Accolades for Naked July Festival

The Naked July Festival at National Pastime Theater has been open for over two weeks now, and accolades for the Festival concept and the individual shows have been appearing in print and on several Chicago theater web sites. Here is a small sampling of what area theater critics are saying about the month-long event at NPT.

In a recent review that was posted on the Buzz Magazine web site, Kimberly Katz makes a very apt but thought-provoking observation when she writes, “When is the last time you saw full frontal nudity in the theater? Was it “HAiR”, “Oh! Calcutta!” or maybe “The Blue Room”? Maybe you have never seen a play with nudity in it; well, here is your chance to experience the liberating effect of live theater specifically designed to give you the feeling that your body - despite its quirks or flaws - is OK just the way it is.” This reviewer has very succinctly captured the essence of the Naked July Festival—live shows on a small stage featuring actors with the courage and skill to perform without clothes, even when they are in close proximity to the audience. It works well here because the intent is not to shock the audience with a cheap or gratuitous nude scene as other playwrights or producers have tried; rather, nudity plays a fundamental role in all of these shows just as it does in our own lives and in our intimate relationships with other people.

In her review of Living Canvas –Demons, Katz writes “The performance of the lead dancer Emily Mark, who portrays Lily the autistic, was worth noting as she was not only an accomplished dancer but also an accomplished actor in expressing without words a very precise and deeply moving sense of what it must be like to be trapped in a body and mind afflicted with Autism. Also, I think it is a tremendously courageous task to undertake a role like this involving nudity from beginning to end. The neat thing about “Living Canvas” shows is that at the end they allow the audience to strip down and join them onstage under the lights and a lot of people actually went for it and joined in. That in itself was a beautiful, free love kind of thing to see happen in a theater setting in the year 2010, not 1968!” You can read the full review by clicking this link to go to the Buzz Magazine web site.

Katie Rauser, in another review on the Buzz Magazine site, wrote about the sensual qualities of Eros and the strong performances turned in by all of the actors. “Curator Shifra Werch, based on her research in which she asked several people what turned them on, chose each piece used in Eros. Werch not only did a fantastic job in choosing the material, but she also did well in assembling a shining cast that includes Reggie Robinson Jr., who hits a homerun with his performance of “Song of Solomon”, along with Taylor H. Entwistle and Nicolas Gamboa who successfully merge hot and funny in “Yum”. Gina Marie Koontz and Jason Gorczyca round out the outstanding cast that works so well together and continuously displays a strong comfort despite the changing of sexual partners from scene to scene. In line with the Naked July Festival, “Eros” contains plenty of nudity to further convey its message and it is done with great direction - beautifully and tastefully.” Rauser’s complete review can be found on the Buzz Magazine web site.



Tom Williams had similar praise for Living Canvas – Demons in his review posted on the Chicago Critic site. Of the popular late show he wrote, “This show is a expression of storytelling told with whimsical movement and dance devoid of dialogue. The choreography by Megan Piccochi is stylish and brave. Emily Mark and Miona Harris anchor the work. The actors are at ease as the celebrate their bodies in a stylish and creative work.”

In the final paragraph of his review, Williams provides us with a fitting summary of the Naked July experience – “One of the missions of the Living Canvas is to celebrate the human body in their work–therefore–they invite audience members to join them on stage nude to dance their inhibitions away. Three men and a woman did just that. A good time was had by all. If you ever want to experience nudity as art and personally-get to the Naked July Festival and strip away your inhibitions.” Click here to read the full review.

For ticket information for the remaining shows and more details about the Festival, be sure to visit the Naked July website.