Lies, damned lies, and theater: that’s what they say. Maybe. Jessica Creane is one creator/performer with a large CAPACITY FOR VERACITY. She and her collaborators at Mondegreen Collective have put together a curiously inventive piece for this year’s Fringe Festival. Previewed to acclaim at a recent Scratch Night, CAPACITY FOR VERACITY aims to “obscurely clarify things for everyone on all possible levels at all possible times”. Jessica tells us a little about the work, much of which is possibly true. [The Iron Factory 3rd Floor, 118 Fontain Street] September 4-14, 2015; fringearts.com/capacity-for-veracity.
Phindie: Are you a truthful person?
Jessica Creane: Absolutely. All of my house plants are alive. That’s how you can tell.
Phindie: Hmmn. How about your collaborators. They’re a perfidious bunch, right?
JC: Mal [Cherifi] and Paloma [Irizarry] are superlaive examples of honesty! Even when they’re being deceitful-esque they’re, like, 1000% honest-ish about it. We met in 2014 at Pig Iron Theater Company Workshop where we developed clowns (Princess Moo Shoo, Rampage, and Ruff Ruff McCockapoo) who don’t play well with others, and decided to balance the world out by playing well with others in our Real Lives. The collective, Mondegreen, was formed on the basis of contraictions and our mutual desire to explore the kinds of situations that make our brains explode in every day life.
Phindie: Okay, you folks seem to have some capacity for veracity. So what is your show CAPACITY FOR VERACITY about?
JC: CAPACITY FOR VERACITY explores the veiling and unveiling of secrets, the transfer of power through confession, and the worlds created by the questionable decisions we make surrounding secrets and lies.
Phindie: What ideas would you like the audience to take with them?
JC: Our goal with CAPACITY FOR VERACITY is to use the fullest potential of the space from floor to ceiling, nook to cranny, and shadow to spotlight to allow the audience to wonder, should we have left that stone unturned? Did that really just happen? Wait… huh? And, my personal favorite, Uh-Oh.
Phindie: What was the development process like?
JC: So many games! We’re big believers in play. We developed games of our own, put them in the hands of the characters we created, made sure they all had a nefarious altierior motive, and then lived in the chaos. Through that process we were able to discern what the most exciting things in the room were and explode those into more nuanced work.
Phindie: You’re also in another Fringe production, Slaughter/ette, with Butter & Serve Theatre Company. Do the shows share common themes?
JC: Slaughter/ette is also looking at a pretty big unveiling. We’re interested in consumption of images and ideas of women (through the lens of The Bachelor) and the consumption of the bodies of livestock (enter slaughter house) and how we shape our world around what we’re fed. It’s a dirty business and a messy show to match.
Phindie: You must have a pretty full schedule. Are there any other Fringe shows you’re hoping to see or sorry you won’t be able to see?
JC: I’m a binge fringer so I have a lot of shows on my To See list but I’m pretty pumped for Underground Railroad Game, It’s So Learning, and Innovative Juggler!