Finding
Synchronicity
As
the lights dim at the Seven Stages Theatre in Atlantas
Little Five Points, a group of women with experimental
hairstyles and freshly applied makeup take their seats
for a showing of Be Aggressive, a play about cheerleading
and death described as When Bring It On meets
Six Feet Under.
This
is the grand finale of the Drama Queen Club girls
night out, which involved makeovers, palm readings, mini-massages,
wine, hors doeuvres, and a viewing of the play,
at forty dollars apiece.
Welcome
to all the ladies over here who started out this evening
by getting all glammed up, says Hope Mirlis 93C,
one of the organizers of the event. And thank you
for supporting live theater.
Mirlis
is a founding member of Synchronicity Performance Group,
a theater company that seeks to produce fearless,
fresh, and thought-provoking plays in Atlanta. Drama
Queen Night, which promises to be a continuing event,
is one of many creative ways Synchronicity (www.synchrotheatre.com)
promotes community theater.
Synchronicity
began because its founders, which included Mirlis and
directors Rachel May and Michele Pearce, saw a lack of
cutting-edge works locally, especially ones with juicy
roles for women at all levels of production.
We
gathered as a group of artistswriters, photographers,
musicians, actors, and directorsbecause no one was
doing the work we were doing. There werent a lot
of exciting collaborative works happening, says
Mirlis, who was a theater major at Emory. What were
really passionate about is the work of women as well as
community involvement.
The
company aims for three shows for adults and two for families
per season. Be Aggressive, an award-winning dark
comedy by Los Angeles playwright Annie Weisman, was directed
by May and had a nearly all female cast. The recent family
show, How High Is Up?, based on a Vietnamese folk
tale, dealt with a small girl coping with her grandmothers
death.
Mirlis
is frustrated that the greater Atlanta audience isnt
aware of the range of arts events available to them locally,
including Synchronicity shows.
We
have sponsors for most every show, or we use grant money.
Weve got a very vibrant arts community here beyond
the Fox and the Alliance, and theres a lot of great
work going on. But it is not extremely supported by the
community at large or the media, Mirlis says. This
makes our lives very difficult since we cant afford
much advertising. Until we have a celebrity in a play,
its not news.
For
the flock of Drama Queens in attendance at this evenings
play, however, just feeling like a celebrity for the evening
was good enough.M.J.L.
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