Rockstar Storytellers adjacent #1
After Rik Reppe, the next person on Mom's must-see list, particularly since she didn't get to see him either of the last two years (!) is phillip andrew bennett low, the man behind Maximum Verbosity
2008 - All Rights Reserved - A Libertarian Rage
2008 out of Fringe season offering - Logorrhea - The Most of Maximum Verbosity
2007 - Descendant of Dragons
2005 - Camelot Is Crumbling
2004 - Lokasenna
He was in the Top 10 2007 edition - and one of the many reasons is that the guy never does the same thing twice. He's constantly experimenting - with language, with performance, with the basic building blocks of theater and storytelling.
His first show, Lokasenna, was very much a work in progress. His follow-up, Camelot Is Crumbling, seemed to come out of nowhere and totally blew me away. After that, I was a convert. Some things I loved (Descendant of Dragons), some things I wasn't as thrilled by (All Rights Reserved - A Libertarian Rage), and some things just left me scratching my head in bemusement (Logorrhea - The Most of Maximum Verbosity), but I've never been bored, not once.
I got a look at this latest script of his and at first I was resisting it. Then I realized it was because I was expecting more of the same thing he'd done before. And he doesn't do that. He never does that. When I approached the script just for what it was, not in comparison to anything else, it started to make its own kind of sense. And I started to like it more and more. After seeing it on the page, I'm really interested to see how it looks up on two feet walking around. That would be...
The Rise of General Arthur
The fifth century meets the twenty-first as Lance Corporal Pellinore is shipped off to Baghdad. It's Arthur's story...as you've never heard it before.
From the creator of such hit shows as Descendant of Dragons and All Rights Reserved: A Libertarian Rage, this military drama -- set against the backdrop of the first Gulf War -- uses the body of medieval legend surrounding the early days of King Arthur and his knights to explore the nature of idealism in the face of armed conflict. Comparing and contrasting the contemporary and classical language of martial heroism, this wholly unique blend of scholarship and performance art promises to be a controversial and thought-provoking event.
And by the time it gets to us, this show's gonna be tight. He's spending his summer and early fall on the road doing the Fringe circuit in a major way. He'll be hitting two Fringes before he even gets to Minnesota (he's on the road now)
Capital Fringe (Washington DC) July 9-26
Kansas City Fringe - July 19-26
Right after us he's off to
Boulder Fringe - August 12-23
Indianapolis (Indy) Fringe - August 21-30
and finally, if my rumor mill of mutual acquaintances is correct...
Melbourne (Australia) Fringe - September/October
I am certainly not his only fan in the press, but apparently one of the most verbose - he quotes me twice...
Praise for Maximum Verbosity's last Fringe show "All Rights Reserved":
"Bad theater would be the kind I didn't care about at all. Promising theater is the kind that bugs me. Maximum Verbosity, once again, bugs me." - Matthew Everett, Twin Cities Daily Planet
then, to lead off his Bio
phillip low
Role: writer/performer
"...his ever-expanding skill and bending language to his will and slinging it at you from five different directions at once - that's the primary reason you should see his show. He is damn good at what he does. He is smart. He is funny. He is brilliant. No question." - Matthew Everett, Twin Cities Daily Planet
Wow, you'd think I was sleeping with the guy. (phillip, call me :)
But seriously, I don't gush if it's not deserved. The guy doesn't just take chances at Fringe time, he takes them year round. And he's taking his act on the road with a vengeance this year. Come give him a welcome hometown stop in the middle of his big tour.
Oh, here's the rest of his bio, because I like it...
phillip low is a Chinese-American playwright and slam poet, storyteller and mime, theatre critic and libertarian activist. His performances have won acclaim at such varied venues as the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, Spirit in the House, FoolFest, and the Iowa, Kansas City, and Minnesota Fringe Festivals, where his one-man show "Descendant of Dragons" was the bestselling show in its venue and honored with a coveted Encore slot.
He is also the co-founder and Chair of the Rockstar Storytellers, a team of bestselling Minneapolis spoken-word artists.
The company website is www.maximumverbosityonline.org
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