Arts

Alice gets around

We all think we know the spunky English girl who falls down a rabbit hole and emerges in a trippy dream world. Fernando Calzadilla, who co-wrote an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic English fairy tale “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland” with Stephanie Ansin, agrees that the actor is “an athlete of the emotions.” “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland” at The PlayGround Theatre, a Knight Arts grantee, will feature Linda Bernhard and Marjorie O’Neill-Butler  — both are original cast members from last year’s performance. Joining this year’s production is Emily Batsford, Josh Carpenter, Jeremy Greenbaum, Makeba Pace, Troy Davidson, Edson Jean and Nikki Lowe.

This Alice and her Wonderland promises to be more multifaceted than the Disney story, the adaptation with which so many of us are familiar. The play, directed by Ansin and designed by Calzadilla, exploits video projection throughout the production to expand the stage in ways traditional theatre cannot, adding to the intensity of Alice’s trip from humdrum reality to a shifting dream world. To complete this modern adaptation, Ansin and Calzadilla utilize contemporary costumes, sounds and objects to create a thoroughly metropolitan feel that should excite audience members.

It is also worth noting here that Calzadilla is a practioner of RasaBoxes, which “trains participants to physically express eight key emotions first identified in the Natyasastra, a Sanskrit text dealing with theatre, dance and music.” Put in layman’s term, RasaBoxes helps practitioners to access emotions, communicate with others and leave those same emotions behind when they are detrimental to the acting. Calzadilla will offer an intensive workshop where participants will learn how to apply RasaBoxes technique to their own work. The performance techniques learned will prepare participants to fully enter RasaBoxes. The best part about the workshop? Participants are invited to wear comfortable clothing, like string pants, workout clothes or T-shirts. Because let’s be honest, exercising in a suit just looks tacky once the sweat stains begin to show.

Opens Wednesday, Feb. 1, 10 a.m. through Sunday, March 11 at The PlayGround Theatre, 9806 N.E. Second Ave., Miami Shores. Weekday performances (Tuesday-Friday) are at 10 a.m., Saturday performances at 7 p.m. and Sunday performances at 2pm.* Tickets are $20 per person, $10 for groups of 20+. Tickets may be purchased through The PlayGround Theatre box office by calling 305-751-9550, online at www.theplaygroundtheatre.com or through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com.

**The PlayGround Theatre has a Theatre Inclusion Program (TIP) Performance on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. “TIP brings the magic of live theatre to children and adults with disabilities” and is sign-interpreted and open-captioned with audio description available.