Responder: Kit Fay, Artist Director
Name of Company: Then What
Name of Show: Madhouse
“This piece is all the way we care for the most vulnerable parts of society and the ways in which we are all closer than we might like to admit to being in those positions ourselves.”
- Why should people see your show?
It’s going to be weird and experimental and the culmination of a lot of hard work from a lot of artists I deeply respect. There’s going to be puppets and we’re going to take risks. We also have people baring their souls and sharing crucial and relevant stories about their personal experiences with modern institutions in Georgia and beyond, and we’re incorporating it all artistically so you can go through this journey with us instead of being lectured or explained to.
- What about festivals intrigues you? And why the Atlanta Fringe?
I love the space to push boundaries, take artistic risks, and create work that would not necessarily be produced by a bigger theatre with budget goals to meet. Atlanta Fringe has always been full of wild and wonderful weirdos and I think it’s the perfect launching place for this project.
- What inspired you to create this?
I have my own experiences with institutionalization and I think there’s a serious need for change. I am fascinated by the ways observations from hundreds of years ago are still so pertinent and I am interested in telling important stories that get overlooked.
- Life has been weird the last few years, to say the least. How has the “real world” affected the art you’re creating?
This piece is all the way we care for the most vulnerable parts of society and the ways in which we are all closer than we might like to admit to being in those positions ourselves. The past few years have been a huge reminder both of systemic inequalities and of the fact that anyone’s circumstances can change.
- What have you learned from working on your show so far?
I’ve been learning a lot about different forms of puppetry, visual effects, and mini making. I have learned more about the reporting and lives of Ida B Wells and Nellie Bly. I have learned that several of my friends have a ridiculous amount of hidden artistic talents.
- There’s a mysterious stranger in the back row of your show, wearing a big ol’ N95 mask and a baseball cap and there’s something weirdly familiar about them, and then they come up afterwards to tell you they loved your show. In your WILDEST DREAMS, who is this mysterious stranger? (Bonus points if your mysterious stranger is an Atlanta celeb.)
Hannah Gadsby, a huge inspiration to me as an autistic lesbian doing a Fringe show!
[Above: The Fringe GOAT}
- Fringes are the place to really push the boundaries so we gotta ask: are you inviting your family to this show are “Hey, maybe sit this one out you guys…”
Maybe sit this one out!!!!
- Will your show change the world?
I hope we at least change the way people think about mental illness and the ways we deal with it.
- Zoom meetings: dress up head to toe or Donald Duck it?
I usually don’t even have a camera on if I can help it
[Ed note: omg, SAAAAAAAME, we did conference calls for years, conference calls are perfectly OK]
- We’re making an excellent Fringey Feelings playlist. Describe your show in two or three songs we can add to keep the jams flowing.
Girls! Girls! Girls! – Emilie Autumn
You Don’t Own Me – Leslie Gore
Sounds amazing, right? Click here to learn more and get your tickets to this show today.
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