“Fearless” at FringeNYC 2014 at 64E4 Underground Theatre (Closes on Saturday August 23, 2014)
“Fearless” at FringeNYC 2014 at 64E4 Underground Theatre (Closes on Saturday August 23, 2014) Written and Performed by John Del Vecchio Directed by Sharon Counts Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
John Del Vecchio attempts to share with his audience what he has learned about moving beyond fear – fear of intimacy in relationships, fear of self-expression, and fear of self-discovery. Mr. Del Vecchio, who holds a Master in Educational Theatre from NYU, teaches elementary students the craft of drama and uses vignettes from his teaching experience to illustrate his overcoming of fear by illustrating how he teaches his students the same skill set.
Conversations with Rachel and other students – with the performer playing role of teacher and student – are at times quite funny and their authenticity clearly engages the audience. By the time Rachel and her cohort matriculate to middle school, they are confident, brave, and self-assured. The stories from Mr. Del Vecchio’s personal life, on the other hand, are not as funny (except to family and friends in attendance who insisted on laughing every time the performer opened his mouth) and ring with fabrication: most of them involve the performer’s impressive sexual conquests without and within the schools where he was serving as a Teaching Assistant.
The most questionable story was the longest of the already overlong sixty-five minute exercise in self-indulgence. Why Mr. Del Vecchio includes a story about a threesome he engaged in is puzzling. This drab story does nothing to drive the plot or support his theme. It has nothing to do with anything.
Unfortunately, the material Mr. Del Vecchio chooses to share detracts from the important stories about self-loathing and self destruction. Contemplating suicide – and once attempting to do so – is an important consideration. The audience longs to hear more about how the performer ultimately faced that extreme self-hatred. We know how John Del Vecchio enables Rachel to find her center and her fear-less self. How, Mr. Del Vecchio have you done that for yourself?
FEARLESS
“Fearless” is presented by Mutandi Productions in Association with The Present Company (Elena K Holy, Producing Artistic Director). Directed by Sharon Counts.
For performance schedule, ticketing information and more information about the presenting company, please visit www.FringeNYC.org. For mobile ticketing, please visit www.FringeonTheFly.com. The running time is one hour with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, August 18, 2014
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