Boxing Unformed to
go off script to examine schizophrenia
Performances set for Oct.
16-18 and Oct. 23-25 at TheatreWorks
Our
Own Voice Theatre Troupe presents Boxing
Unformed (My Lunch With Randy)
a “post-modern comedy” that explores living with schizophrenia through
dance, theatrical image-making and improvisation. Performances are at 8
p.m. on Oct. 16-17 and Oct. 23-24 and at 3 p.m. on Oct. 18 and 25 at
TheatreWorks, 2085 Monroe.
The production will be directed by
company founder Bill Baker and was written by long-time troupe member
Randy Youngblood. This will be the tenth collaboration between the two
men, and it’s fair to say that the company’s experimental techniques
have developed to a large part from Baker’s efforts to bring
Youngblood’s challenging texts to the stage.
Written in a style
that has been described as “seemingly random non sequiturs gaining in
resonance and texture,” Youngblood’s scripts like Supergroups A+,
(1999), Country
Spacecraft Ballerina (2002), Good Time
Speech (2003)
and Broadminded
Mental Brains (2005) have pushed the company to develop
its uniquely collaborative style of rehearsal and performance.
“We
self-consciously sought to represent the creative encounters that bring
these words from the pen to the stage,” Baker said. “As the two old
friends meet over a meal to discuss the play, the company will become
the words of the script through dance, theatrical image-making and
improvisation, with emphasis on improvisation. We’re excited. No two
shows will be exactly the same.”
General admission is $10 and $8 for students and seniors. The Sunday
matinees are pay-what-you-can shows.
Created
in 1991, Our Own Voice Theatre Troupe is a non-profit organization
working to empower people marginalized by mental illness and striving
to engage our community in dialogue about mental health.
For more information, call (901) 274-1000 or visit www.ourownvoice.org.
At a glance:
Boxing
Unformed. Directed by Bill Baker
Oct. 16-17 and Oct. 23-24 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 18 and 25 at 3 p.m.
TheatreWorks, 2085 Monroe Ave., Memphis, TN 38104.
Tickets: $10 and $8 / Box Office: 274-1000.