FringeNYC 2013: Sure-Minded Uncertainties

Fantastical characters explore stewardship, technology & spiritualism in our modern world through innovative storytelling. Dynamic, large-scale shadow projections move in concert with video imagery and an original soundtrack. It's like watching dreams cross into the conscious world. All ages welcome.

Official production website
Show details/ticketing at FringeNYC

Venue: The Theater at the 14th Street Y, 344 East 14th Street

Review by Charles C Bales · August 14, 2013

Sure-Minded Uncertainties is a breathtakingly beautiful shadow play from Hudson Valley-based ensemble Cave Dogs. Creating an awesome spectacle with shadow puppetry, computer animation, and live performance, this is a truly one-of-a-kind show for all ages that is not to be missed.

Now playing at the Theater at the 14th Street Y in the East Village as part of FringeNYC 2013, Cave Dogs’ immensely talented interdisciplinary artists (dance, performance, music, lighting, prop design, costume, videography, etc.) have collaborated on a series of short stories that touch on themes including naturalism, industrialism, technology, and community building, among others.

Like a fever-pitched dream in black and white with bold flashes of color, amazing images are produced both low-tech (cardboard cutouts and flashlights) and high-tech (computer-generated) on a huge scrim that will lead many audience members to wonder, “How’d they do that?”

Shadow and light trick the eye with skewed perspectives such as a wire frame that transforms from toy-like dollhouse to life-size dwelling and mere saplings that become enormous trees. Performers too morph from tiny to huge, and back again, juxtaposed with the shadows and video with which they act and interact.

Gasps were heard throughout the 45-minute long performance as each new tableau appeared, accompanied by original music by Dean Jones, whose background in ethnomusicology is apparent in a soundtrack that blends a world music sensibility with folk, spoken word, and electronica.

The magic of Sure-Minded Uncertainties comes in part from its near wordlessness and thus all-encompassing universality, fitting for a show that has traveled both nationally and abroad. As written by Cave Dogs’ Maria Jansdotter-Farr, fantastical characters such as the Tree Puller, the Scientist, the Tech Man, and the Tailor represent not only occupations of the Everyman, but also various eras in time — past, present, and future.

My favorite is the Story Teller and her devastatingly gorgeous book of cutouts that frequently come alive. Backlit to highlight each page as it is dramatically flipped, the silhouetted images emerge as key points in the existential narrative that makes up Sure-Minded Uncertainties. Suzanne Stokes, the director of the show as well as the artistic director of Cave Dogs, portrays this omniscient and omnipotent chronicler.

The fabulous ensemble work of all seven of Cave Dogs’ members/puppeteers/collaborators cannot be praised enough. Although obviously huge amounts of time and effort have been spent creating the complexities of this extraordinary shadow play, the end result is seamless. Sure-Minded Uncertainties is a profound work of art.

Preview: Interviews with Artists from Sure-Minded Uncertainties

We're asking artists from each show to answer questions about themselves and their work to help our readers get a detailed advance picture of the festival:

The Folks Back Home · Doug Keller (Actor)

Where were you born? Where were you raised? Where did you go to school?
I was born in Suffern and grew up all around Rockland county. I went to several different schools, finally graduating from Clarkstown North High School. After that I went to SUNY Albany and lived in the Capital District for six years. I spent a year in New Orleans, then moved to beautiful Ulster County and have lived here ever since. Long live The People's Republic of Rosendale!
When did you decide to become an actor, and who or what inspired you to make that choice?
I was a freshman at SUNY Albany when the acting bug bit me. I have always had a goofy personality and acting was a way that I could let it all hang out. Acting gives me the freedom to let all the voices in my head come out, without being sent to the loony bin. I can't really pinpoint a particular person who inspired me, acting is just a natural extension of who I am.
What are the folks back home never going to forget about your performance in this show?
Well, they would have to figure out who I was first. Sure minded Uncertainties is done completely in shadow and the soundtrack is recorded, so it is not a traditional play in any sense of the word. Cave Dogs is truly an ensemble. All of us contribute in many different ways, not just as performers, but as lighters, and artists as well. Hmm, that wasn't what you asked though was it. So to answer your question, it's all about the trees. Definitely the trees. No one can forget the trees. What do trees have to do with my performance you ask? You'll just have to come to the show and find out.
Does this show remind you of a particular person or place from your past?
No, not a particular person. The show is really much broader than that. The characters in the show are representative of a universal experience, they are archetypes really. Oh wait, that's it!! Of course, the show reminds me of Carl Jung (not that I knew him personally). But it was he who introduced the world to the idea of archetypes and the collective unconscious, and Sure Minded Uncertainties certainly delves into those worlds.
If grandma left you ten million dollars that you had to spend only on theatrical endeavors, how would you use the money?
I'd quit my day job first of all. Then I would ask grandma where she was hiding the money for all these years. Oh wait she's dead, in that case I would buy Jim the biggest and best projectors money could buy. Then I would use some of the millions to travel the world with Cave Dogs performing Sure Minded Uncertainties at every Fringe Festival we could find. And pay Micah our incredibly awesome ACR, definitely pay Micah. Then I would use the rest of the money to promote and perform It Might Have Been, another project I'm working on written by Myles Wren. It is a poignant true story of people whose lives were unfairly stolen when they were wrongly labeled as mentally retarded and institutionalized. It is a story few people know of and one that needs to be told. I would start a foundation to promote social justice through the performing arts and It Might Have Been would be the first performance.

Gettin' Social · Maria Jansdotter-Farr (Writer)

Describe your show in a tweet (140 characters or less).
It's like watching an fantastical intricate dream while awake.
Do you think the audience will talk about your show for 5 minutes, an hour, or way into the wee hours of the night?
All of the above! This abstract way of telling stories deals collectively with innate human experiences and yet each member of the audience will find that the imagery also communicate directly and on a very personal level. People will come away with a story that found him or her at that point in their lives, so naturally they will talk about it for a while!
If you're a New Yorker: why is FringeNYC an important part of the summer theater scene? If you're not a New Yorker: what are you most looking forward to doing and seeing (apart from the festival) while you're here?
I consider myself a New Yorker, even though I moved out, New York is my city in the US. There would have to be a Fringe Festival in NYC, people who visit needs an alternative to the 57th Street Commercial Act or Shakespeare in the Park. For those who live here, it takes something real to raise a new-york-eyebrow and the Fringe Festival has that. We have that!
What was the last play or theater piece you saw that really excited you, and why?
The Carpetbag Brigade at the New Orleans Fringe Festival. Just a very creative group. Physically it was quite amazing what they did on stilts. For ex. when one of the performers lost one of his stilts he just kept on going. Realize what it takes to limp on one stilt.... Love that unflinching way of dealing with performing.
Writing is supposed to be a solitary pursuit, so what uses does a writer have for social media?
Facebook and Twitter are perfect for writers. Writing may be a solitary pursuit but it's ultimately meant to reach other people, and social media has that reach. Spread those words.

Read more Gettin' Social previews!

All About My Show · Suzanne Stokes (Director)

Complete this sentence: My show is the only one in FringeNYC that...?
We believe that Sure-Minded Uncertainties, performed by Cave Dogs is the only one in FringeNYC that will be a fully immersive and sensory experience. Large-scale innovative shadow projections are cast onto a screen from sculptures, props, costumes, and the human body. These dynamic cast shadows move in concert with projected video imagery, spoken narrative, and an original soundtrack to create multiple, richly layered imagery. Cave Dogs tells life stories that conjure both the dreamlike quality of early experimental film and the humor of contemporary animation – all of which charm, challenge, and captivate a diverse audience of adults and children alike.
What do you think this show is about? What will audiences take away with them after seeing it?
Cave Dogs’, Sure-Minded Uncertainties, explores science, technology and nature through the alternative lenses of micro and macro perspectives, situations and experiences. Stewardship and curiosity of our natural resources and inter-generational relationships are reoccurring themes. A range of fantastical characters and modern day archetypes, including a scientist, a naturalist, an ancient wise woman, a tailor and a chrysalis, navigate a series of transformations throughout four scenes. The performance presents vibrant storytelling; merging ancient traditions, shadow puppet theatre and contemporary art forms - including film, video, sound, and computer-generated animation.
Who are some of the people who helped you create this show, and what were their important contributions to the finished product?
Cave Dogs members are working artists, photographers, actors, graphic designers, writers and musicians who meet in dark places to shine light on their imagination. In collaboration they create abstract imagery by combining large-scale vibrant shadows and innovating video projections. The six, principle members all live and work in the Hudson Valley, which is well know for its creative population. Cave Dogs has existed since 1991, and the current group has been working together since 2009. These members are Suzanne Stokes (artistic director, lighter, actor, prop maker, choreographer, grip), Jim Fossett (producer, videographer, post production & effects, lighter, actor, prop maker, grip, graphic designer), Adam Mastropaolo ( lighter, actor, prop maker, choreographer, web & graphic designer), Maria Jansdotter-Farr (writer, choreographer, costume designer, prop maker, lighter, actor, grip), Ted Conway ( technician, videographer, actor, lighter, prop maker, grip), and Douglas Keller (actor, lighter, props, grip) . Cave Dogs original sound track is created by Grammy Award winning producer Dean Jones. We are a truly collaborative group. We all participate in almost every aspect of creating and performing our work. In addition to the 6 principle members, there are up to 30 other collaborators that contribute sound, voice, instrumentation, still and moving imagery, prop making, and costume design.
Tell us about the process you used to achieve your vision of this play in this production.
It is very unusual to find a forum like Cave Dogs where individuals from different artistic arenas can come together and create work. We cultivate this collaborative nexus by continuing to bring artists together, not only to produce work, but also to produce a supportive, creative community. The preparation and work for our performances consists of extensive research, script writing, story boarding, shooting video, editing video, creating animations, casting voices for the soundtrack, recording voices and sound effects, creating an original soundtrack from traditional and experimental instruments, linking the soundtrack with the visuals, training and casting shadow performers and lighting technicians, choreographing shadow performers and the lighting technicians, creating props, making costumes, creating and digitizing still photography, producing promotional and press release materials for newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and a wide range of performance venues.
Are there any cautions or warnings you’d like to make about the show (e.g., not appropriate for little kids)?
Be prepared for how much fun you are going to have at this show! This delightful, immersive sensory experience is going to blow you away! Sure-Minded Uncertainties is appropriate for all ages and we welcome a diverse audience. While being intimately connected to the contemporary arts scene, we are also connected to communities that the contemporary arts do not always reach. Cave Dogs is committed to remaining accessible and approachable, and to performing in a wide array of venues.

Read more All About My Show previews!

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