ATLRetro

A truly unique theatrical experience lets you See Through back to the Seventies into the secret life of 10-year-old Jenny Rose at the Erikson Clock in Castleberry Hill. Shows run Thursdays through Saturdays, and the good news is that it has just been extended  through April 6. Toss in the description of a “multilevel, fully immersive theme camp without so much of the mud or the dust” and more than two dozen visual artists, dancers, musicians and actors. The environment is fluid. Things change. No two nights are alike. We hear there’s also food, drink, live music and guest stars as visitors interact with Jenny Rose and her imaginary friends through the rooms that make up her life. And all for just 20 bucks (advance tickets at https://m.bpt.me/event/339179), but be there by 8 p.m.because latecomers won’t be admitted

Well, we’re not exactly sure what’s going on, but it sure sounds like fun. We already knew that Shelby Hofer, artistic director of PushPush Theatre, one of the architects of this adventure and mastermind of Jenny Rose’s character, was a Kool Kat. But to get a bigger picture of all the project’s creative sides, we decided to make it a dynamic duo this week and also catch up with visual designer Stephanie Pharr.

ATLRetro: Who’s Jenny Rose? Shelby, I understand you took part of the inspiration for her from your own childhood in the 1970s. 

Shelby Hofer: yeah, I guess it was the ‘70s. (laughs)  Well, sure, I’m in there. but a lot of other stories and imaginings and ideas – some very present – are in there, too. However, some things from my actual childhood are in the show. Jenny Rose is an extremely curious and precocious kid. She can’t sleep for thinking. We all experience this as a kid. There is no way she is going to sleep, and when everyone says “Not now, Jenny,” or “Go to bed, Jenny,” she builds a world where she can get her curiosities dealt with. In this case it’s a talk show during an adult party, and her guests are imaginary dolls, animals and real people from the party- also in her imagination – but real. Get it?  In her room i have some of my dolls, books, pillows and my brother’s vintage Hulk Hogan action figure, a book about how Mommy had a baby, and an easy bake (same idea, new version). If I can get my act together, I will cook something in there during the show as a party gift.

Stephanie, how did you get involved with See Through, and what excited you about it?

Stephanie Pharr: Sharon Dennehy put together an awesome group of artists to bring See Through to life.  When I was asked to be apart of this curious project, I was excited to explore the concept, to push boundaries but mostly to co-create with artists such as Orion, Kris Pilcher, Patty Lacrete and JD Koth.

Something as cool and different as See Through suggests an amazing anecdote of how it all came together. Shelby, how did it get started, what’s the Erikson clock, and how did you get involved?

SH: I wrote a script called the “Johnny Show” about two little girls – one imaginary, under her bed – having a secret talk show when told to go to bed. I got a small grant from Idea Capital to finalize it, then Tim {Haberger] wrote the “back story” to the party. After some readings of both, some research on immersive theater, hybrid shows with artists – and a longing to do a live version of [PushPush’s] GRFX digital series,which will also feature multi-disciplined artists as part of a much larger narrative – we decided to take the project from a standard stage play and open the door to its evolvement much wider.

We like things that can grow with time, and with more people involved than just us.  We like to get creative minds together to make things that are slightly out of our control. It’s more interesting and keeps us challenged [and] growing. Plus, [PushPush] got a grant from the NEA [National Endowment for the Arts] for our GRFX media project and didn’t want our space costs to eat it up.  So we got the chance last fall, and we moved out of our former tin building that we’d been in for 10 years. It was a beastly month, but we got free of being landlords and facility mangers, and got out into the world more. Literally. We took a show to the Goat Farm (THE BLACK GLASS), to LA and to Berlin.  Also to Castleberry – the Erikson Clock Building. which we absolutely loved. It’s really an amazing historic building, and the Mass Collective and Nelson Gallery folks have done a great job restoring it. I’m in love with the windows. They are SeeThrough. We’ve created a gigantic maze in there – my hub is a writer-director-builder and builds amazing sets – that is super cool.  But when it’s wide open and it’s just the nelson gallery – it’s stunning. We expect to build worlds there a lot now, but we’ll be producing shows at many other places, too, including the Plaza Theatre.

Stephanie, you designed Jenny Rose’s playground. Without revealing any big spoilers, can you give us a little sneak peek into your head as you conceived the installation?

SP: For See Through, I dreamt up an imaginary playroom for a fantastical character, Katherine.  Jenny’s imaginary friend Katherine resides in this trans-dimensional playroom, an experience of a young girl’s warped fears, desires and memory.

With See Through, Shelby, you’re trying to creating something more than theater, more than a gallery show, something new. How do you describe it to people?

It’s a pop-up theater and visual arts experience. It’s a sexy-angle-clothes-mad-at-Jesus-party. It’s a hybrid gallery performance. It’s a celebration of story and family. It’s a community therapy session and a feast for the eyes and soul. It’s about losing your keys and shoes, and the importance of traveling over arriving.

Stephanie, did you, like Jenny, have an imaginary friend growing up, and if yes, how did that influence you creatively?

SP: I played with worms as a child; those were my imaginary friends. They mostly told me lies. I believed them most of the time.

Is the playground interactive, Stephanie? Will audiences get to play in it and how?

SP: Katherine would love to have you over for a cup of tea in her playhouse, no appointment necessary.

What’s the funnest thing to you personally about See Through that either you contributed or someone else did, and why?

SP: The conversations I’ve overheard in the line to “7 minutes in Heaven” are the most entertaining thing about the show thus far.

SH: Well, there’s a hilarious door handle in [Jenny’s] brother’s room and my weird uncle in the adjacent. And there is something special for me in each room that captures the essence of the original themes. This happened organically with each of the artists who are all really great at what they do. I had a fear we’d end up bending the story to what the artists created, but it has not happened that way.  We are all starting to gel and connect our ideas, and each show will be different because of that.

But back to the funny, there’s a question that I sometimes ask in the show which always cracks me up: “If you were a Christian and also a little horny, how would you ask a boy to smoke a cigarette with you?”  This related to the story, but the question is fun, and so are the answers. I wish I could be a fly on the wall for all of it. As Jenny Rose, I’m out there some, but mostly i’m banned to my “bedroom” for the final part of the experience. Tim always cracks up during the section about my rape whistle and how you are supposed to use it. And the “pervert” section. That’s from my childhood, too, and that whole Wayne Williams era. This show will not be for the easily offending. I think we could go much further with the politically incorrect, but it’s not about that really. It will add to the humor for sure, and most fare well, but it’s about something deeper.

Shelby, what exciting can you share about your work with PushPush, or any other solo/group projects, in the near future?

This show is a live beta, if you will, for our GRFX Digital Series. It’s a story about a comic book/digital arts company trying to diversify and evolve into the 21st century. It’s about exploring story and celebrating culture and arts. We are behind here in Atlanta on many levels. This story basically mirrors [PushPush’s] efforts – locally and globally – in exploring story and trying to push boundaries, and the challenges of creating art with many minds. It’s hilarious and meaningful, and if it could be birthed in Atlanta and grow with a worldwide audience, it could be a game changer. Its for the “TV,” but what is that anymore? By next year, I’m hoping we can watch the first episodes on a curated digital network, like with a Roku or something. It’s a big story, and there are three seasons.

It’s very exciting. We did readings of it in Atlanta, LA, Berlin and New York over the winter, and everyone had a blast with it. It’s a rich story that is very important right now, plus it will be a distribution platform for a wide variety of artists, from animators and illustrators, to musicians and dancers. One scene involved a wanna-be writer getting coffee for the staff, talking up his new “story” idea, and winding up smack in the middle of a public dance performance – like walking through Piedmont Park right through a performance and talking way too loud – being danced with, dropping bagels, etc.  He makes a mildly racist comment while shoving a Starbucks muffin in his mouth, and the crowd and dancers come to animated life and interrogate him in a wonderful way.  Anyway, I digress.

Stephanie, what’s next for you?  

I’m moving to Iceland in the spring and hope to start a puppet theater with the money I’ve just been granted from the Merman Manor Folks Fund.