by Kirby Lindsay, posted 6 February 2015
For the weekend of Valentine’s Day – February 13th, 14th & 15th – at West of Lenin, audiences can enjoy a literary grudge match with ‘Medicine Ball: Playwrights vs Poets’. At three performances, seven poets and seven playwrights will have their original works performed by thirteen actors – staged by three professional theater directors – and judged by the audience. So, do poets or playwrights entertain and delight the best?
A ‘Smorgasbord’ Of Theatre
Seattle Theatre Works presents this annual “smorgasbord of pieces,” as described by producer Daniel Tarker, “a lot of variety, audience interaction. [Audience members] will see something that they will see nowhere else.”
‘Medicine Ball’ brings audiences – and the participating poets, playwrights, actors, and directors – the participation in an entirely unique experience. “All the content is specifically commissioned for this show,” explained Graham Isaac, Poetry Curator for this production. No one will have seen these pieces ever before, or possibly ever again. Also, even if you don’t like one or two of the performances, there will be eleven or twelve other poems/plays that you can.
Tarker, who also directs, recruited the playwrights (including himself,) and Isaac found willing poets, and all were given a writing prompt (in the form of a piece of visual art,) and wrote a short (less than 10 minutes) piece on the theme of Love & Sex. As Issac explained, this production acknowledges the weekend but “you can go without getting Valentine’s Day shoved down your throat.” In fact, with one show scheduled for Friday the 13th, this show may give darker, more thoughtful and perhaps even snarky take on the holiday of hearts and flowers.
Working With Language
Best of all, audiences not only watch all fourteen finished pieces, but they rate their favorites – and the ones they judge to be ‘Gong Show’ rejects. “One of the smarter things we did,” Isaac said, “is that you rise or fall together.” Audience members rate each piece, but after the Sunday matinee show votes will be tallied with either the poets or the playwrights being declared champs (winners each receive a bottle of Two-Buck-Chuck, and the others get a warm Pabst Blue Ribbon – so, everybody wins…)
For poets, ‘Medicine Ball’ can be a more daunting task. “I’ve had a couple people say they aren’t sure about the concept,” Isaac observed, “some can get hung up on the competitive aspect.” Poets also must, for ‘Medicine Ball’, write a two or three page poem that others will read and interpret. Isaac, a published poet who has written for ‘Medicine Ball’ in the past, kept himself in reserve this year, “as a pinch hitter,” as Tarker described him. Yet, as Isaac said, “no one ever has completely disappeared,” and failed to deliver a finished piece.
“Poetry can be its own insular world,” Isaac acknowledged, and this event gives the poets a chance to meet, and collaborate, with other creative people. “The poets talk to the others,” he said about the meetings between the writers, actors and directors, “I do think some friendships have been formed.”
This will be the fifth ‘Medicine Ball’, but only the second full stage production. The first three were done as a reading series but with a grant from the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (plus Seattle Theatre Works sponsorship by Shunpike) has made it possible to expand the scope of the project. For the second ‘Medicine Ball’, Tarker has organized a second meeting among the writers, actors and directors – after the works are completed – for more collaboration.
As a director, Tarker welcomes the chance to stage a poem. The poets can chose to write their poem in a variety of voices, or just one, but it is the director who decides whether to divide the poem into different parts or make the piece a monologue. “The greatest fun is working on the poem,” Tarker reported, “unlocking it. ‘Directing into the metaphor,’” he paraphrased.
The poem presents more of a challenge, but he thinks everyone enjoys exploring the possibilities. “It reminds me of working on more classical plays,” Tarker said about the poems, “I’m going to have to look up the literary references, use a dictionary… The actors really enjoy this, the challenge of doing poetry. They don’t usually get to work with language this way.”
Original Theatrical Works In Fremont
Tarker, who not only produces ‘Medicine Ball’ but also serves as Artistic Director for Seattle Theatre Works, explained, “the reason were doing this is because it’s hard.” For the writers, directors and actors, ‘Medicine Ball’ provides a challenge to their skills, and preconceived notions of what a play – or a poem – can do.
Audiences, however, get to enjoy the hard work of several dozen creative artists – all presented in an evening (or matinee) of quality entertainment. Find your favorite, be they playwright or poet, at West of Lenin over the 2015 Valentine’s weekend. Tickets can be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets, in advance, or (possibly, if seats remain available) at the doors.
While you won’t want to miss this unique experience of seeing fourteen original theatrical works, keep an eye out for future ‘Medicine Ball’ competitions – but don’t miss this one, coming to the Center of the Universe!
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