BY MATEO MORENO

Translating a book into a different medium can be daunting work.  To capture the same beauty, the same essence that the author created on the page is a huge undertaking that countless authors have failed at.  So when it seems so hard to translate a beloved book into another medium, how hard must it be to translate poems into a play?  Quite an uphill battle, it would seem.  But Director Phillip Gates didn’t seem fazed by that challenge at all with his production of Before Placing Me On Your Shelf.  It’s strange, odd, surreal, dreamlike, and absolutely one of my favorite shows at Fringe this year.  Sadly, it’s now played its final performance but hopefully we haven’t seen the last of this beautiful piece and the talented company presenting it.

Following several short scenes and several characters throughout the show, Gates sets his actors in motion using Tate’s own poetry, many of which include dialogue so it translates beautifully.  From the first moment that a young woman sings “I only have eyes for you,” the piece has you under its spell.  It works as a fully functioning show and as individual scenes.  Each scene leads to the next in a very unconventional way (some scenes don’t seem to end as much as fade away).  They sometimes start grounded but always go into the surreal, like when a man asks a woman if he can duct tape her and she pauses before answering, “Only a little on the wrist.”  Another time a young woman comes into a home asking for a glass of water and gets into a strange conversation about slaves and how she may now be a prisoner herself.  Then there’s a wolf named Gypsy, flesh-eating moths, a phone that won’t stop ringing, a woman crawling on the ground looking for her life, and the butterflies.  The beautiful butterflies… Honestly, recounting the evening makes me realize two things: 1) Its such an odd, beautiful, and strange piece that a review can’t really do its beauty justice; and 2) I’m smiling just thinking about it.  The ensemble cast is the strongest ensemble I’ve seen since seeing The Mad One’s last show, The Tremendous Tremendous, each one supporting each other gracefully and dynamically standing out.  From the absurdist couple of Jonathan Horvath and Elizabeth Romanski to the quirkiness of Caitlin Johnston, every single actor breathes fire into a wonderfully strange and refreshing piece (the rest of this great cast included Nadia Sepsenwol, Theo Salter, Adam Scott Mazer, & Josh Odsess-Rubin).  Director Phillip Gates, who also conceived the piece, directs with a sharp and swift beauty, and I eagerly await Lunar Energy’s next production.

What’s the best way to get your career going in Hollywood?  Start schmoozing at networking events?  Talk to people while working on sets?  Be really, really nice to the waiter who seems like he’s a fantastic writer on the rise?  Wes decided to pretend he was infected with HIV.  So, you know, not my first choice, but maybe it’ll work out for him.  Infectious Opportunity introduces us to Wes (David Ian Lee) at his high point.  His screenplay for the film, “A Shoulder For the World to Cry on,” is causing quite a stir, and everyone wants a piece of Wes, from his publicist, Brent, to his students, to the magazine reporters.  Walking this path right along side him is Josie (Jessi Gotta), partly the fictional character in his screenplay and partly ghost of the woman he based her on.  She knows his secret, and while everyone else is busy trying to take a piece of the newest golden boy, Josie calls him out and pushes him in the direction of the truth.  Which leads us on a journey into the moments in his past that have made him, for better or for worse, the man he is today.

Playwright James Comtois has crafted his strongest piece to date, a strikingly real, funny, and dark tale of a man insistent on being famous and loved.  David Ian Lee (who originated the role in the 2009 production) tears into his role, and his commitment and realism keeps you fully invested the entire time.  As his “Ghost of Christmas Past,” Jessi Gotta is utterly sublime mixing humor, rage, and pain into a character that may not actually be there, but is so much realer than 90% of characters onstage throughout the year.  Her presence is commanding, and you can’t take your eyes off of her.  Rebecca Comtois & Ingrid Nordstrom both play multiple characters with such different takes on each one that you forget that they’re the same actor playing them.  DR Mann Hanson has two beautiful scenes as Wes’s friend from college, and he breathes quiet life into a character that may only be on stage briefly but sets the stage for all that is to come.  Matthew Trumbull gives yet another great performance as the Professor that took a shining to his young up-and-coming student, and Daryl Lathon adds a much-needed sleaze and humor into the weasel publicist.  The direction by Pete Boisvert is seamless, fast paced and demands attention.  Infectious Opportunities raises many important and pressing questions, and is a show that will stay with you long after the final acceptance speech.

“There are these dogs I dreamt of while I was awake, they wear clocks around their necks and they walk like men, the men howl like wolves and balance their weight on clenched fists and curled toes” ~ Chien de Moi

A few months back, I reviewed a modern dance piece that tried to tell a sort of Alice in Wonderland-esque story about a man who is lead into a dream world filled with creatures and nonsense.  It was a terribly interesting premise with a terrible execution.  Perhaps if they had seen In the Basement Theater Company’s production of Chien de Moi, they could have learned how to do their story right.  This short, dreamy, and imaginative piece concerns a young girl who goes to a place “that exists between a blanket and an eye.”  There is no dialogue, save for a voice over at the beginning and a monologue at the end.  We are literally thrust into the world of a young girl (Ava Deluca Verley) who seems at first confused in this world filled with dogs who walk like men and trees and flowers that dance with ease.  The entire company is made up of students from CMU School of Drama and their creativity seems to be just at the brink.  It’s a beautifully structured piece, and though the dancing wasn’t always perfect, I liked it even more for that.  The strangeness of the piece made me feel like I was witnessing my own dream, and as the young girl whose dream it actually is, Ava Deluca Verley dancing gorgeously and the fluidity of her movements are breathtaking to watch.  Her fellow dancers all add wonder and excitement to the evening (they include Adrian Enscoe, Katya Stepanov, Jesse-Carrey Beaver, Marquis Wood, Candace Maxwell, Michael Cusimano, Grace Rao, Ginna LeVine, Brian Morabito, Rodney Jackson Jr., Jessie Ryan Shelton and John McKetta).  The moments between the girl and the main dog that she connects to are fantastic, and the entire section choreographed to The Devil Makes Three’s song, Dynamite, is wickedly fantastic.  Writer/Director Sophia Schrank and her merry band of madcap majors deserve all the accolades they’re sure to get with this inventive and highly original piece.  Find the section between your pillow and your eye, close your eyes, and take it in.

BEFORE PLACING ME ON YOUR SHELF Adapted from the poems of James Tate Conceived and Directed by Phillip Gates Starring Nadia Sepsenwol, Theo Salter, Adam Scott Mazer, Caitlin Johnson, Josh Odsess-Rubin, Jonathan Horvath, Elizabeth Romanski Content Disclaimer (None) Playing at The Kraine Theatre, 85 E 4^th Street NYC

INFECTIOUS OPPORTUNITY Written by James Comtois Directed by Pete Boisvert Starring David Ian Lee, Jessi Gotta, Rebecca Comtois, DR Mann Hanson, Daryl Lathon, Ingrid Nordstrom, Matthew Trumbull Content Disclaimer (Adult Language, Adult Situations) Playing at The Living Theatre, 21 Clinton Street

CHIEN DE MOI Written by Directed by Starring Ava Deluca Verley, Michael Cusimano, Rodney Earl Jackson R., Brian Furey Morabito, Adrian Enscoe, Jesse Carrey-Beaver, Marquis Wood, Jessie Ryan Shelton, Ginna LeVine, Katya Stepanov, Candace Maxwell, Grace Rao, John McKetta Content Disclaimer (Adult Language) Playing at The Ellen Stewart Theatre, LA MAMA,

Mateo’s Grades: Before Placing Me On Your Shelf: A, Infectious Opportunity: A, Chien De Moi: A-

**CHECK http://www.fringenyc.org for exact show times and dates throughout the festival.

What BVEW Members Might Like: Unique poetry staged, fantastic acting, and inventive dancing.

Bottom Line: A beautiful trio of shows that couldn’t be more different but should be on everyone’s “must see” list.

Written by Mateo Moreno.  Follow Mateo:  On Twitter.  On Facebook.