Home » ‘House #30’ Temporarily Opens For Fremont Audiences

‘House #30’ Temporarily Opens For Fremont Audiences

by Kirby Lindsay Laney, posted 22 June 2015

 

Mik Kuhlman reaches for a memory of 'House #30'.  Photo by Michelle Bates
Mik Kuhlman reaches for a memory of ‘House #30’. Photo by Michelle Bates

Right now, creator/writer/performer Mik Kuhlman is at work developing a show that will appear on stages in New York City, and all over the U.S.  First, ‘House #30’ will be shown to audiences in Fremont at West of Lenin.  From June 25th – 29th, for five days only, this personal story of island lore, ghosts, and the loss of home will premiere here.

“It’s about home,” Kuhlman explained about this solo show, “it’s about the thirtieth home that I lived in, that was haunted and burned down, but it’s not about the house, it’s an epic personal story.”

‘Always Yes’

Developing an original, solo performance piece is nothing new for Kuhlman, but this one is very different.  Previous works have been site specific, and/or originated with her own body work as a mime or as a dancer.  Also, “I have always gone from the universal to the personal,” she explained about the challenges of developing ‘House #30’, “This is the first time I started with the personal.”

Kuhlman started on Vashon, where she once lived in the actual ‘House #30’.  Her reputation for creative, challenging original performances generated a call, two years ago, from the Vashon Allied Arts’ New Works Festival, and the ask for contributing a piece.  “The answer to that is always ‘yes,’” she explained, even when the deadline was the next day.

Kuhlman originally reflected on her life as a modern nomad, “I thought I was going to write about that,” she has said.  So far, Kuhlman has lived in 63 different houses – eight of those were before she finished high school.  “You don’t stop to count them until you do,” she acknowledged, “it kind of told me something.”

House30poster_513777-250She conceived of a one-woman work on her many different homes.  She dialogued with Patricia Toovey, a textile artist, who built Kuhlman a house – an ethereal stage piece that provided Kuhlman with a simple, non-technical set to build her performance around.

Collaborating with Toovey, and sharing the beautiful fabrics, (“she sent me samples, and I’d pull them out and show strangers on the subway,” Kuhlman said about her time in New York,) gave her a sounding board for her stories.  Yet, it was in a course, with Joseph Gallo, on writing for solo theater, that Kuhlman’s piece coalesced.  “Everyone in the class was leaning forward,” she recalls about when she got to the story of ‘House #30,’ “just tell us about house number thirty,” they would ask.

A Solo Work, From Among Collaborators

While the lively blonde does voice over work, and straight acting, Kuhlman has also become known for her daring solo pieces.  Yet, she doesn’t develop these works – or perform them – alone.  According to Kuhlman, “all of my people are collaborators,” and her team on ‘House #30’ is substantial.

For a director, Kuhlman asked Jennifer Jasper to help.  “She knows me, she knew the home,” Kuhlman said, “and I really love her storytelling.”  The two women spent a weekend in a studio, working out an outline for the performance based on a poem Kuhlman wrote about the moment she first heard that the actual house #30 had burned down.  “Describing, moment to moment, going into shock,” she said of the poem, “It was such a visceral experience.”

Mik Kuhlman actress, creator and clown, during an UMO fundraiser in Jan '12.  Photo provided by Mik Kuhlman
Mik Kuhlman actress, creator and clown, during an UMO fundraiser in Jan ’12. Photo provided by Mik Kuhlman

In June of 2013, ‘House #30’ first premiered on Vashon, among an audience largely familiar with the house, or Kuhlman, or both.  “On Vashon, I did it as a gift,” to the community that helped her find her home among the ashes.  However, for that performance, Kuhlman didn’t have the piece memorized, she had no choreography and she did have live music provided by Gretta Harley.

At West of Lenin audiences will see a much more realized ‘House #30,’ with lighting, sound and costume designs fully developed (thanks to more collaborators.)  “The story is the same,” Kuhlman reported, “how I tell the story has changed.”  She has a script now, and a story made less regional and more universal, but still telling about her thirtieth home.

“It was [theater founder and producer] A.J. Epstein who wanted me to do a show at West of Lenin,” Kuhlman explained, “I wouldn’t have necessarily pushed myself to finish it if he hadn’t offered this opportunity.”  Yet, Kuhlman has created a simple, approachable work to be sold to booking agents for New York, and theaters around the U.S., after premiering it in Fremont.

Be among the very first to see this short, solo production, and Kuhlman, at ‘House #30’, while they stop for a visit in Fremont.  Purchase tickets through Brown Paper Tickets, or in the lobby at West of Lenin.

 

 


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©2015 Kirby Lindsay.  This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws.  Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.

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