My first stop on Saturday was RIT’s
Collaborative Films in Astronomy screenings at the packed full Little Theatre
1, which included four short collaborative films between astrophysics and
animation students, divided up between screenings of imagery with voiceovers by
two PhD students in RIT’s Astrophysics program.
I found the animated shorts to be lovely, ethereal, and
encouraging of the wonder that many of us feel when contemplating the universe
and our mysterious (though less than before) existence here. Particularly good
were the stop-motion piece “The
Light Collector,” by animator Jim Downer and astrophysics student
Billy Vasquez, and “Before
Dawn,” by animator Haoran Li with music by Xiaoyo Liu. The voiceover bits, however, while informative,
often went on a bit too long, grew a bit dull and meandering, and had the
tendency to resemble two siblings feuding for attention.
The performance of “The
Solitude of Self: The Journey of Elizabeth Cady Stanton” held at Blackfriars Theatre Saturday night was a fitting tribute to
the woman who is often overshadowed (at least in Rochester) by her BFF, Susan
B. Anthony. Written and acted beautifully by Patricia Lewis, and directed by
Terry W. Browne, the play gave the audience an intimate moment with Stanton as
she describes her life in terms of her early streak of childhood rebellion, to
her first serious inklings of legal and social inequality between the races and
sexes, to her happy marriage and mothering of seven children, to her
friendships with Abolitionists, activists, and her long career in activism.
Lewis is a commendable shade of the original, delivering
anecdotes with as much warm, charismatic, sharp wit as Stanton was purported to
in life. The audience fell in love, even as the heroic soul described falling
out of favor, even as Stanton spoke of the increasing ridicule that her
increasingly radical ideas and methods received.
The play begins with the question, “Who is Elizabeth in
her own right?” and finishes with Stanton’s thoughts on the solitude of
the individual soul. Specifically, that “in the supreme moments” of
one’s life, no one can bear the burdens of another. The brief, hour-long
performance was entirely engaging and enlightening throughout, and profoundly
moving at the end.
I wish I could give a report of the “Dragon’s Lair” animated projections by RIT faculty and
students, which were supposed to be projected on Christ Church last night. I
was looking forward to the show, as were around 100 people lingering on the
East Avenue-facing lawn when I arrived. But within a few minutes of the 9 p.m.
start time, a solitary older woman was sent around to dismiss us individually,
stating that the organizers had decided that due to the rain, the ground would
be too wet to sit upon and watch. This was disappointing, but also confusing to
many of us, as the ready and excited crowd had already gathered and didn’t seem
to care about the light sprinkling that had ended already, but no formal
announcement was made and no show was to take place. I inquired, but was told
that because it was the last evening of the festival, the event would not be
rescheduled.
On Sunday I’ll hopefully catch “Bee Eye” at
Gallery r (100 College Ave., hours are 1-5, but call to be sure someone is
present: 256-3312), and “The Dust” at RAPA (727 E. Main St.) at 5 p.m.
Related Stories
Rochester Fringe Festival 2012: Daily Review Blogs
This article appears in Sep 19-25, 2012.
Dragon’s Lair was cancelled due to the drizzle and concern for the equipment which could not be tented or covered, otherwise it would impact the projection. The “official” person was younger and explained that the show would be put on at a later date. Most people waiting for the show seemed to understand that an outdoor show is often weather permitting.