Fringe 2005 - TV Guest #4 - Aniccha Arts

Sunday, June 19, 2005 - 1:30pm

Taking for its name, a word that means "lack of desire" in Sanskrit, and "permanence of change" in Pali - Aniccha Arts blends multimedia, live performance and audience interaction into a mix that aims to draw the audience into both the action and the thematic content of the production. This more active role, not just as observer, truly does influence the outcome of the piece and makes every performance different from the last in a way that multiplies that common effect found in live theater.

Last year's Fringe saw their production of "Fear of Freedom" - contemplating the individual's place in society and the ever-moving engine of progress. Here members of the audience were given the power to allow change, or to stop it; to participate in the event moving forward, or causing it to grind to a halt, and all that power implies.

This year, the world response to the tsunami disaster is on creator/director Pramila Vasudevan's mind. It seems easier, simpler, to respond to a disaster that is beyond human control, like the tsunami, than to offer help in a situation that is less clear - such as rebuilding a country or trying to help the people of a nation who are suffering under threat of a dictator or civil war. But is anything really free of politics? That is some of the territory this performance piece, entitled Fragile Lines, is exploring.

It's hard to explain the method in writing. It almost needs to be see, or better yet experienced first hand. I got drafted into an in studio performance that may or may not be used in the final cut of this particular segment of the TV show. We'll see.

Meantime, here's their scheduling information. Check them out. It's the kind of theater even the Twin Cities doesn't have in abundance throughout the rest of the year, but the Fringe makes it possible for these kind of voices to be heard, and be easy to find.

Aniccha Arts
Fragile Lines
Mixed Blood Theater
Sat 8/6, 5:30 pm
Sun 8/7, 4:00 pm
Mon 8/8, 7:00 pm
Sat 8/13, 1:00 pm
Sun 8/14, 7:00 pm

For more on Annicha Arts, check out their website at www.aniccha.org

(For more of my writing - plays, past blog entries and more - visit www.matthewaeverett.com)