Source Festival: 5th Anniversary of Performing Arts Celebration

In it’s 5^th Anniversary, the Source Festival created by Cultural DC this year plans to continue it’s basis of showcasing the creativity of both promising and well-established artists through three weeks of performances from June 8 – July 1.  The Festival is reputed for bringing in new work focusing itself around interdisciplinary and contemporary ideas.   All the performances will take place in the Source Theatre at 1835 14^th Street, NW where the first Source Festival originally began in 2008 after Cultural DC refurbished the space in 2006.  The Source focuses on allowing artists to be innovative and experiment in the forefront in their field, which is the same creativity the Source Festival brings in the performances they showcase.

The focus of the Festival directs itself around three different themes emerging throughout the performances: Redeeming Demons, Rites of Passage, and Ethereal Encounters.  Redeeming Demons is situated around the idea of how the human experience is often influenced by the past, often in a haunting manner.  The idea of the past leads to performances ranging from divorce, September 11^th, and family histories.  Rites of Passage center on the moments in our lives that dictate an important turning point.  Epiphanies from these moments are reached from situations such as ten-year reunions to scientific breakthroughs.  Ethereal Encounters links the mysterious, outer world to our normal lives.  Characters encounter mysterious boxes and lost memories in worlds beyond the everyday.  With these three themes regarding distinctive experiences of the human existence, the audience can choose to absorb themselves in different performances concerning just one or all three of the important concepts the Festival brings to life. 

To highlight these themes, the Source Festival offers various types of unique performances in its line-up.  To showcase these themes, there will be 18 10-Minute Plays, three Full-Length Plays and three Artistic Blind Dates throughout the festival.  These 10-Minute Plays are being produced by award winning directors, actors, playwrights such as Jennifer Nelson, Jason Loewith, Randy Baker, Rick Hammerly, and Jennifer Harris.  The 18 10-Minute Plays are broken down into groups of 6 to comprise a cohesive show pertaining to one of the three themes of the Festival. 

The Full-Length plays are being individually directed by a group of younger directors. Sasha Bratt takes on directing Qualities of Starlight about a young cosmologist encountering demons from his past.  Raymond Caldwell directs The House Halfway concerning a unique House in the Caribbean.  Amber Jackson is directing Uses of Enchantment focused on a young girl using fairytales to deal with tragedy.

The Artistic Blind Dates links together nine artists from various backgrounds and disciplines to create three new works, each applied to one of the three themes.  These works are focused on an interdisciplinary experience for the audience as well as a discussion about the inner workings of their collaborations. 

The concepts and performances showcased by the Festival leave countless options for viewers with a total of 24 different performances.  There is much to be explored about the human experience through the various topics the Festival offers for the audience. It also leaves much room for unique theatre experiences and creations. This stems from the collaborations and combined disciplines established within the core foundation of the Festival.  The Source Festival provides a distinct environment for the cultural art scene in the DC area and promotes a thriving creative atmosphere for exciting and thought-provoking work. 

http://www.sourcefestival.org/

http://www.culturaldc.org/

[Image Credit: Chris Mancusi, Jasmin Danielle Johnson & Claire Carroll in the House Halfway: C. Stanley Photography]