FURY Factory

Photos courtesy of foolsFURY Theater
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Festival Story:

FoolsFURY is a San Francisco-based theater ensemble, founded in 1998 by Ben Yalom and a group of artists eager to revitalize the role of theater in America as a form of accessible and diverse artistic expression. A permanent company—with members distributed geographically in New York, San Francisco, Berlin and London— that innovates constantly, focusing on inspired uses of the body in creating narrative and offering visceral experiences for our audiences that cannot be replicated on film or television.

Works include original plays, contemporary works that lend themselves to deep exploration, and classics of world theater that are deconstructed in order to be reconstructed. “We see theater as the nexus of many art forms, and collaborate with fantastic artists from many disciplines.”

Festival Events:

Mainstage highlights 2011:

• Tuesday, June 7 and Wednesday, June 8 at 8:00pm
  
  • Band of Toughs (Denver CO) — A group committed to producing original, genre-mashing work that “puts the ass back in passion” and then kicks it.
    http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/171915
• Friday, June 17, and Friday, June 18 at 7:30pm & Sunday June 19 at 7:00pm
  
  • Chard Gonzalez Dance Theater (New Orleans, LA) — “The Divine Feminine is a multi-media ride featuring the seduction of a goddess, the wrath of a queen, and other adventures of divine women and their boy toys.” A New Orleans based ensemble, performs their newest work The Divine Feminine at San Francisco’s FURY Factory. The Divine Feminine was created from an inspirational reading of Portuguese playwright Armando Nacimento Rosa’s Mary of Magdala: A Gnostic Fable. Chard’s cast of amazing dance theatre performers takes you on a ride through conflict and mayhem due to the seduction of a goddess, the wrath of a bitter queen, the marvel of a heroine plus other divine women and their boy-toys. Working in collaboration with Daneeta Jackson, a film artist from Elektrik Zoo, The Divine Feminine is presented as a multi-media event with live audio/video manipulation. For those who dare, audience participation is encouraged to create spontaneous dynamic relationships between viewer and performer.
    http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/170439
• Thursday, June 23 at 8:00pm and Friday, June 24, and Sunday June 25 at 7:00pm
  
  • Theatre Movement Bazaar (Los Angeles, CA) — Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya remixed for a new generation.
    http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/170518
• Friday, June 24, and Saturday June 25 at 9:00pm and Sunday June 26 at 8:00pm
  
  • Buckworld (Riverside CA) — This example of electrifying Hip Hop Theater features Krumping – the expressive and exaggerated dance style that first started as a means for youth to avoid or escape gang life, and tells its expansive story through dance, spoken word and historical video footage. Buckworld is an electrifying Hip Hop Theatre performance fusing Krump dancing with spoken word and interactive video projections in telling the story of our existence in and connection to the universe and each other. It features Krump dancers and spoken word artists from the southern California. These young performers deliver their own unique and personal stories through words and dance. The Krump dancers command the stage with the power, energy and creativity that is the hallmark of this dance style while the poets attempt to capture the intangible reality of what it means to be a human being. The fusion of these two art forms complimented by thought provoking and viscerally evocative projections merge to create a captivating theatrical experience.
    http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/170437

Works-in-progress at FURY Factory 2011:

• Tuesday, June 21 & Wednesday June 22 at 8:30pm
  
  • Campo Santo — 1st Element (who shot miguelito?)
    Intersection for the Arts resident companies Campo Santo and Felonious present Open Process Production: 1st element (who shot miguelito?), a new performance piece with live music and movement exploring the history of the Street Art movement in the Mission District.
    http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/171937
• Thursday, June 23 at 7:30pm and Sunday June 26 at 7:00pm
  
  • inkBoat – The Line Between
    Using dance, music, visual design and the text from ancient shamanic rituals, inkBoat explores the intersection between mind and body states with an emphasis on the hypnagogic stages of sleep.
    http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/172254
• Saturday, June 25 at 7 and 10:00pm
  
  • Killing My Lobster
    What happens when you lock 10 comedic writers/performers in a room for 20 days? This is a chance to find out.
    http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/171550

Other Sources:

Want more? Click on a color — travel and explore.  

Podcast interviews:

• If you like this festival… listen to
  
  • Joanna Sherman, artistic director Bond Street Theatre
    http://kadmusarts.com/podcasts/?p=1372

Practical Info:

FURY Factory submissions 2011:

• Submissions are now open for 2011. Since its inception in 2005, FURY Factory has become one of the Bay Area’s most exciting cultural events, a vibrant home for audiences and artists to experience compelling new works by innovative risk-taking companies. It is unique in its ensemble focus, brings companies from around the world to San Francisco, and provides opportunities for dozens of local artists. For three weeks in June 2011 we and our partners in Project Artaud (NOHSpace, TJT, andZ Space/ Artaud) will host an outpouring of performance, artistic exchange and cross pollination. The 2009 festival featured works by 23 companies, including many local artists, and ensembles from as far as Afghanistan and the UK. FURY Factory 2011 will feature a similar diversity of performances.
• Visit http://www.foolsfury.org to download the application and learn more.

Guidelines for Main Stage Productions:

• Scheduling:
  
  • Main Stage Productions are scheduled to perform Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
  • There are numerous one hour slots, and a limited number of longer slots (two hours max).
• Tech:
  
  • Invited shows are given 4 hours to load-in and tech
  • Shows should be portable-as they are to be striked after every performance

Guidelines for Works-In-Progress:

• Scheduling:
  
  • Works-in-progress perform on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
  • Acts should not run longer than an hour
  • Please note there is more room for shows with a shorter running time
• Tech:
  
  • Invited shows are given 2 hours to load-in and tech Tuesdays
  • Shows should be small and portable- as they are to be struck directly after each performance (to accommodate other acts) and after the night’s program.

General Venue Guidelines:

• No nailing or screwing into the stage floor is permitted.
• No painting or construction is allowed beyond the stage edge.
• Only gaffers or spike tape is allowed on stage floor.
• There is no smoking, eating or drinking on the stage or in the audience area for patrons or Participant’s personnel.
• No construction is to happen on the Venue’s stage or floor.
• No metal tap shoes on the floor. (Only applicable to NOHSpace)

Do you have an update or more information about this festival? Email us at updates@kadmusarts.com
Start or join a conversation about this festival in the Forum.