Take A Newspaper. Take Some Scissors: Original Solo Performance Pieces
January 28, 2016
Original work by current and former graduate MFA actors at the USC Professional Actor Training Program
Admission: $10; $8 for 701 CCA members
COLUMBIA, SC – To the day on the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, Switzerland, 701 Center for Contemporary Art marks the occasion with seven short, experimental solo theater performances in the center’s artist loft turned makeshift performance space. The performances are by current and former graduate MFA actors of the University of South Carolina Professional Actor Training Program, with which 701 CCA has partnered for the occasion. The seven actors, who also wrote and direct their solo performances, are Candace Thomas, Melissa Reed, Dimitri Woods, Rachel Kuhnle, Josiah Laubenstein, Matthew Cavender and Nicole Dietze.
The performances are part of 701 CCA’s Dada Days, celebrating the opening of the Cabaret Voltaire on February 5, 1916, and as such marking the first organized manifestation of Dada. That art movement was the impetus for and deciding influence on most contemporary art as we know it today.
“As a contemporary art center, we thought we should mark the moment,” 701 CCA board chair Wim Roefs said. “We are very excited about this evening and were very happy that the USC theater program through Robyn Hunt and Steven Pearson was instantly willing and enthusiastic about partnering with us.”
The inventive works, no longer than 17 minutes each, run the gamut from performance art pieces to short narratives. The works have been created and developed during the students’ time in the University’s graduate acting program.
“It’s exhilarating work,” said professor Robyn Hunt, director for the showcase. “These artists are fully independent, pure inventors, and the final arbiters of what will be seen. The solo show project is a crucial part of the MFA in Acting curriculum It asks that the actor work alone and not in a collective. That he or she be playwright, then designer, editor, director, and, finally, actor, rehearsing and performing alone. It asks that the actor be not only an originator, not only an interpreter.”
For Dada Days, 701 CCA has turned its artist loft into a makeshift performance space. In the space, actors, poets, musicians and other performers who work in the Dada spirit will present performances throughout February and March, 2016. A full schedule of those performances and other Dada Days activities will follow in a future press release.
About 701 CCA
701 CCA is a non-profit visual arts center that promotes understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of contemporary art, the creative process and the role of art and artists in the community. The center also encourages interaction between visual and other art forms.
701 CCA is located at 701 Whaley Street, 2nd Floor, Columbia, SC 29201. During exhibitions, hours are Wed, 11–5; Thu-Fri, 10-5; Sat, 1-5; Sun, 1-5. For more information, visit www.701cca.org.
