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Unmuted Participants’ Solo Flight Festival Sprang from Pandemic

Different people handled the 2020 lockdown in different ways. Some went inward. Others found ways to connect despite the ban on public gatherings. And some did both. Ann Noble, who appeared last year in Poor Clare at the Echo Theater, started offering an online solo storytelling class through Berg Studios. The group of artists she gathered began work together and separately on their pieces via Zoom.

Like many others finding their way remotely, at first the transition to the virtual space felt odd and uncomfortable. But as they dove in, the actors discovered an intimacy. Full-face closeups, combined with the safety of the virtual realm, created a new possibility for storytelling. They began experimenting with greenscreen, multiple devices, props, puppets and more.

The resulting collective of solo performance artists, Unmuted Participants, just premiered SOLO FLIGHT, a festival of online solo performances available online on-demand throughout the month.

The collective is age-diverse and multinational. Its stories explore:

  •  Love, sex, and relationships
  • Family and upbringing
  • Shifting identities
  • Gender and psychosocial dynamics
  • True stories
  • Absurd stories
  • Absurd, yet true stories
  • The nuances of the human experience

The performances include:

 

Michael Lyons in his solo piece “Dickin’ Around”

 

Aoife Fagan uses special effects in “Glimmer of a Rainbow”

 

Unmuted Participants founder Ann Noble performs “Little Parts Hunts a Baby-Daddy”

 

Unmuted Participant Ann Loud in “Hot Dog Play”

 

SOLO FLIGHT runs online through May 10. You can see a trailer here and find artist bios and the schedule here.

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Laura Foti Cohen
Laura Foti Cohen
Laura Foti Cohen has lived in the Brookside neighborhood since 1993. She works as a freelance writer, editor and consultant. She's also a playwright affiliated with Theatre West.

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