AT A GLANCE

WHAT: The Edge Performance Festival, from the Department of Theatre and Dance

WHEN AND WHERE

Friday, April 15

• Solo Explorations, by graduating Master of Fine Arts candidates in acting — 7 p.m., Arena Theatre, Wright Hall
• Main Stage Dance — 8 p.m., Main Theatre

Saturday, April 16 (Picnic Day)

• Main Stage Dance (short program) — 2 and 4 p.m., Main Theatre
• Solo Explorations — 7 p.m., Arena Theatre, Wright Hall
• Undergraduate One-Act Plays — 9:30 p.m., Lab A, Wright Hall
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show Sing-Along — Midnight, Main Theatre

Sunday, April 17

• Main Stage Dance — 2 p.m., Main Theatre
• Undergraduate One-Act Plays — 7 p.m., Lab A, Wright Hall

Thursday, April 21

• Main Stage Dance — 8 p.m., Main Theatre

Friday, April 22

• Undergraduate One-Act Plays — 8 p.m., Lab A, Wright Hall
• Festival Cabaret — 11 p.m., Arena Theatre, Wright Hall

Saturday, April 23

• Undergraduate One-Act Plays — 8 p.m., Lab A, Wright Hall
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show Sing-Along — Midnight, Main Theatre

TICKETS: $30 for a festival pass, which covers admission to all events except The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Single events, including the movie showings, are $10.

Tickets are available in advance and also will be sold at the door; the prices are the same. Advance tickets are available online (click on “Purchase Tickets Now!”), or in person or by telephone at the Mondavi Center box office, (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787.

ADVISORY: The Rocky Horror Picture Show is rated R (for “restricted”), a national rating that says children under 17 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. All other events are PG-13, a motion picture rating that states: “Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.”

A new festival from the Department of Theatre and Dance is all about the edge: the edge of drama, overlapping with the edge of dance, overlapping with other artistic forms — all culminating in the cult phenomenon The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the ultimate example of blurred lines between film and theatre, audience and performer.

The Edge Performance Festival, taking place over two weeks, April 15 to 23, incorporates department mainstays from years past and adds the Festival Cabaret and two showings of Rocky Horror — at midnight, of course, and with audience members welcome to sing along.

A news release states the Edge Performance Festival “offers myriad opportunities to explore and experience the diversity of performance that takes place at UC Davis, whether through the Solo Explorations of graduating Master’s of Fine Arts acting candidates, the collaborative efforts of undergraduate writers and directors, or the choreography and movement of graduate and undergraduate dancers.”

MAIN STAGE DANCE: Six new choreographies by first-year graduate students (Folawole and Kevin O'Connor) and eligible undergraduates (Kristi Kilpatrick, Daniela Leal, Sandra A. Lopez and Kevin Moriarty, all fourth-year students) who have completed the required composition courses. All six choreographies are included in all performances except the Picnic Day short program.

• Habitat — Master’s of Fine Arts candidate O’Connor uses 30-foot ropes to investigate how people interact physically with different environments — in a fusion of the subtle and spectacular. He said his inspiration came from watching videos of gibbons in their arboreal home, swinging gracefully and efficiently in the forest canopy. “Their natural locomotion evolved in relation to their environment,” he said.

• Ginkgo — This work by M.F.A. candidate Folawole revolves around the image of the spinning Earth and explores the question, “Where do I stand?” Folawole elaborated: “The bird’s nest is everywhere. … You can’t escape it. If a downward spiral is an inevitable centripetal force of nature, the bird’s nest is its antithesis.”

• Epicene — Moriarty explores the relationship between gender and movement, using lines, symmetry and asymmetry, silhouettes and projection to convey observations that are both public and personal. Moriarty sought to create movement without adhering to a narrative, focusing less on technique and more on expression. By looking at "typical" 1950s gender roles, the piece seeks to reveal that gender has essentially ornamental aspects to it, that it can be removed or replaced like clothing or jewelry.

• Evolution — In looking at the arc of personal growth and development that is unique to each individual and yet experienced by all of us, choreographer Kilpatrick touches on how we are assimilated into our culture and still remain distinct individuals within that culture. Evolution focuses on levels — evolution and progression, beginning with dancers lying on the stage and slowly rising up as the performance gains momentum.

• A Murder at the Tyburn Tree — Lopez characterizes the struggle of everyday life, in a work that focuses heavily on color in terms of lighting design, trying to evince the look of several seasons or times of day. “The stage will transform from a white winter ambience into red amber sunset into night,” the choreographer said. These different moods and transitions all help further the choreography’s goal, which is to communicate that life presents a dilemma that cannot be solved easily.

• Flash: Dianamicas de Familia — Photography and the idea of the family portrait form Leal's basic concept.. The performance uses “framing” and camera sound effects to create the atmosphere of portraiture, and the family and relationships captured within it.

UNDERGRADUATE ONE-ACT PLAYS: Three new works, all of which are included in all performances.

• Brother(s) at War, by Michael Lutheran, directed by Sarah Birdsall — The play looks at how a person deals with simultaneous conflicts that are both external and internal in nature. The play begins with the main character, Sean, returning to his barracks after witnessing terrible atrocities in combat, then follows the dramatic tension of Sean's coping process.

• How to Grieve, by Ashler Chandler, directed by Sabba Rahbar — Rahbar said Chandler's work “is about dealing with grief in our own way and recognizing that no two people's grief is the same.” Despite the emotion, the play feels more like a dark comedy than a starkly dramatic piece, Rahbar said. The piece traverses emotional ground in visually interesting ways. For example, Amanda, the main character, wears a bright green dress to celebrate her mother’s life, rather than black to mourn her mother’s death.

• The Ballad of a Tangerine, by Karen Baldomero, directed by Jennifer Adler — The playwright described her work as the “culmination of my four years as an Asian American studies major and my love for the Muppets.” The play focuses on Bradley Tangerine, a puppet trying to break into show business. Conflict arises when he is not taken seriously. The play explores themes of race and generational conflict through the lens of a puppet, which creates levity. Ultimately, The Ballad of a Tangerine is an ode to following one’s dreams.

SOLO EXPLORATIONS: Four new solo performances by graduating Master’s of Fine Arts candidates in acting. All four Solo Explorations are included in all performances.

• Baking & Bowling — Michael Davison described his first solo work as a daunting assignment, in that most of his work as an actor heretofore has been about collaboration and creating and relating to other characters. In Baking & Bowling, he explores storytelling through character and gender. Key elements include imagery and the juxtapositions of good and evil and feminine and masculine, working to create tension and psychological drama.

• Ratchet — With absurdist and creamlike qualities, Barry Hubbard’s work revolves around a day in the life of an unlucky salesman, who finds himself in situations that are a showcase for the physical, psychological manifestations of tension and ease. “The inspiration for the piece derived from the Slow Movement and its philosophy of reducing the hectic and destructive pace of modern life,” Hubbard said. Ratchet also portrays the high cost of living in a consumer culture. “One image that stands out for me is when the salesman is perched on top of his desk, frantically trying to save a sale from falling though. It’s his desperation that mirrors the relentless effort in this country to market and sell products to all of us, often without regard to other costs.”

• Fragments of Artaud’s Desk — Brian Livingston investigates French madman-visionary Antonin Artaud’s writings, theories and plays, his biography — and the contemporary relevance of his work. The performance explores a multitude of themes, including threads of death; the audience-actor-theatre-societal role; out-of-body experiences; Artaud's creation of the theatre of cruelty; Dadaism; revolution; the metaphysical connection of soul, spirit, heritage, being, mystery, magic and the body; and the body as landscape for the impossible leaps of thought and perception for both actor and audience alike.

• Something Like Enlightenment — Avila Reese's Solo Exploration is loosely based on the relationship between 12th-century nun and scholar Heloise de’ Argenteuil, and philosopher and monk Peter Abelard. The text is an assembly of their love letters and Reese’s writing. Something Like Enlightenment creates a space in which the actress experiences a whirlwind of emotional intensities. The actress and her character are continuously in flux, so that the audience might view the work from various perspectives with dualistic vantages and alternative narratives. Said Reese:“I am thrilled to get the chance to mount a production in which I have (through blood, sweat, tears and twisted ankles) shaped every facet, from choreography, to design, to video and writing.”

FESTIVAL CABARET: Music, poetry and much more, showcasing undergraduate and graduate student talent in unique and exciting acts of the performers’ own devising.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW SING-ALONG

Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon star in this 1975 film, a stylized, macabre musical as dark as it is daring — and which has become the most famous of all midnight movies. Rocky Horror is an overtly sexual, highly provocative and comedic portrayal of gay and transgender culture, and sexual quirks. The film has garnered a tradition of audience participation and interaction — and that is precisely what audiences are encouraged to do at these UC Davis showings: interact and sing (and dance!) along. So, “Let’s Do The Time Warp Again!”

And, if you want, wear a costume! If you don’t have a costume of your own, consider renting one in advance or in the lobby, from The Enchanted Cellar (the Department of Theatre and Dance costume shop). For rentals in advance, call the costume shop at (530) 752-0740.

Reporting by Janice Bisgaard, publicity manager for the Department of Theatre and Dance.