Available Light Theater Goes International
The mission statement at Available Light Theater says that they are a “fellowship of artists dedicated to building a more conscious and compassionate world by creating joyful and profound theatre.” But what exactly does that mean?
We decided to hit up Artistic Director Matt Slaybaugh to help shed some light on things and talk a bit about their current ongoing show titled “The Internationalist”.
Q: So for starters, can you give us a brief history on the theater, and describe what’s different about the audience experience at Available Light that can’t be found elsewhere?
Available Light started under a different name in 2002, and we became Available Light in 2006. The past year has been one of tremendous growth. We’ve got a board, received our non-profit status, started applying for grants, and we’ve started performing in Studio 2 at the Riffe center, which is the best room in town for plays.
My favorite review lately was from someone who wrote on a survey “This play fucking rocks.” We try to rock, as much as plays possibly can, and I think ours really do. I’m also really fond of the students who sometimes come to the shows 3 or 4 times. It’s Pay What You Want, so why not?
Q: The current show going on right now is “The Internatoinalist” which you’re directing, and Anne Washburn wrote, correct? Where did the inspiration come from and how has the collaboration worked out?
A: Anne wrote the play after a couple of over-seas trips, contemplating the various forms of mis-communication that afflict us whether we’re speaking the same language or not. I read the play about 18 months ago and immediately fell in love. It asks the audience to be patient, to deal with the fact that they’re not going to understand everything that happens right away. It’s a challenge, but a worthwhile one. Getting the right balance of revelation and withholding has been a lot of fun.
Q: So have the actors adapted well to performing this type of concept, or has it been challenging for them too?
The biggest challenge for the actors in this play is that some of it is in a fictional foreign language that isn’t translated in the script. So they’ve been learning lines without necessarily knowing exactly what they’re saying. Now that they’ve got it, they’re having a lot of fun with it, but it was pretty scary at first.
Q: Sounds like it required some patience on your part as the director too, eh?
Well, when I was starting out at the age of 19 I was a horrible director. I yelled at actors when they asked the wrong questions and I had no idea how to get good work out of artists. Let’s just say that I’ve learned a lot since then.
Q: Heh. So for any potential actors or assistants that will be reading this, is there a best way for them to get involved in future plays and performances?
Sure, we’re always looking for volunteers, you can just email us about that. The best way to find out about auditions is to sign-up for our email list here.
And for anyone looking to attend… tickets are cash only at the door, no advance sales, and it’s Pay What You Want, which is exactly what it sounds like.
Q: Any special thanks to give to those helping out with The Internationalist?
I want to shout out to our new board, who’ve been awesome, and also to Dave, Ryan, Jenny, Vince, Michelle, Maggie, and JohnnyKo - the best production team around.
“The Internationalist’ has showings on January 9th, 10th, 11th, 15th, 16th, and 17th at the Riffe Center Downtown.
The Internationalist Website can be found by clicking here.
The Internationalist Facebook Event page can be found by clicking here.
More information about Available Light can be found on their homepage.
Bonus: Video Preview of The Internationalist:
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January 9th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Word.
Saw it last night. Seeing it again Saturday.
It’s the good stuff.
January 9th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
We’ll be there tomorrow night.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:32 am
Tomorrow night, go to the Tip-Top and order an “Available Lite Brite” - Stoli Blueberry, Blue Curacao and Sprite - available in a Collins or as a shot- $4 is cost. $2 dollars will got to TT and $2 to Available Light.
Woo-ha.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:35 am
By which I mean, Saturday night.
January 10th, 2009 at 10:10 am
That sounds really tasty. Would be cool if they offered it all the time. ;)
January 11th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Anne & I went to check out the show last night and really enjoyed it. I think on my comment card I said something like “A nice mix of comedy, drama, and confusion”.
I’d highly recommend anyone and everyone go to see this next weekend while it’s still playing. I’m not always the best about attending local theater, and I think it sometimes can get overshadowed by all of our great visual arts events in Columbus, but it’s always a great experience to see a local play.
Two thumbs up from me.
January 11th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
A random sampling of the room last night:
Walker, Anne, Daniel Fox, Jon Myers, Suzi West, Tim Lessner, Artie Isaac, Nand Dussault, Amber Allen, Kevin Joy, etc — to name a few.
I’ll cop to the fact that stretches of dialogue in a fictional foreign language CAN be a wee bit challenging (maybe not the right word) at times — but in the context of non-verbal cues and body language, plus tone and inflection, it’s really not that hard to decoct the gist.
That being said, REALLY looking forward to seeing AVLTheatre present some original work with Dirty Math.
January 11th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Diane Warren from Katzinger’s was also there btw…
Great show!
I don’t think this is an easy script to pull off. Kudos to AVL for having the onions to try it AND for making it work!
Anyway, I really enjoyed the show last night. I’m looking forward to more from AVL!
January 12th, 2009 at 9:16 am
The show was really, really fantastic. I thought the performance captured the awkwardness of being a stranger in a strange land (especially an American) very well. You can tell the show was written, directed and performed with a lot of discipline and heart.
I’m probably not the best theater critic (this is a good thing), so theater purists keep that in mind when reading my remarks. For the rest of us, this was a great time and the show held my attention the entire performance, which isn’t so easy. I don’t believe I glanced at my phone once. Something Slumdog couldn’t even do and I thought that was a great movie.
I always hesitate when using the word “support” when discussing the need to support the arts because it sounds like a chore accompanied by a handout. Sally Struthers on WOSU saying “feed these artists”. (though, I’m sure AVLT would very much appreciate the support and it’s needed). In my head sometimes “supporting the arts” can mean supporting something of inferior quality because it’s the right thing to do.
My point is in the case of the Internationalist it was more fun than taking in any movie I can remember. Lastly, my second point is you just happen to be “supporting” the ground floor of something brewing that is first and foremost of great quality and finally, important for a growing city.
Great show. I can’t wait to see more.
January 12th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
(Doing my part in promoting the group beyond monetary contribution, as promised.)
I am always reminded of what an inspirational experience attending a theatrical performance can be. The ability to transform a small room or stage with minimal props and lighting, and to truly convey a location or personality, is an art-form. As someone who has made a living out of creating spaces to define a story or person, I must write Bravo! and Brava! to the director and staging crew.
…and I keep trying to randomly use the word “Sunfish” in my every day conversations… I think it is the new buzzword for 09.
(As a chronic sifter, I am going to be crucified if the “projec” word wasn’t Sunfish…so please just go along with it. And if you don’t know what I mean, then it is reason to attend to unlock the mystery.)
January 12th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Agreed on all the above points.
I can count the number of theatrical performances I’ve been to on two hands, no joke. If only I’d bumped into Slay earlier. There’s definitely something electric about the experience — the in-the-moment-ness, the give-and-take. Which is why we did the tweetup: trying to keep people from repeating my own mistake.
(As I said elsewhere after Infinity: it was everything I didn’t know I was missing but need.)
And you’re right, Slumdog was great, but I wasn’t rapt. Last time I remember being truly rapt at a film was either City of God or when they screened Playtime at The Wex on 70mm — THAT was something else.