Off Center Festival’s edgy, quirky entertainment is spot-on for some
The Segerstrom Center for the Arts’ sixth annual Off Center Festival will return with a two-week schedule featuring six contemporary and sometimes controversial artists for an eclectic mix of edgy theater, music, dance and discussion.
The festival kicks off Jan. 12 in Costa Mesa with a solo performance of actor and playwright Keith A. Wallace’s “The Bitter Game.”
Wallace, a recipient of the 2016 Princess Grace Theater Award, which assists emerging talent with grants, will deliver a commentary that explores the question of police agency and the value of black lives in the U.S.
“The Bitter Game” reflects his youth in North Philadelphia and his “war-cry” against police violence, said San Diego-based Wallace by email.
“As of late, all of the art I’m interested in creating and consuming has a thrust toward social justice,” he said. “I’m usually seeking out stories or communities that don’t have a huge platform or much visibility, and am thinking about ways I can bring those voices to the forefront.
“I’m hoping this show will personalize the issue for the audience members and that they don’t walk away sad or grief-stricken, but instead empowered and equipped with a perspective and language that allows them to engage in the fight for social justice.”
Also on the lineup is the first ever all-female Mariachi Flor de Toloache, a Latin Grammy Award-nominated band based in New York City, and “Latin Standards,” the true story of a adult child of a Cuban entertainer and the “creative addiction” passed down from an immigrant father to a lesbian daughter, according to the description on the Segerstrom website.
The performance, written by Marga Gomez, marks Gomez’s return visit to the center’s Off-Center Festival after her success with her play “Lovebirds” in 2015.
For three performances, Belarus Free Theatre will present “Time of Women,” a story focusing on three women who were imprisoned for speaking the truth during their country’s fraudulent elections in 2010.
A free presentation of “Choir! Choir! Choir!” will be presented on Jan. 25, with a public choir singing a variety of pop songs.
Closing out the festival will be transgender artist, writer, singer and visual artist Justin Vivian Bond, who will deliver two performances of the show “Justin Vivian Bond Shows Up.”
Bond, who has been nominated for a Tony Award and won an Obie and Bessie, will present a solo show of songful stylings that cover preposterous theatrical experiences.
“Sometimes I like to scare people, to be honest,” Bond said by email, addressing what the New York City-based artist hopes to accomplish with the performances. “The theater of cruelty doesn’t just apply to plays. However, mostly I hope to make people see things in a different way or make them feel things in a new one.”
Bond said the solo performances that include cabaret incorporate the performer’s worldview, sense of humor and intellect in a way that no other art form does.
After each performance, guests will be invited to Leatherby’s Cafe Rouge in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall to meet the artists and discuss their experiences and reactions to the works. The restaurant has created a low-cost menu for audiences beginning at 9 p.m.
The Off Center Festival was created by the Segerstrom Center for the Arts president, Terry Dwyer, who wanted to stage a festival that offered affordable ticket prices and represented contemporary theater, music, dance and discussion.
Single tickets are $25. The cost is $20 each if tickets to two productions are purchased and $15 if tickets to three or more productions are bought. Admission to “Choir! Choir! Choir!” in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall is free, but a ticket is required to reserve a spot.
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IF YOU GO
What: Off Center Festival
When: Jan. 12 to 28
Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
Cost: $25
Information: (714) 556-2787 or visit scfta.org.
Twitter: @KathleenLuppi
