In New York’s Soho and East Village, I know many of the smaller off-broadway theatres, moreso than I do my own San Francisco hood, often the case when you move somewhere. I recently discovered The Marsh Theatre, which is tucked away on the Mission’s Valencia Street, easy to miss if passing by car.
Around it is a myriad of restaurants, bars and coffee shops and so this community theatre discovery fits in perfectly. Dark and circular, small and intimate, you feel as if you’re joining the actor (s) on stage or will be asked to any minute, if you’re in the front row, which is where I sat for the one woman show: The Magnificence of the Disaster.
Most touching is the personal aspect of it. Rebecca Fisher, who is the incredible one woman talent, is the daughter of Emily Fisher, who was the well-known murdered Memphis arts patron, a tragedy that happened now over a decade ago.
The story? A memorable, oddly humorous at times, raw, authentic, touching, yet inspirational account of Rebecca’s life in Memphis growing up with her drug taking brother and alcoholic father. She recounts the unusually separate yet meaningful relationship she has with her mother despite the so many dysfunctional aspects of their everyday lives.
Using very few props, she has bountless energy that keeps the audience at the edge of their seats as she quickly moves from moments of tearful and heart wrenching pain from her mother’s murder and historical accounts of the south to amusing but at times cynical snapshots of her relatives all with perfectly rehearsed accents of each colorful personality.
Throughout the play, you can ‘feel’ each character vividly. At times, you want to reach out and give a hug to the character she is portraying at the time, even if they have become nothing more than a voice in the clouds, the unseen smoke coming from her lips as she depicts her chain smoker grandfather sitting on a small and frail wooden chair.
Rebecca says during an interview, “Giving a voice and perspective to the situation was the only way I knew how to own it, discover it, make sense of it, and come to appreciate how bad it got. Ironically, I could only do this through the theatre. Writing about it gave me the opportunity to transform something terrible into something creative with humor, grace, movement, comedy and non-linear thinking: qualities missing in the headline murder stories.” You did just that Rebecca and it was beautiful to watch.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
