New this year is a partnership with the Vermont Hand Crafters, with many wonderful pieces from some of Vermont’s top artisans up for bid.

To view the auction visit www.flynncenter.org/auction.html. Donations are welcome and can be made via the auction website or by contacting Gina Haddock at rhaddock[at]flynncenter.org  or 802-652-4533.

John Jasperse Company performs in FlynnSpace, Thursday & Friday, June 14 & 15 at 7:30 pm.

The form of dance theater that the choreographer John Jasperse develops in “Fort Blossom revisited (2000/12)” is often astonishing. Watching Wednesday’s premiere, I was several times left with the sensation of having traveled to unknown terrain. The piece is an expanded 70-minute reworking of his “Fort Blossom” (2000). (We should not spend time figuring out what the title might mean.)

“Fort Blossom revisited” features four performers who remain onstage more or less throughout, and it’s constructed according to binary principles. The two women (Lindsay Clark and Erika Hand) are elegantly dressed in long-sleeved short red dresses, with subtly matching lipstick. The two men (Ben Asriel and Burr Johnson) are, however, naked. For a long period the women are together on the left, the men on the right. The dualism that develops between their two different worlds is extraordinary.

Something they do have in common is transparent vinyl inflatables. The two women have matching amber boxlike ones on which they sit and which they later wear on their backs like wings. Initially on the right there is a single large inflatable, like a small see-through Li-Lo: which, several inches thick, is for a long while all that separates the two men, as one lies horizontally on top of the other. The two men, in profile to us, move their pelvises in rhythm. We’re watching a deconstruction of anal sex. The balloon, by separating their two bodies, has the effect of objectifying the movement. Then, after they have lain in stillness for a long, long while (itself an amazing spectacle), they deflate it until it is just the sheath between them. By the time they finally separate and peel it away, it’s become a metaphor for a condom.

It’s conventional — and often true — to say that the effect of presenting a performer naked onstage is to de-eroticize the body. But the erotic suggestiveness of Mr. Jasperse’s movement makes this scene far more complex; I imagine most viewers find, as I did, that the erotic and nonerotic aspects of the scene keep changing.

There follows a slow male duet that is often even more mesmerizing — and yet more astounding. Only once do the two men hold each other’s eyes; only once, I think, do their naked groins meet. But their intimacy of contact is amazing. The cheek of one man’s face is pressed tenderly to the cheek of the other’s buttock. One man crouches on all fours while the other arches right back on top, lying on him back to back. Most of these positions and movements would count for little if they were danced with clothes on, and for less if performed by man and woman. Here, and especially because of the slowness, they become a rare form of drama.

Something else happens during all this: which is that our perception of and response to the body itself continually develops, alters, shifts. As these men part their legs, shift their pelvises, ripple their spines, there’s little we don’t know about their groins. And their bodies as a whole keep taking on new looks as we go on watching. It helps that Mr. Asriel’s soft-muscled body is unlike the firmer definition of Mr. Johnson. The flow of lines in the abdomen, the back, the pelvis, the leg is wholly dissimilar in each case — and marvelously absorbing.

The duets for the women, though less enthralling, are more dancy and have a wry formality, not without absurdity (those balloons), that makes a perfect contrast to what’s happening between the guys on the right. The women bend their spines, they extend their legs, they sustain specific arm positions, and yet there’s a quality of pedestrianism to all they do.

Later the two couples meet. Some of this involves a happy sense of play — as the women thwack the men with those balloons, they keep redirecting them — and some of it involves more conventionally choreographic patterns, groups, lines. Yet conventionality has been removed by the nakedness of the two men. Arabesques, tilts of the torso, semicircular swings of the leg — these are simply not the same when two of the pelvises involved are naked.

It’s very possible that “Fort Blossom revisited” would be largely unremarkable if all four performers wore the same clothes. I refer to it as dance theater, but should I? Its four performers are certainly trained dancers, sometimes delivering academic dance position and steps, often showing evident physical control. But the steps don’t build into much by way of phrases; dancing itself seems to be deconstructed here. Yet meanings, ideas, contrasts, drama, keep growing as you watch. Dance, the body, and erotics are topics about which “Fort Blossom revisited” keeps testing, investigating and analyzing, and often brilliantly. Leaving the theater we are no longer quite what we were when we arrived.

My husband Gary and I were at the Flynn by 7:10 am. That is an early start for a Sunday, even by our standards. Today, along with Gary, my son Ben, and Andy Pearson, I started work on the Guinevere Project in the Hoehl Studio after receiving the Spring 2012 Flynn VT Artist’s Space Grant. We arrived with a computer, video equipment, and a very large piece of plexiglass. The morning was spent experimenting with images reflected onto the performance space. The overall goal is to juxtapose theater’s virtual world, specifically the performance space, with a game world. The merging of those worlds is central to the story behind the Guinevere Project. The very first step was to test some ideas and watch the early 3D model of what will be a game-like character, appear for us life size. The reflected image idea we are using is from the nineteenth century, known as “Pepper’s Ghost,” but modified to suit a performance space that is on the same floor level as the audience.

I must mention special thanks to Andy Pearson of CW StageWorks, who provided equipment and expert advice on what is practically feasible in that space for lighting, projection, and set construction. Andy met us at that early hour, and with his help, we were able to arrive at an option for projecting the images well before lunch. That left time to begin to measure out the space, consider what other materials would be needed, and try out lighting ideas. Then we had fun trying to manipulate images, light, fabric, and (plexi)glass. We video recorded effects to take back to the animation team. They need to see what their 3D images look like when projected onto a set. Some images looked as I expected, and others would need modifications to be bright enough to be seen.

I also want to add a word of thanks to my husband Gary and son Ben for their assistance in the afternoon hours. Together we seem to manage to do whatever it takes to bring ideas into concrete existence. In fact, my personal “quest for Guinevere” inspired the itinerary for a family vacation back in 2005. My family took a few friends along on a trip, visiting places in Scotland associated with the historical Guinevere. After we returned, I wrote a few songs, and the idea for a theater piece began to take hold.

I have thought about using game characters–virtual beings, so to speak–on stage with real actors since my children were performing in the Very Merry Theater children’s camps a decade ago. Raising two children in the video-game age, I have come to believe that video game technology has an ability to transform perception. People live alternate lives through their game characters, making video games incredibly popular. The same can be said about characters in plays. As I researched Guinevere’s story, I discovered the books written by Vermont native, Norma Lorre Goodrich. Her book, “Guinevere”* has become the basis for my story. I was intrigued by the historical Guinevere: not a medieval adulteress, but an ancient Queen and High Priestess of the Dead–a person who could pass between worlds. Passages and other worlds are what game worlds are made of. Slowly, the idea of a story about a game designer, who is working on a game, “Quest for Guinevere” emerged. Now, it is the content for the project developing in the FlynnSpace over the next 10 weeks. On June 24, we will share our work in progress.

Tell us what you thought of the show! Post a comment.

This review appeared in Sunday’s Burlington Free Press. Alison Bechdel will be reading at the Flynn on Saturday, June 16 at 6 pm.

For three decades, Alison Bechdel, who lives in Bolton, has been challenging and transforming aesthetic boundaries. First as a lesbian, whose comic strip, ”Dykes to Watch Out For” was widely syndicated for 25-years, and then as an award-winning graphic novelist with “Fun Home, A Family Tragicomic.” Time Magazine named it the Best Book of 2006 and it was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award.

This groundbreaking graphic memoir literally and figuratively drew us into Bechdel’s dysfunctional family, particularly her relationship with her father, a stern obsessive man who was a high school English teacher and ran a funeral home. It was not until she was in college when she came out as a lesbian, that she discovered her father had been a closeted gay man. After only one conversation between them about their shared gay identity, a few weeks later, he committed suicide.

Bechdel’s journal became an international literary sensation; a bestseller that also had people calling for it to be banned in public libraries. This work was game changing for the genre, as Bechdel disrupted the primarily male and straight pantheon of comic literature with her unabashedly queer sensibility. Her book was virtuosic, ingenious in its visual construction and literary execution, demonstrating that graphic novels were not solely the domains of youth.

Now Bechdel returns with a new graphic work, “Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama,” filling in the backstory of her tumultuous family growing up and during the writing of her earlier bittersweet memoir, but now with her mother at center stage. The journey is both poignant and hilarious as Bechdel excavates memories to forge emotional connections with her aloof and distant parent, as their Electra complex is played out and she seeks reconciliation and resolution.

Bechdel looks back and tries to understand, yet distinguish herself from her mother, drawing from photographs, early diary entries, letters, sketches, and transcriptions of present-day phone conversations. She has been obsessively journaling her life since she was ten, so there is ample basal material here.

Living with a closeted husband and raising three children took its toll. At age seven, her mother told Bechdel she was too old to be kissed goodnight any longer, and her two brothers were more valued than she. Her emotionally estranged parent was most alive and joyful out of the home, acting in community theater productions.

Non-linear and recursive, scenes shift back and forth in time and are replayed over and over again, from multiple points of view from the girl child, as well as the now adult narrator. Literary references abound. Virginia Woolf’s diaries are juxtaposed throughout, as well as psychobabble from Sigmund Freud, Donald Winnicott, and Alice Miller, along with Bechdel’s own therapy sessions with analysts.

Her signature drawing style, honed over decades of creating comic strips, is precise, uncluttered, and forthrightly direct – extremely effective in helping to detail emotions and story. Each frame adds nuance and detail, propelling the narrative forward and enhancing the text. It is lovely to see familiar characters from her previous “Dykes to Watch Out For” chronicles reappear in this memoir, as well as scenes from her father’s tale, now portrayed through another perspective lens.

In her inimitable style as graphic alchemist, Bechdel has created another audacious book: insightful, engrossing, entertaining, and courageous. Throughout she dares herself to begin and begin again, challenging herself to stop “writing around something.” As scenes are revisited, more information is teased out; feelings are ever more intimately exposed.

However, the dialectics in this mother daughter saga are not solely focused on doom and gloom, shame and blame. There is also much hilarity in the illustrated odyssey. Bechdel’s first person narrator is continually tripping herself up with anxiety and self-doubting neurosis, complicating many of the situations in her fraught maternal relationship. While the child within may not be sated in the resolving tableaus, Bechdel recognizes her mother did indeed give her “a way out” to become the gifted artist she is today.

John R. Killacky is the executive director of Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington, VT. This article was adapted from one originally published in the St. Louis Beacon (www.stlbeacon.org), reprinted with permission.

Long time, stand-up comedian, talk show guest, TV/film actor, and merciless fashion critic, Joan Rivers, is an entertainer at her very core. Thursday, April 26 at 7:30 Rivers will grace the Flynn MainStage for a night of side-splitting, outrageous comedy.

At the age of 78, Rivers is as fresh and dynamic as she was in her earlier years on Johnny Carson. Reinventing her career time and again, Rivers has tried on many roles including a best-selling author, the subject of a well-received documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, and a reality show star on both the Celebrity Apprentice and her identifiable Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best just to name a few.

Preceding the performance will be Vermont comedian and politician, Jason Lorber. Chosen by Rivers herself, Lorber has been given a 5-minute slot on the MainStage to present his stand-up routine. Josie Leavitt, a Vermont Comedy Diva and host of the Flynn’s Win a Date with Joan Rivers competition, says she thinks “[Jason and Joan] will pair very nicely together.  I think Jason’s calm style will counter nicely with Joan’s somewhat brasher, louder style. They should balance each other well.”

Amber LeMay, of the House of LeMay, also judged the “Win a Date with Joan Rivers” competition. She and Leavitt both grew up loving Rivers. “If you watch TV at all, you’ve seen her public act. I want to see what we don’t see on television.  How blue will she go?  What will she say when the cameras aren’t on?” Indeed, Rivers’ act is expected to be uncensored and full of her trademark commentary on current Hollywood pop culture.

Leavitt, who is also also a teacher with FlynnArts, believes the show also has some educational value for aspiring comedians. “any show with a seasoned performer can offer great opportunities to aspiring comics. Watching someone who has been so successful for decades is a real gift. There is such craft and polish, but also joy in watching Joan Rivers. She has fun while performing and so often new comers on the scene forget that they need to be having fun as well.”

Come for laughs, a lesson in letting loose, or just an evening of entertainment with Joan Rivers and Jason Lorber on Thursday, April 26, 2012, 7:30 on the the Flynn MainStage. And stay tuned for my next video blog of interviews with Jason and audience members after the performance.

For more laughs at the Flynn, check-out Stand Up, Sit Down, and Laugh, Tuesday, May 8 at the FlynnSpace, Josie Leavitt, will perform alongside Kit Rivers, Mike Thomas, and Shelby Ferland in the 27th installment of the Flynn’s hilarious comedy series.

I made this slideshow of last summer’s History Comes Alive!, a FlynnArts camp that happened at Shelburne Farms. I did it to record my C.V.U. Graduation Challenge senior project, which was volunteering to be a counselor for this week-long camp. This was a special experience for me because when I was younger, I was a camper at History Comes Alive! for two years at different locations, and, in 2010, I was a Leader-in-Training at the camp. As I have taken on different roles at History Comes Alive!, I have loved the camp even more.

Learn more about History Comes Alive!

On May 12, we’re throwing a party for the community that makes the arts thrive in Burlington.

We celebrate many things: our 30th season as a performing arts center; the formal end of our campaign to replace our old seats; the Vermont artists that call the Flynn home and share in our success; and most importantly, this incredible community that supports the performing arts and makes the Flynn thrive.

Over the past year, we’ve collected stories and memories from you, all highlighting the importance of the Flynn in this community. You told us that you’ve been mesmerized by performers; you’ve seen delight on the faces of children as they took in the magic of live theater; you’ve felt a sense of belonging; and you’ve been inspired. Each year, the Flynn reaches 200,000 Vermonters, old and young, including 41,000 students. This is our mission. It would be much closer to “mission impossible” without your continued support. Therefore this evening celebrates you.

Bring the whole family for a celebration of the artists who call the Flynn and Vermont home, including Josie Leavitt, Soovin Kim, Lyric Theatre, Hannah Dennison, Vermont Ballet Theater, FlynnArts Show Choir, Burlington Taiko, and the Moroz, Carr, and Morse Trio. Enjoy performances, refreshments, lots of family fun, and a dance party on the MainStage with DJ cRAIG mITCHELL in celebration of our birthday and the grand finale of our Stand Up for the Flynn: Take a Seat Campaign.

Kids and their families attending the celebration are welcome to join us in Chase Studio from 6-7 pm for make your own sundae and family fun.

Thanks for all you do to advance the performing arts and help Vermonters lead more expressive lives. Here’s to another 30 seasons of enchantment!

For ticketing information, click here

In November, Aimée Petrin of Portland Ovations (and former programming manager at the Flynn) presented India Jazz Suites, which graces the Flynn MainStage on Friday, May 4.

As I write this my entire being still reverberates from the beats, rhythms, passion and sheer virtuosity experienced at Portland Ovations’ presentation this week of India Jazz Suites, featuring kathak master Pandit Chitresh Das, award-winning tapper, Jason Samuels Smith and their six stellar classical Indian and jazz musicians.

First off I have to say how grateful I am to Arnie for introducing us to this project. Once he shared his excitement for IJS in that way only Arnie can – it was contagious. I knew we had to bring these amazing artists to Portland.

As is often the case, at the beginning of the performance I found myself thinking critically about how and if we could have improved our marketing to better describe what was unfolding in front of me. But IJS is one of those experiences that defies words. Needless to say, soon I was too swept away to continue such thoughts and instead was held captive by the artists and watching the incredibly responsive audience, which rose in standing ovation several times throughout the performance.

Getting to experience live music with dance is rare enough, but when the relationship is as dynamic as the as this project it is extraordinary. Perhaps one of my favorite parts, which is a difficult thing to pick out, was when Jason improvised with the Indian musicians. It was clear from the expression on the musicians’ faces that they too were finding great delight in the expansiveness of the moment. Chitresh is simply mesmerizing regardless of what he is doing. And the jazz trio . . . Hot yet soooo cool.

If while India Jazz Suites is in Burlington you have the opportunity to take a dance masterclass or hear Jason and Chitresh speak about their collaboration or anything else they might offer, DO NOT PASS IT UP. As one person wrote to me after a pre-performance artist dialogue: “I feel as if I am carrying Chitresh’s and Jason’s art in my heartbeat today. Grateful. Inspired.”

It should go without saying at this point, that experiencing a performance of IJS is a must. Something I promise you will not soon forget and that I know will leave you moved by the artistic genius, passion for life and inspiration that is at the heart of India Jazz Suites.

This article also appeared in the Burlington Free Press.

Theatrical storyteller Mike Daisey returns to Burlington on March 31, when he performs at the Flynn, co-presented by the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts and the UVM Lane Series. He and his work, “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” have been much in the news lately. I write this on behalf of the Flynn and Natalie Neuert, director of the UVM Lane Series.

Daisey’s monologue focuses on a trip he made to a factory in China where Apple products are manufactured. His performance details the inhumane working conditions and the toll on workers creating these products.

This critically acclaimed work just completed an extended run at New York’s Public Theater, and Daisey himself has been featured in dozens of newspapers, television, and radio programs. With all of Daisey’s media attention, as well as investigative reporting by the New York Times, Apple recently committed to monitoring workplaces and improving conditions.

This past weekend, Ira Glass of This American Life retracted a critical report he did on Apple’s suppliers that was built around Daisey’s monologue featured on Glass’ popular public radio show two months earlier. Glass accused Daisey of embellishing his performance narrative and lying to him as they tried to fact check particulars.

Rob Schmitz, NPR’s Marketplace correspondent in China, agreed that there were discrepancies, but stated, “What makes this a little complicated is that the things Daisey lied about are things that have actually happened in China. Workers making Apple products have been poisoned by hexane. Apple’s own audits show the company has caught underage workers at a handful of its suppliers. These things are rare, but together, they form an easy-to-understand narrative about Apple.”

Glass agrees that much of the information in the monologue is true, “corroborated by independent investigations by other journalists, studies by advocacy groups, and much of it has been corroborated by Apple itself in its own audit reports.” However, he was justifiably outraged that Daisey pretended he witnessed all of this first hand.

Daisey defended himself on his blog, saying, “My show is a theatrical piece whose goal is to create a human connection between our gorgeous devices and the brutal circumstances from which they emerge. It uses a combination of fact, memoir, and dramatic license to tell its story, and I believe it does so with integrity … the tools of the theater are not the same as the tools of journalism.”

However, Daisey apologized to Glass, “It was completely wrong for me to have it on your show. And that’s something I deeply regret.” He also expressed his regret that “the people who are listening, the audience of This American Life, who know that it is a journalism enterprise, if they feel misled or betrayed, I regret to them as well.“

With the two Burlington Free Press articles about the controversy (“Radio’s ‘This American Life’ retracts Daisey’s Apple story,” March 17, and “Truth in storytelling,” March 20) and the This American Life show last weekend, we have received calls and emails as to whether the Flynn and UVM Lane series plan on canceling the March 31 performance of Mike Daisey’s “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.”

We are not canceling the show. In fact, we look forward to presenting it and having a considered moderated conversation with the audience afterward for which Daisey will join us.

Did Daisey make mistakes? Yes. Does this invalidate him as an artist? Come and decide for yourselves. Clearly the themes of this storyteller have resonated widely. An essential role for arts organizations is to create a safe space for this type of discourse. Join us in the conversation.