…And the Fear Cracked Open

I’d step across the haunted grave of a martyred saint and then drag myself across the broken glasses of a thousand senior citizens to see any production by Audrey Crabtree and Lynn Berg, collectively know as Ten Directions. They act, they improvise, they clown, they teach, they perform in front of cameras as well as audiences, they act, direct, produce.

But this is New York! Everybody does that stuff! I am their fan because they perform with the skill, the professionalism and assurance of tightrope walkers. They never fail to get me goin’, which usually means laughing – hard – but it can also mean going “bleeccch!”

In their newest outing, which is also one of their oldest, I have the feeling we’ll get something a little bit different. I hear it’s mushy! In fact, if Goofy were here, he’d probably say “Garsh!”

…And the Fear Cracked Open, which is playing in the Brick’s Anti-Depressant Festival, was originally cooked up by the pair, when Crabtree was living and working in Minneapolis, and Berg, a friend and colleague from college, came to visit her. The piece was cooked up on the spot to fill an empty slot on the calendar at a local venue. Since Berg had recently been jilted by his fiancé a romantic theme was accessible, and because the two were living in Minnesota – where Scandinavian-Americans are famous for not saying what they think – they decided to do a piece about “a couple that loves each other, but tend to express themselves through game playing and manipulation.”

The piece must have struck a chord in Minneapolis, because its success emboldened the pair to take the show to the New York International Fringe Festival. This has been their town ever since. Since 11 years have passed since the initial production, Berg and Crabtree have recast the two main roles (originally played by themselves). Gavin Starr Kendall and Becky Byers will play the couple; Berg and Crabtree take other roles in the ensemble, including intriguing hints of a “fear bag” (picture above) and a puppet. These and many other surprises are promised. I, for one, intend to crawl over both graves and glasses to see them.

The show opens tomorrow night and has four performances. For complete info, go to: http://www.andthefearcrackedopen.com/