Fools Mass: 25th Anniversary Season

Our most devoted readers know that the mission of this blog and our books, talks, podcasts, etc has to do with much more than some kind of “salute to vintage pop culture”. That may well constitute an introductory layer to it for many people, but our real mission here is connections: between diverse peoples, between generations, between individuals, between distant lands, and between the past and the present. As a component of that, exploring the ancient and medieval roots of western theatre and its 20th century offshoots (radio, film, television) is one of my greatest pleasures. My own first theatrical experiences were in Christmas pageants in the Anglican church; the idea of being part of a centuries old continuum, replete with mystical ritual, is foundational to me.

The more observant among you will note that over the last year or two I have really stepped up the examination of that topic here on Travalanche. Not sure why, though the apparent breakdown of society due to a plague might have something to do with it. You know? At the start of the present decade we found ourselves looking at more pictures of this guy than usual:

You’ll find links to many of the articles I’m referring to in this post, especially in the section head “Theatre and Related Folk Culture”.

So the moment finds me perfectly primed to engage with Dzieci Theatre’s annual holiday production of Fools Mass, now celebrating its 25th year. Under the direction of Matt MitlerFools Mass “celebrates the sacred, the profane, the miracle of life and the enigma of death, all with enchanted choral singing, riotous comic buffoonery, and extraordinary dramatic invention. Set during the plague years of the 14^th century, where a motley group of village idiots are forced to enact their own Mass due to the untimely death of their beloved pastor, Fools Mass has become all the more relevant for our own ravaged times.”

I first became aware of Mitler over 30 years ago. I performed on this bill at No Shame with him in 1991. Later I saw him perform at Surf Reality and other places around town. A friend studied with him as well. In addition to experimental theatre, he’s done clowning (he looked a lot like Harpo Marx when he was younger, mixed with a little Chico), as well as stand-up, performance art, movie-making, and he is trained in psychology. He literally studied directly with people like Grotowski and R.D. Laing. Why wouldn’t I be fascinated?

Their annual tour launches tomorrow in Brooklyn. I’ll report back once I’ve experienced it (I’ve already been honored and edified to audit a rehearsal — I intend to write a good bit more about it). If you’d like to check it out yourself (it runs Dec 2-16) the schedule is here.

Addendum: my impressions of the experience are recorded here.