The Magic Of Theatre Discordia

Polish actress Beata Pozniak takes a different approach to poetry readings, which can sometimes be stagnant self-obsessive affairs. "I wanted to experiment with word-play and fun like Beckett, lonesco and Witkacy " the lovely redhead explains. "A poem could become the juggling of bricks, four-part harmony of hollering aerobic dancers or a live pigeon flapping suddenly out of a coat collar. Her "Theatre Discordia" combines dance, nostalgic and visual projections that accentuate or contrast spoken word in an entertaining blend of performance art and theater. Beata has enlisted the effort of three talented performers for "Theatre Discordia" three upcoming shows. Jack Grapes is an actor and UCLA professor who also publishes Onthebus an ongoing avant-garde collection of new poetry. Nancye Ferguson is best known for combining the cotton-candy sweet voices of three young girls singing biting social commentary in the band "Visiting Kids," who are on Volume 4 of "Radio Tokyo Tapes: Women" on Chameleon Records. The quartet is rounded out by Nathan Stein, founder of the mime/circus/magic troupe "Mums," and Pozniak herself, who draws upon an MFA in Drama and a decade of acting experience in 20 European film and television projects '"Theatre Discordia" will perform "Manifest Density," combining poets from Grapes and Lewis Carroll, as well as Chinese proverbs and sitcom scripts "reincarnated to the tune of the Star-Spangled Banner."

L.A.VILLAGE VIEW, March 4th, 1993, BY JOE JARRELL