Here is an excerpt from Angie Fielder Sutton’s excellent piece “Spotlight on Heidi Van” in KC Stage that discusses a bit about Rubble.
Rubble is returning for an encore performance this First Friday (Sept. 2nd) at 9:30pm following a 8pm Cocktail reception and Benefit at The Fishtank Performance Studio.
HYBRID, however, doesn’t do just that – in fact, it’s HYBRID that’s doing the show at the Fringe Festival this year. “I try once a year to produce something on my own of my vision,” Van says, “because most often, I’m producing or co-producing other people’s work.”
The play, “Rubble”, was inspired by the Joplin tornado. Van, who is co-creating the piece with Coleman Crenshaw, says that goes once again back to part of why she created the Fishtank.
“My passion is to create original works that are kind of reflective of current events that are happening in society and the society that we’re living in,” Van says. “I’m really inspired by time and place – like what is happening now in Kansas City or what is happening now in the Midwest or what is happening now in the world news. Those are the things that motivate me.” The tornado in Joplin got her thinking about other natural disasters that have taken place recently, mixed in with the end of the world prophecies that were being talked about, and “all these really weird things that the Earth does and how we as humans respond to it and how we deal with it. So it’s also dealing with the tragedy of the situation and finding hope.”
Van calls the play a window play, as it’s performed in the window of the Fishtank on the sidewalk. So, there’s an outside play of things happening on the street and on the sidewalk, and another play that happens inside the window. “They’re both very different from each other and presented in very different styles, so I’m excited that we have that all worked out,” she says with a grin.
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“Rubble” will be part of the sixth Fringe Festival, and more information can be found at either the Fringe’s (www.kcfringe.org) or on the Fishtank’s (www.fishtanktheater.com) website. Most of this article came from the interview with Heidi Van on the Stage Savvypodcast episode 5, which you can find in its entirety on angiefsutton.wordpress.com.
Coleman Crenshaw 