BY SCOTT STIFFLER | We had mid-summer weather for most of last week — so why not have an autumnal version of the annual July/August Midtown International Theater Festival? This desperate stab at linkage is probably not what led founder John Chatterton to cook up “MITF: Fall.” A more likely inspiration is the year-round bumper crop of applicants, whose forceful personalities are more than enough to compensate for the fest’s no-frills staging. Those who make the cut are rewarded with free rehearsal space, a three-performance run, and the chance to exit the fest with a lifetime calling card to the rest of the world: the fact that you’ve performed in the heart of Manhattan, before rising sea levels from years of mid-70s November temps render it navigable only by canoe. We don’t know when that scenario will play itself out, but these performances are destined to take place over the next few weeks:
Accounts from family members and soldier’s letters — from the American Revolution to Afghanistan — are enacted by Douglas Taurel, in “The American Soldier,” with particular focus on the challenges veterans face upon re-entry to civilian life (Nov. 18, 20, 22). In playwright Cameron Fife’s dark comedy “Killing Diaz,” five close friends conspire to commit the titular murder, in an extreme but effective attempt to avoid an awkward conversation (Nov. 18, 20, 21).
Whether working every angle on the court or navigating the field of life, former pro basketball player Terri Mateer has taken plenty of hits — but that hasn’t diminished her drive to score. Performed with an athlete’s grace and confidence (but none of the indulgent swagger), the 6’ 1” Mateer’s “A Kind Shot” (Nov. 17, 21, 22) has plenty of insider anecdotes and famous names that will appeal to fans of street, college and pro sports.
Besides her experience in these worlds, Vermont-raised Mateer also worked as a model, a stripper, and a designer. Raised by a single hippie mom and an African American surrogate father, and mentored by numerous others, she credits them with giving her the fortitude to confront sexual abuse and harassment. “The point of my story,” Mateer says, “is to inspire people to look out for each other.”
MITF: Fall performances take place through Nov. 22, at the Workshop Theater’s Jewel Theater (312 W. 36 St. btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves., fourth floor). For tickets and info on all shows, ($20), visit midtownfestival.org.
SOLOCOM: Ah, the moment of birth: a little messy and sometimes accompanied by swear words, it is — for those of us not doing the grunt work — our one shot to say we were there at the start of something big. And so it goes at SOLOCOM, the world’s “only world premiere solo comedy festival.” Presented by the Peoples Improv Theater, at their always-packed E. 24th St. base and their recently reclaimed loft space on W. 29th St., this year’s three-day fest will present never-before-seen works of sketch, storytelling, stand-up, physical comedy, music, multi-media, improv, cabaret, and clowning. With 120 offerings, numbers aren’t its only strength. Brevity (shows range from 15-60 minutes) keeps things moving at a brisk clip, and gives the artists plenty of room to develop their newborn into a bigger, stronger work with long legs. For example:
British comedian Maggie Gallant grew up with parents whose idea of style was an itchy knit swimsuit, and whose ideal present for her 11th birthday was a leather briefcase. Convinced she wasn’t part of this odd brood, Gallant got a shock when she looked up the family tree. “A Fate Worse Than French” has her confronting the shocking truth, and dealing with its aftermath (Nov. 22). Closer to home, “Flyer Guy” is a collection of David Lawson’s strange and possibly traumatic stories, from three years spent eking out a living as one of those poor souls tasked with convincing Times Square tourists to take their flyers (Nov. 20).
In “Dammit, Jim! I’m a Comedienne, Not a Doctor!,” Canada’s Polly Esther tells of how a casual virgin viewing of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” plunged her into a two-year voyage through every cinematic and TV permutation of Gene Roddenberry’s universe, culminating in her trip to a Las Vegas convention (Nov. 21). Thinking man’s boylesque entertainer and sex toy test drive blogger Lucas Brooks — sweet and tart and occasionally baring more than his soul in Feb. 2015’s cautionary STD tale “Cootie Catcher” — comes to SOLCOM with another tasty venture. “I Am My Own Cast Party” is a blur of cattle call auditions and artistic oddities, through which Brooks totally crushes on that cocky little heartbreaker known as the American stage (Nov. 21).
SOLOCOM happens Fri., Nov. 20th through Sun., Nov. 22nd at The People’s Improv Theater (aka The PIT, at 123 E. 24 St. Park Ave. & Lexington) and The PIT Loft (154 W. 29th St. btw. Sixth & Seventh Aves.). For tickets ($25 festival pass, $10 single tickets), visit ThePIT-nyc.com/solocom.
DOC NYC: Social justice struggles and curtain-peeling looks at show business (both geo and local) distinguish this year’s installment of America’s largest documentary festival. From a roster of over 200 films, many of the directors and their subjects will be in attendance. The fest opens with filmmaker Jon Alpert and HBO Documentary Films head Sheila Nevins in conversation, after the world premiere of Alpert’s short film “Mariela Castro’s March: Cuban’s LGBT Revolution.” Also on opening night, director Barbara Kopple (Oscar winner for the influential 1976 coal mining labor strike doc “Harlan County, USA”) is on hand along with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, for the US premiere of “Miss Sharon Jones!”
On Nov. 16, director Michiel Thomas is in attendance for the NYC premiere of “Game Face,” about the public lives of a transgender Mixed Martial Artist and a gay college basketball player. Shot at NYC’s Joe’s Pub, David Kornfield’s “The Red Umbrella Diaries” has monologues from seven sex workers (Nov. 16). Director Adam Sjöberg is expected to appear on Nov. 15, 17 for “I Am Sun Mu,” about a former North Korean propaganda artist who applies those skills to satirical pop art. Brooklyn-based and Chelsea-born Hillevi Loven makes her directorial debut with “Deep Run,” in which a teen trans man comes of age in deeply evangelical North Carolina. Executive producer Susan Sarandon joins Loven for at Q&A at the Nov. 17 screening, with subject Cole Ray Davis also in attendance for the Nov. 14 NYC premiere.
While “Daddy” offers a new image of the American family, Peter Flynn’s “The Dying of the Light” (Nov. 18,) is equally concerned with preserving the old ways. Focusing on career film projectionists in the New York area who continue to unspool celluloid in an age of digital domination, “Light” also provides a ray of hope, by charting the effort to restore over 100 projectors needed for 70mm screenings of Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight.”
DOC NYC happens Nov. 12–19 at the IFC Center (323 Sixth Ave. at W. Third St.), the SVA Theatre (333 W. 23rd St. btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves.) and Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas (260 W. 23rd St., btw. Seventh & Eighth Aves.). For tickets ($17, $15 for seniors/children), visit docnyc.net.
