Nautical Cabaret FRUIT OF THE SEA to Swim to Charm City Fringe Festival
By: BWW News Desk Oct. 19, 2017
Award-winning creative team Sean M Daniels, Eliza McCoy, Eric Mercado & Elizabeth Pasquariello reunite for FRUIT OF THE SEA with performances Nov 9, 10, 11 & 12 at the Downtown Cultural Arts Center as part of the sixth annual Charm City Fringe Festival.
The show was inspired by @_FloridaMan, a popular Twitter account detailing odd headlines from the Sunshine State, and a trip organized by director and Florida-native Mercado to Weeki Wachee Springs, America's premiere mermaid attraction since 1947. Featuring a four member band and original music by composer McCoy, this nautical cabaret plumbs the depths of identity and obsession by blending roadside Americana, sea shanties, puppetry and the perils of climate change. FRUIT OF THE SEA promises a night of campy hijinks, fish puns, and light choreography.
"Fruit of the Sea is an homage to my home state and its penchant for stories that toe the line between harmlessly ridiculous and deceptively dangerous," says director Eric Mercado.
"We've performed in numerous festivals and cities around the country," says writer and performer Sean M Daniels, "but I'm particularly excited about the Charm City Fringe. My family is from the area, and I can't wait to make my Maryland debut. Go Ravens!"
A pet store clerk discovers she is actually landlocked mer-princess Calamaria, Fruit of the Sea, cursed by a sea witch to endure unimaginable torment--living in Ohio. Along with her sidekick, Jimmy the Lobster, she travels to central Florida's premiere mermaid attraction, Weeki Wachee Springs, to reclaim her tail and save the oceans from Garbage Island. This dark mer-musical comedy features a kiddie pool, bubbles, and a cast of thirty five mermaid dolls but is not suitable for children under 13.
FRUIT OF THE SEA was first presented as part of the PortFringe Festival in Portland, ME in July 2015. It subsequently received development residencies with Wolfbane Productions in Appomattox, VA and the Barn Arts Collective in Bass Harbor, ME, both of which culminated in public workshops. It was presented in New York City at Dixon Place and at BarnFest at Cloud City last winter and at the Tampa Bay Theatre Festival in Tampa, FL in September 2017.
IF YOU GO:
FRUIT OF THE SEA
A Modern American Fish Tail and Nautical Cabaret
Written by Sean M Daniels | Original Music by Eliza McCoy
Directed by Eric Mercado | Puppet Design by Elizabeth Pasquariello
Starring Eliza McCoy, Sean M Daniels, Elizabeth Pasquariello & Mike Garcia
Venue: Downtown Cultural Arts Center (401 N Howard St, Baltimore, MD 21201)
Length: 60 minutes
Performances:
Thursday, Nov 9 at 7:00pm
Friday, Nov 10 at 8:45pm
Saturday, Nov 11 at 10:30pm
Sunday, Nov 12 at 4:30pm
Tickets are $10
Purchase online HERE
charmcityfringe.ticketleap.com/fruit-of-the-sea
Facebook: facebook.com/fruitoftheseaplay | Instagram: @fruitofthesea
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
SEAN M DANIELS (Writer/Performer) is a writer originally hailing from VA. He holds a BFA in Drama from NYU. Select writing credits include: The Scientists: A Forgetful Farce (Geva, Chicago Fringe, Portfringe), Not Without My Gallbladder (Robert Moss - Planet Connections Award for Outstanding Direction), JEERS (Undiscovered Countries), Ach Du Lieber Himmel (NYTW with Theatre in Asylum), Imagination (L'Oreal Matrix), Someone is Living in this House (Connelly Theatre), Upon a Weaving (Red Room), Objects of Affection (Robert Moss Theatre) and The Sixth Borough (NYU). He was a recipient of the 2016 Barn Arts Collective Hamilton Project playwriting residency in Bass Harbor, Maine.
ELIZA MCCOY (Composer/Performer) is a Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and actor. She is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Performing credits include All Shook Up, Shrek, and Chicago (The Arundel Barn Playhouse), Not Without My Gallbladder (Robert Moss), The Scientists (PortFringe), White Flame Dancing with the Montmartre Dionysia Festival in Paris, and Role of a Lifetime Cabaret with The Unmasked Theatre Company. Most recently she worked on developing the new musical Elysium (written and composed by Yianni Papadimos and Ben Chavez) at the Finger Lakes Musical Theater Festival.
Eric Mercado (Director) is an NYC based director specializing in devised work and new play development. Directing credits include: The Scientists (Geva, Chicago Fringe, PortFringe), Uzume (La MaMa), The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, and Julius Caesar (Stone Soup Shakespeare, Midwest Tour), When The Party's Over (Paradise Factory), Not Without My Gallbladder (Robert Moss - Planet Connections Award for Outstanding Direction), In Memory (HERE), Choking the Butterfly (PS122), and Smartphones (Segal Theatre Center, CUNY). Eric is an Artistic Associate of Stone Soup Shakespeare. BFA, NYU Tisch.
ELIZABETH PASQUARIELLO (Puppet Design/Performer) is a Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist. Her theater work blurs visual art and performance. She conceives projects using puppetry, live music, large installation works, projections, and dance. Elizabeth's artwork is inspired by classic Japanese woodblock prints, papercutting and shadow play. Her aesthetic is an amalgamation of all things fearless, strange, haunting and funny. BFA, NYU Tisch. MA, Sotheby's Institute of Art, London '17.
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