Productions DIRECTED by Elizabeth Baron (non-LaLa)
Gemma Wilcox Productions' 52 PICKUP
written by TJ Dawe and Rita Bozi
performed by Gemma Wilcox and Sam Elmore
directed by Elizabeth Baron
52 PickUp -THEATER REVIEWS
From the Vancouver, 2010 run:
Plank Magazine (Click here to read the full review)
"If you can only go to one show this festival, 52 Pick Up would be a good choice. Fifty two playing cards are thrown into the air. Each card dictates a scene that Gemma Wilcox and Sam Elmore perform in the order they are chosen, gradually revealing a romantic relationship that is complex, funny, infuriating, passionate, Mars vs. Venus typical, funny (oh, did I already say funny?, well, it’s very funny), and frighteningly familiar.
... I found myself counting the number of cards left on stage, wishing there were more. This show is clearly the work of experts..."From the Denver, 2009 run:
Denver Post (Click here to read the full Review)
".... 52 Pick Up" requires ferocious and fully committed performances, and that's what Gemma Wilcox and Sam Elmore have honed...These two are confident and comfortable together. Between scenes they circle each other like animals in heat, then dive in to whatever scene comes up with abandon and total trust. It all makes for a quick evening that's at times funny, passionate and sad, but at all times honest..."From the Boulder, 2008 run:
Boulder's Daily Camera (Click here to read the full Review)
"... The final card chosen was titled "Bliss," a short interlude where both characters dance together with abandon to a Coldplay song. On Saturday, the scene was like a heartbreaking and wonderful dream, where the couple, whose love we know didn't last, are experiencing their most exquisite moment together...
Elizabeth Baron's direction adds great clarity to the piece. A setup like this, with the actors going in and out of character so often, could turn sloppy, but this show is crisp..."Denver's Westword (Click here to read the full Review)
"... And there was one moment, as the lovers tried to decide whether to stay together, when I found memories of a long-ago breakup taking over full force. I remembered the feeling that we simply couldn't continue balanced against sheer terror at the idea of life without him, with all its pain and emptiness. And how we were not only unable to explain what we felt to each other, but we couldn't even figure out exactly what it was for ourselves.
Wilcox and Sam Elmore bring subtlety and ingenuity to the scenes. They make an intriguing game of the card pick-up, moving through it in a dance-like, synchronized way, watching each other intently, silently teasing and challenging. They may have devised some system with director Elizabeth Baron for which of them would pick up the next card after a particular scene, but if there was a logic to that, it eluded me..."Winnepeg Free Press - ***** 5 STARS (out of 5) - click here for the full review
"..This is provocative, eerily personal theatre...
The scenes are brisk, some no more than 20 seconds long, and they are achingly (or hilariously) familiar. There’s the awkward first home invite — "If you think this is messy, you should see my place" — the tense silences, and the inside jokes that aren’t funny to anyone else. And, of course, there’s the fighting...
As Wilcox and Elmore sailed through the story, we almost doubted that the scenes were not in scripted order: the exposition seemed too thoughtfully crafted. But therein lies the beauty. The scenes are random, but so intimate that the viewer’s memories fill in the gaps.
CBC News Winnepeg/ CBC News Manitoba ***** 5 STARS (out of 5) - click here for the full reviewLet the cards fall where they may; this show is worth the price."
"… this production is slick, well-paced and completely fun to watch.
...The dialogue is so bang on that you think you’re watching scenes from your own love life, and being thankful that you’re not the only one out there going through it alone.
52 Pick Up is at times heartbreaking, but then it bounces back to moments of pure expressions of love, lust and laughter. Scenes last from 20 seconds to three minutes, each one just as important as the last. If you cannot relate to this story then you have never been in love.
ADDITIONAL 52PickUp PRESS52 Pick Up is worth seeing a second time, just to see how else the scenes fit together in a different way."
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Daily Camera: Click here to read the feature article 'In the Cards...'"... Elizabeth Baron directs "52 Pick-Up." She's seen the play take on a very different feel from performance to performance.
"It is much more about seeing a whole spectrum of emotions," Baron says. "Depending on the night and how the cards fall, it can be quite grim. But then I remember one show when it started (with heavy scenes), then it went for a whole run of cards that were about infatuation, where you saw them falling in love, and the audience reaction was to root for them because they really wanted the relationship to work..."
Denver Post - Winter Arts Preview - '10 Plays to Watch'
Colorado Springs' Independent: Feature Article 'Out of Order, 52 PickUp...'
Denver Post: 'Running Lines with 52 PickUp'
PeakRadar: 'Theater and Dance - MAT'
The Austin Chronicle: 'FronteraFest Article' and more...
See below, for Boulder International Fringe Festival - Audience Feedback (from the BIFF website)
Nomadic Theater Company's
THE LAST SHOW YOU'LL EVER SEE
(One woman, a Trombone, and the Apocalypse...)
written and performed by Sarah Liane Fosterdirected by Elizabeth Baron
THEATER REVIEW: The Last Show You'll Ever See -
(Click for the the full Review)
"... Foster's a fool, in the grand old sense of someone who approaches truth by smashing convention and cloaking her transgression with a laugh. The New Vaudeville movement, which started in the 1960s by reclaiming the magic-on-the-cheap skills of the old vaudeville circuit and crossing them with the disciplines of European circus and mime, is getting a little white in the whiskers itself. But it keeps inspiring fresh generations of performers and reminding audiences that a show can be simple and direct and create its bells and whistles in the mind instead of the computer board.
From the Pickle Family Circus to the Flying Karamazov Brothers to Bill Irwin, the delight has always been the direct bond between performer and audience. Foster's a graduate of Northern California's Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre, about as prestigious a place as a center for clowning can be, and has also studied with the masterful and aptly named Avner the Eccentric.
That background shows in this one-woman play, which is directed by Elizabeth Baron. Clumsiness is Foster's stock in trade -- a controlled anarchy that seems just this side of simply bumbling around. She grabs your attention first by the sheer plainness of her act -- it could almost be amateur night at the show-off corral -- but you realize quickly that method and skill are behind the bumbling: She's making herself a fool for a purpose. And her purpose is to disarm you with her character's fears so your own don't feel so terrible, after all..."
52 PickUp - Boulder International Fringe Festival - Audience Reviews
(from the BIFF website - Ratings out of 5 Stars)
Jennifer 5 Stars!
I loved this show-- had me riveted. Incredible physical theater-- the subtleties of expression, and the incredible skill with which they embodied their characters from scene to unpredictable scene amazed me.
5 Stars!
Thea Litsios 5 Stars!
Great show - Gemma Wilcox and Sam Elmore did a great job of recreating those many short scenes in our lives that create a relationship - Youll laugh in recognition - and empathize with the humanity of it all.
5 Stars!
Moving, funny, clear-cut and totally engaging....
Josh Medley 5 Stars!
Show was professional quality. Great acting, crisp blocking, good poise and great commitment to character in the actors. On the whole, a great realization of a clever concept.
Steve N. 5 Stars!
Fabulous! The actors take you to scenes in your own life. Very engaging.
G 4 Stars!
I would agree with most of the above comments. Very very well acted, great blocking, spot on characterizations, clever concept ... as well as nothing new about the storyline, no groundbreaking insights into the material, however very human and recognizable.
Jodee Spalding 5 Stars!
outSTANDING! Its a smorgasboard of love-stuff. dee-lish!
Sharon Behl 5 Stars!
We loved it - related to it - provoked lots of discussion. Were still in touch with the bliss stage and have been together 1 1/2 years.
Leigh 5 Stars!
The scenes touch on universal elements of relationship without being cliche. The actors have great chemistry and play off eachother with vitality.
RRRRRRgh 5 Stars!
The Gem shines brilliantly again at this years Fringe. This piece is so solid on so many levels. Excellent writing, acting and directing. The premise nearly guarantees at least one new twist every performance. Relive some familiar scenes, avoid others and dream about some ideas that are yet to be. 52 is a must see.
maureen cassulo 4 Stars!
jeffry buechler 5 Stars!
the script kicks ass all on its own. put gemma and sam into that recipe and... yowsah! precision, great energy, and such a range in their performance. sam had me completely in the feel with several of the heavy moments and the laughy/joy moments. it would be so cool to see it every time, not simply for the variation in the script order, but to relish the stellar acting.
5 Stars!
52 moments of reality colored just right most of the time... a steady, insightful performance well written and directed. I was thoroughly invested in the characters and felt the effort was incredibly well-worked and professional. My review is much too sterile to express the sparkle of this gem - sure to be a Best of Fringe, no doubt!
5 Stars!
If you only see one show - this is it! The presentation of a relationship is done so well in such a unique way that you will be talking about it for days. Take some one you love with you.
Barney 5 Stars!
Probably one of the best shows Ive seen. Very interesting concept. Great acting and directing. The script, while its no Betrayal, it is pretty good and works well with the similar idea of presenting the history of a relationship. Very brave.
umorera 5 Stars!
loved it! Gemma does it again, this time with help! wow! great slick performance...nothing mind-blowing about the writing..but a great romp on the relationship rollercoaster..
shana parker 5 Stars!
Wow they did an amazing fun deep playful and accurate portrayal of the intimacy and patterns of craziness in all our man/woman dynamics.
Kisha Lauer 5 Stars!
What a fun and lively romp around all of those oh so familiar moments between the sexes. Sam and Gemma do a fabulous job of working with this inovative piece of theatre. This a delightfully entertaining journey which is different every time for the actors and the audience.
Iris Burman 5 Stars!
Wow!!! Great show. It is amazing how you can own 52 unique, yet interconnected scenes, and are able to access them at a pick of a card moment. And deliver them with such smoothe transition into a believable mood with incredible acting. Good show to both of you. Thanks for an entertaining evening. Iris
Fringer 4 Stars!
Gemma is a wonderful actor & her companion actor holds his own as well. The concept is clever & you do get some insights into the story that you wouldnt otherwise. But clever ideas have a way of biting back in unexpected ways. In this case, by having a story lag and repeat because of the devotion to 52 cards. The story needs tightening, but its worth seeing this show for the innovation & acting.
John Joseph 5 Stars!
Scenes weve all enacted unless youre a monk whos spent all his time in a cave in relationship: innovative, fun, at times hilarious, captures the pathos and conflict inherent in being a couple.
James 5 Stars!
Great concept that is very well executed and fun to watch.
Hari Gopal Kaur 5 Stars!
Lauren Spivey 5 Stars!
This is my favorite of the entire Fringe this year, what else can I say? An original idea that touched on a universal experience. Brilliant and beautiful. It rocked me and left me uplifted. Though that was the luck of the draw! :
JC 5 Stars!
Heartwrenching, sublime, funny, enchanting, achingly close to truth...and more.
Christopher 5 Stars!
This perfromance gets my vote for best of show. Powerful physical acting. The real meaning of the show comes through the jumbled randomness of each interlude. Without the chronological narative, the stages of a relationship seem more haunting and hopeless. Overall the show evolked compassion in me for our crazy human mating ritual...
Liz 5 Stars!
The two actors were truly a perfect match to play this round robbin of a show that lets the audience examine each shard of a fractured relationship. The pieces are eerily familiar, and bring out tears and laughter of recognition, as we realize we care about these two lost, but loving, souls.
Elisabeth Bowman 5 Stars!
Incredibly clever concept with outstanding performances by both Gemma and Sam. Very real, poignant, clever and delicious.
Elizabeth Slokar 5 Stars!
Spectacular
Jessica Wilson 5 Stars!
Brilliant. Dynamic. Thoroughly enjoyable!
Costen Aytes 5 Stars!
Wow!
RejiSarahHeatherKatie 5 Stars!
Wow! We fell in love with these characters and didnt want the story to end! Gemma & Sam put on an amazing performance.
Sinead Ni Flynn 4 Stars!
Gemma Wilcox productions performance of 52 Card Pickup, utterly surprising and invigorating. I do not expect this level of precision and rhythm in the physicality, while ALSO getting a genuine emotional depth. The actors have a vigor in the "connective tissue" of the piece, where each vignette is strung together, that is such a pleasure to witness. Each freeze and continue moment is crisp and creates separating frames . This allows for the shock of seeing the relationship fall apart, or in fact, come to understand it never came together. It was disparate moments of human longing and self-interest. Not relating. No deep connection. Just more ships in the night. I was quite taken in by the performance, having a personal epiphany during it ,regarding my own misadventures in my 30's. I miss this kind of theatrical discipline; like one of Gumps' chocolates, unknown and then you happily find a soft delicious center. Again, I did not expect this level of theatrical accomplishment at the Fringe.
Wilcox and Elmore have that 'human attracivenss' that draws you in and they become your points of affinity for the emotional journey you take . Your surrogates. They made the trust worth it.
Good theatre! Promising Actors. May they thrive!
megan 5 Stars!
i loved the presence with which you had to hold each moment, to weave together such a powerful performance!
