Upon entrance to Club SOTA at the School of Arts, audience members are greeted by one of the self-appointed ‘unsemble’ members of “Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind” with a very loud “What’s your name?” After answering, one realizes the person asking is wearing noise-canceling headphones and wrote whatever they think they heard on a name tag.
It's just a sneak peek of what the next 40 minutes will entail.
As the show starts, the members of the unsemble, — Kamryn Marck, Amy Johnson, Eric Ruelle and Cassandra Svacha — promise to bring a high-energy show that will involve audience participation (with consent, of course).
The unsemble will attempt to perform 20 plays in 40 minutes. The order in which the plays will be performed is decided by the audience, as they shout the number of the play they want to see next after the word “curtain” is said at the end of each play.
Each audience member is also given a “menu” that has all the plays listed, from one to 20. The numbers of the plays are also taped on the wall to help the audience and unsemble members keep track of what has been performed.
All four cast members make sure the audience is involved with the show, whether they are simply walking through the audience, bringing people up on stage to compete in the 'Dictionlympics' or allowing the audience two minutes of playtime to get their inner child out.
The show is fast-paced and high-energy, with something for everyone. Some of the plays are pure comedy, some emotional, some just outright weird. The show's unsemble does an immaculate job of keeping the audience entertained, but it's truly up to the attendees as to how the show will go; a very “you get out what you put in” type of show. —SARA ATENCIO-GONZALES
