*viewer has opted to not fully describe the content and appearance of each piece, as there are many other worthy summaries on the blog list, and the assumption is that you already have a decent picture of them in your mind. rather, this fact (opinion) list is meant to provide another voice on top of those already heard.

Be prepared for an overload of sounds and images—this is one of the main themes that runs through this evening of multimedia performances. This weekend’s mainstage artists throw us into the pit of our loud, distracting modern world, where there are a multiplicity of media, sounds and images vying for out attention. With the first piece, Remote::Control (Danny Herter and the Invasive Species) we are not let out of the pit until the very end.

Be prepared for an overload of sounds and images—this is one of the main themes that runs through this evening of multimedia performances. This weekend’s mainstage artists throw us into the pit of our loud, distracting modern world, where there are a multiplicity of media, sounds and images vying for out attention. With the first piece, Remote::Control (Danny Herter and the Invasive Species) we are not let out of the pit until the very end.

Yesterday, I attended the Mainstage Showcase at The NW New Works Festival at On the Boards in Seattle, WA. Sean Ryan, Regional Programs Coordinator of On the Boards, received a warm greeting from the audience when he stepped out to announce the evening’s lineup. After thanking 4Culture, Windward Communications Group, and other supporters, Sean took time to name past alumnus of The NW New Works Festival, an impressive list, starting with modern dance bad boy Mark Morris performing at The Paramount.

Yesterday, I attended four half-hour performances at The NW New Works Festival at On the Boards in Seattle, WA. The interactive misadventures of GOAT and subgroup 33 (See Manual) was a movement-based improv piece performed by dancers John and Anna Dixon. It opened with Jeffrey Huston counting slowly to 20 over a murmuring soundtrack of electronic grumblings, rumblings, and squeaks. Each number had an associated movement: reminding me of early Merce Cunningham and John Cage experiments in disconnected but rule driven movement and sound.

After this evenings performance I was thinking about how refreshing it was to see performances in an intimate setting, such as the OTB studio provides. I felt close to the performances and engaged with what was being presented. Having seen quite a few performances in the studio space, and certainly not always having had this same response, I realized that my reaction had a lot to do with the performances themselves.

One of Annette Toutonghi's acting students posted this thoughtful response to the Mainstage show last weekend on her own blog, Acting Schmacting:

I went this last Saturday and saw part of the NW New Works Festival at On the Boards. There were four performances the night I went. The one I specifically went to see was Pants by Annette Toutonghi, who is one of my acting teachers, and some other people I don’t I can’t name, because I don’t have the program here with me.

Kicking off Week 1’s Mainstage Showcase was a quirky piece called Pants. It can best be described as a collection of vignettes, and while many were quite enjoyable, the overall presentation seemed a bit disjointed. That said, the opening piano solo (and other keyboard work) by Jose Gonzales was great, as was his dance duet with Peter Dylan O’Connor.

On the Boards’ 25th Anniversary NW New Works Festival got off to a great start with the opening weekend’s studio showcase. The show began with Faith Helma’s Undine, an intense and provocative solo performance inspired by Baron de la Motte Fouque’s 1811 text by the same name. With steampunk costuming by Harmony Arnold and set by Drew Foster as the backdrop, Helma embodies different aspects of Undine through spoken and sung text of her own creation.

In this blog entry I review the first half of the mainstage presentation. Pants is one of the most enchanting pieces of the evening. Comprised of a series of minimalistic scenes, and a strong dosage of wry humor and simple play, the piece unfolds in a clean and deliberate fashion.In it, you will find real music, real dance, real video, real puppeteering, and real performance. There is a lot that passes in front of you during the course of the piece, yet there is never a sense of excess. Time and space seem ample and available.