Show: 1
Category: Drama / Original Music / Physical Theater / Historical content / LGBTQIA+ Content
By: The Winding Sheet Outfit
Created by: The Winding Sheet Outfit
Location: Rarig Thrust
Summary: An exploration of the work, life, and philosophy of late 19th / early 20th Century Swedish artist Himla af Klint.
Highlights: I believe in the work! Of The Winding Sheet Outfit (one of my Fringe faves of the last 8 or so years), and now of Himla af Klint. You can be excused if you've never heard of her (I hadn't either), turns out the art world wasn't that kind to women (shocker). But through this lovely, haunting, engrossing piece, we find out that Hilma was maybe, probably, the pioneer artist in non-objective abstract art, not Kandinsky as history tells us. In their usual fourth-wall-breaking, music- and movement-infused way, TWSO brings us on a journey through art, friendship, theosophy, spiritualism, and perseverance. Director Amber Bjork plays the director, appearing in black, speaking cues into a microphone, calling the action, and sometimes stepping in to explain things directly to the audience. Boo Segersin is a genuine and believable Hilma, with Heather Meyer, Kayla Dvorak, Peytie McCandless, and Megan Campbell Lagas as her four friends, forming a group of artists and spiritualists known as "the five." They're dressed in period blouses and gauzy skirts in dusty pastels, sometimes donning paint shirts, performing repeated movement that is lovely and mystical. These woman, and in particular Hilma, believed their work was bringing "the spirit" or "the message" into the world, which was more important than any individual artist. We sometimes see "the spirit" in the person of Kristina Fjellman, wearing a costume like something out of Mardi Gras (designed by Mandi Johnson). Derek Lee Miller provides a soundscape for the story, with live and recorded music, or maybe looping, or other musical magic coming from the pit. Projections on the wall, drop cloths spread on the floor, and other props and set pieces help with the storytelling in this very detailed, thoughtful, and cohesive piece. This is another of TWSO's pieces that take a little known person (usually woman) from history, and bring them to life in a beautiful way, making us wonder why they aren't more well known.
