Wise Fool's 'Beyond the Binary' opens a world of self-discovery
Apr. 19—It's hard to be yourself. Sometimes, the way we learn how is to pretend to be somebody else. That's one of the concepts propelling Beyond the Binary, a Wise Fool production that combines elements of acting, music, acrobatics, and mime into one stirring melange of progressive-minded entertainment.
The show's director and conceptual designer, Arin Dineen, who goes by the name Sparrow (they/them), has been working on this for years, first as a teacher at the Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences, and now with an intergenerational cast of performers ranging in age from 11 to 60.
"It's an exploration of what it means to be human in the constraints that our society has given us in terms of gender and also what is accepted and allowed and what our civilization has asked of us," says Sparrow of the show's theme. "It's a further exploration of ... the future and seeing how can we get back into good relation with the natural world. Where else can we, as humans, find inspiration and hope and beauty?"
Those are the big questions Sparrow has been asking for quite some time. First, they worked with middle school students at the New Mexico School for the Arts for a decade in art and film classes, where they found Live Action Role Play could be therapeutic. In that context, kids could step outside of their own bodies and minds and explore another reality.
NMSA sophomore Eliza Darling (she/he) was one of Sparrow's students a few years ago and is now reunited on stage as a performer. Darling says when she first transferred into the school, she realized she was gay, and a number of people — including her mom — told her that she might fit in better with her new classmates.
details
Beyond the Binary
7 p.m. Friday, April 19; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 20; 5 p.m. Sunday, April 21
1131-B Siler Road
$15-$55
505-992-2588; wisefoolnewmexico.org
"I didn't. But neither did anyone else," says Darling. "It was a community of misfits and pretty much all we had in common was that we were together. Going to school during COVID was difficult because we were learning to be human beings and to understand our new grownup bodies and new grownup minds alone. Sparrow became very devoted to creating a community where we could find out how to be ourselves."
Over time, Darling says, students explored their beliefs and attitudes while on a quest with each other, and they benefitted from thinking about situations that didn't necessarily reflect their real lives.
An actor since age four, Darling has spent more time on stage than off and draws a distinction between improv and role-play.
"One of my favorite parts of acting is improv because it's so rich and it's so natural. Taking a turn into LARPing — Live Action Role Play — is like big kids play pretend," Darling says. "Sometimes, you create a story. Sometimes you have a Point A and Point B, and you have to figure out how to translate that. The difference between improv and LARPing is LARPing is for enjoyment while improv is practice or to show someone else your acting skill."
Beyond the Binary, meanwhile, is taking on the shape of one of those school role-play sessions. Sparrow laid out the sandbox and journey for the cast to take, and then the performers selected their role and their purpose in the show's ecosystem.
Many of the show's performers were Sparrow's students at one point and some are helping behind the scenes. The show has a cast of 22 performers and an army of volunteers who have been creating the sets and costumes over the last couple months.
"A lot of my work is as a visual artist, so a lot of my focus on the production is making it look really cool," Sparrow says. "A lot of the kids I work with who aren't the 'I want to be on stage' kids have been coming to build days and helping us create a coral reef out of trash. I would say the production is made out of 85 percent recycled materials."
Rémy Torres-Crouch (they/them) has been an integral member of the directorial team in working out the show's set design and story, and they say the set is made from cardboard, repurposed buckets, plastics, cartons, pallets, and foams.
Working with a community theater budget, the show is also drawing from hopes, dreams, imagination, and an army of hands.
"As someone who's been a working artist for more than half my life, you can make art accessible to kids by letting them know you don't need a $500 budget to build a suit of armor," says Torres-Crouch. "You can get cardboard and glue and get creative."
Practical lessons are only part of what the team is learning — and the audience members who might attend one of the four Wise Fool performances — with Beyond the Binary. Torres-Crouch says it was a long voyage of self-discovery at this stage in life, and Beyond the Binary is a way to pay it forward.
"We're making things accessible and making it so there are good examples of adults who are queer [who] exist," Torres-Crouch says. "I remember being a kid and thinking, 'There's no way I'll be a happy person when I grow up.' There were all these stigmas against what I was.
"Now, we're working with this cast of people who have found [happiness], and working with performers like [Darling] who are so confident and their ideas ring clear. They can think about themselves as a character in the world and not worry about the limitations first, then everything after. This is all about possibility and reaching it however it can be reached."
