Hollywood Fringe 2018
The Stars
Ceaseless Fun
Genre: Dark Comedy, Experimental, Immersive, Outdoor and Promenade
Venue: Promenade, meet at Hollywood/Argyle
Festival: Hollywood Fringe
Low Down
An existential tour down Hollywood Blvd.
Review
Ceaseless Fun is a immersive performance group which creates work at the intersection of “radical content” and “radical form.” They recently closed “They Who Saw the Deep,” an immersive show based on The Epic of Gilgamesh, which ended with storytellers musing on the city. “The Stars” continues these LA musings with a site-specific exploration zooming in at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine. Artistic Director Derek Spencer, producer Meredith Treinan, and a dynamic ensemble of performer-philosophers have created an intimate and profound tour of Hollywood Blvd that is unforgettable.
Meeting on the Southwest corner of Argyle and Hollywood Blvd, each audience member is personally escorted down Hollywood Blvd with the request to remain silent. I don’t want to ruin the surprises of each encounter, but the actors are exceptional and each character you meet poses a different inquiry on fame, identity, and purpose.
Be prepared to walk several blocks, keeping up with the different characters and their insights, musings, and ramblings. Expect intimate eye-gazing, new best friends, questions you can’t answer, and moments both absurd and sublime. Expect the unpleasant and overwhelming sights and sounds of Hollywood Blvd, which are just as much a part of the performance as the monologues. During this tour you may notice details about Hollywood Blvd you wouldn’t have otherwise noticed- the storefront celebrity murals, a particular star on the walk of fame, a family of tourists taking pictures next to the tall man, the people sleeping on the streets. You may ask questions of yourself about what has brought you to this intersection in your life, and what it is you are seeking. The audience is implicated in the action, as is part of the Ceaseless Fun manifesto, and the audience is invited to scream their own most “pressing question” into the void. Come prepared with your pressing questions!
This company consistently creates complex and challenging work in which the spectator finds herself in the project of meaning-making in a fever-dream of desire and desperation, always presented with a dark sense of humor, playfulness, and ultimately hope. ELLEN WARKENTINE
