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Burnt Studio brings provocative play to Boise
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Four Boise State graduates are bringing their theatrical talents back to Boise with their production of ISO (in search of), a sometimes-comedic work exploring perceptions of and responses to sexuality.
ISO’s players are Samuel Read, Michelle Lockhart, Tammy T. Moon and Donna Selle.
Read and Lockhart, both graduates of the Boise State theater department, formed Burnt Studio Productions in Seattle in 1998.
Since then, the company has grown into a non-profit organization that creates and produces “outside the box” theatrical performances for audiences throughout the Northwest.
“Boise has always been a destination for us because it’s our old home,” Read said.
“Boise audiences don’t get much exposure to more experimental forms of theater, so this is a great opportunity for us to bring something new and fresh to Boise, and also for us to reach a new community.”
Burnt Studio functions as a creative ensemble. Each show is developed in a collaborative environment with artists who contribute equally.
“Michelle and I begin and lead the process. Through brainstorming meetings, individual research and writing, we begin to build a skeleton around which a show may be created,” Read said.
“Through improv, experimentation and discussion, the group begins to create a performance piece-by-piece until they finally assemble a puzzle, which can then be given to another community, our audience.”
Their very first production, Progression, was awarded Artistic Pick of the 1999 Seattle Fringe and received an encore performance at Seattle’s prestigious ACT Theatre.
The first production of Progression was performed at the Special Events Center in March 1999 as part of the BSU High School Invitational Theatre Festival. It ran again in Stage II of the Morrison Center in February 2000 as part of the American College Theatre Festival.
“We loved both of those experiences and wanted the chance to branch out from the university to a more professional setting,” Read said.
Inspired by their frustration with Americans’ dysfunctional and destructive views of sex, these four Boise State grads created their current production, ISO, in the winter of 1999/2000. When it premiered at the Seattle Fringe Festival in March of 2000, every show was sold out.
The production was remounted the following summer at the Northwest Actors Studio in Seattle.
ISO is made up of a combination of movement, dance and performance art. Using a series of offbeat, brief scenes, the show means to explore our perceptions of and responses to sexuality.
Even in modern times, sex and sexual issues – whether regarding sexual education, birth control, abortion or pornography – have been kept in the closet or put into debate. ISO attempts to bring all these aspects to the forefront and present sex as a natural part of our humanity.
Read was in the process of coming out as a gay man during the production of ISO, and he felt expressing his own sexuality was essentially a way to feel complete.
After all, the show deals with the reoccurring battles we all face to be rid of destructive baggage and understand our sexuality without shame or apology.
“It wasn’t easy but, ultimately, it was the most rewarding experience of my life. I felt like a teenager again, aware of my body for the first time and ready to explore,” Read said.
“All I needed was a little education, and ISO was a great step in that direction.”
This play boldly offers its interpretation of the sexual mores of our times. Since it contains mature content and even nudity, be sure to leave the kids at home.
ISO is scheduled to run Nov. 14 – 16 at 8 p.m. at the Boise Contemporary Theatre. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $12. The box office opens at 7:30 p.m.
Tammy Sands, The Arbiter
