"Synesthesia"

Telephone, that wonderful youthful game we all played (at least once). I'm sure you remember it well. So do the eight artists working performing in the Athena Theatre and Bootleg Theater presentation of Synesthesia: Artistic Telephone Across the Genres created by Electric Pear Productions and directed by Cate Caplin. Now in its fifth season, "Synesthesia" is a live, annual event which unites a select and diverse range of arts. The show opens May 7 and performs every Monday through June 11.

How it works:

The first artist was asked to select a fortune cookie. They have two weeks to create a piece inspired by the fortune. The next artist will then see that creation and will have two weeks to design his own piece inspired by the artist before him (never having seen the fortune). The next artist in the series will interpret that piece and then has two weeks to create a piece of his own. The next artist will interpret THAT piece and in two weeks will create his work from there. Then another artist interprets the preceding piece and the process will continue for 4 months involving a total of 8 performing artists. This game of "creative telephone" will culminate in an evening of their work performed live, in-sequence. The transitions will consist of a video montage of moments in response to the artist who just performed and glimpses into the initial impulses that sparked the inspiration of the next piece to come.

The 2012 "Synesthesia" Artists:

• Ruby Karen - Aerial Artist, Dancer
• Aldo Pisano - Spoken Word
• John Bobek - Singer, Songwriter
• Marc Rosenthal - Lighting, Projection Designer
• Michael Bonnabel - ASL, Singer
• John Achorn - Commedia dell’arte Performer
• Rocco Vitacco - Musical Theatre Composer
• Michael Dunn - Chef, Theatrical Performer

Eight weeks of live theater...never the same performance twice...and yet.