A girl is starting to wonder if she is fall apart or is she just falling up?

Featuring chiming melodies, a girl is somehow tethered to her family’s seaside home in a way that makes her question her own sanity.  Surrounded by her sisters who narrate the story, Here I Fall Up is thoughtfully directed and composed by Beth Golison and directed creatively by Annabel Heacock and Maiya Pascouche and is just under an hour.  It was featured at New Ohio Theatre’s ICE Factory in NYC and was streaming through August 12.  Click here for more information.

The girl, portrayed sympathetically and realistically by Sophia Drapeau, ventures into dark places that keeps the audience guessing whether the girl is actually experiencing something outside this world or is it all happening inside the girl’s head?  Drapeau’s suffering throughout this production makes a real case for either and watching the girl attempt to cope with anxiety and a severe degree of agoraphobia is heartfelt, earnest, and a bit distressing to witness. The bluish and haunting shadows by Chris Voegels combined with the simple, multifunctional set by Jessie Baldinger are as imaginative as it is symbolic of a girl longing to make a connection outside the girl’s fears and vulnerabilities.

Here I Fall Up’s inviting, folksy, and intermittently catchy acapella harmonies from sisters and narrators Samantha Medina Chachra, Lauren Rose Quigley, and Gianna Millici combined with Rose Tablizo’s mysterious presence keeps the production a bit lighter while tackling some darker issues. 

Here I Fall Up is thoughtfully directed and composed by Beth Golison and directed creatively by Annabel Heacock and Maiya Pascouche and is just under an hour.  It was featured at New Ohio Theatre’s ICE Factory and was streaming through August 12.  Click here for more information.

Does it matter where I put my roots down?

Identity should be not what one is, but who one is.  Not the labels, but the person.  That is not such an easy journey living in NYC.

Told from the perspective of six immigrant Asian individuals living in NYC, How I Disappeared is a bilingual production about grasping for acceptance in the world without assumptions or grief, but with understanding.  Directed by Tianding He and produced by CHUANG Stage, it is done creatively, though not always clearly in this abstract and Avant Garde production.

How I Disappeared is just under an hour and was featured at New Ohio Theatre’s ICE Factory and was streaming through August 12.  Click here for more information.

From an individual covered in overwhelming and all encompassing remnants of NYC including a liberty hat, Broadway sign, wearing a mask and carrying a suitcase subway map to the desolate and metaphorical marine characters on the NYC subway, How I Disappeared emphasizes the intimidating, overwhelming, noisy, and isolating city atmosphere.

The glassy reflections particularly stand out in this part projection by Brian Shin-Hua Ellis and part animated puppetry by Wilden Weihn production.  From a Puffer fish to a whale wandering on a subway, each distinctive marine creature delivers a combination of bittersweet and relatable humor as the narrator describes each creature’s authentic capabilities and defenses.  Steeped in soothing blue aquatic lighting by Will DeJianne, it seems absurd witnessing them on the subway, and yet it becomes a snapshot of humanity as the show progresses.

The production does have lighter moments of dancing including catchy and original live music by John Tsung and Siyi Chen as well as its fair share of silliness with underlying messages of perseverance in the face of fears, doubt, and judgment.  Staying true to oneself and anything is possible.

How I Disappeared is just under an hour and was featured at New Ohio Theatre’s ICE Factory and was streaming through August 12.  Click here for more information.