How does one 'stage' a car race? Or stage a sprint from rooftop to rooftop in Rio? Ask Patrick Gaughan, writer and direct of FAST FIVE, the latest production of the Connecticut River Valley Poets’ Theatre (CRVP), triumphantly returning to the Arts Trust Building, 33 Hawley Street in Northampton on Friday and Saturday, January 23-24, 8 pm.
FAST FIVE calls attention to the gap between blockbuster film and underground stage, between massive budget and zero budget. As corporations roll out more and more commercial movies on Broadway (Rocky, Shrek, etc), the CRVPT is simply jumping on the bandwagon.
FAST FIVE superimposes actors on top of the audience's preconceived notions of "The Rock" or "Vin Diesel." It relishes in chases, camp, and over-the-top fight scenes, but drops the sexism, heteronormativity, gear-head culture, military industrial complex, and 'seriousness.'
CRVPT’s first production, “In a Word, Faust,” played to packed audiences at Flying Object in Hadley last winter and in Brooklyn during the spring. FAST FIVE ups the ante with choreographed dance, music, and melodrama, rewriting and reframing the muscle bound gear-head excess of Hollywood, while celebrating its adventurous spirit.
Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 cash at the door. More information is at www.nohoarts.org.
