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Show The Salt Lake Tribune ARTS Sunday, January 21, 2001 By Jack Goodman Plan-B Offers a Magical Mystery Tourof India With ‘Perfect Ganesh’ Imagined visit evokes real memories for multiple-roled actor BYCELIA R. BAKER THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Paul Mulder becomes a Japanese tourist, an Indian housecleaner, an HIV-positive gay man anda multitude ofother characters in Plan-B Theatre’s “A Perfect Ganesh.” : He plays all of them while wearing an elephant’s head. You mightsayit's an experience he'll neverforget. Terrence McNally’s 1993 play “A Perfect Ganesh”is abouta trip to India taken by two American women, both in search of emotional healing. The Hindu god Ganesha, who has a man’s body YASK Goopmani 2008 PaiGuerr. ae PEACH OF A PLACE The Knudson House at48 S. 100 East in Brigham City was built about 120 years ago by peach salesman Jonathan Knudsonas a homefor himself and his house is amongthelargestonits tree-lined street. The primary facade faces east; there is a large ga- ble topping the projecting endon theright. The handsometurret with its conical roof has a cornice feapatterns below muchofthe roof. The wrap-around porchis supported in part by Tuscan columns. Slamdance The househas beenlargely unchanged through the years, except that one of the three brick chimneys was removed with the addition ofa gas furnace. Present owners MichaelP. and Wanda Miller updated the roof with asphalt shingles. Today, the house,set in its large lawn enhanced by a rose garden, remains a Box Elder County gem. bride, the former Jennie Pritchard. The big-turreted tured byfine dentils, plus a frieze. There are garland and the head of an elephant, becomesa sort of tour guide through Jack Goodman has been associated with TheSalt Lake Tribune as a staff writer orfree-lance writerfor 54 years. Slamdance Aimsto ExpandIts Brand Moves Upto Slamdance thefilm festival wants to become Slamdance the The Old Mine entertainment conglomerate. The 6-year-old festival, whichtakesplace in Park City @ Continued from D-1 Slamdancestill focuses on direcors showingoff their first feature ms. “We have 12 features in compe- tition, and all are byfirst-time directors, and they’ve been made on budgets well under a million dollars, They also come to the festival withoutdistribution,” he said, + “You can see a big divide between us and Sundance,”he add“They are showing films made bydistributors’ money, or have the money in place, and they have big stars.” Films in this year’s Slamdance competition include “American Chai,” a coming-of-age story involving an Indian-American and his parents; “Shocking Truth,” a Swedish documentary exploring child abuse and pornography; “Barking Dogs NeverBite,” a Ko- dance expandedits reach to au- diences around the country.It pendentfilms as well as music and Internetcontent. “With the Slamdance Film Festival, we created opportuni- ties for filmmakers. But we wanted to use the Slamdance nameto expand whatwe can do for them ona distribution level,” said Slamdance co-founder Shane Kuhn. “Wewantto take it one step further.” The Los Angeles-based company started this year with financing from Weber, who runs we're oneout of 12, andit’s about the movies.” Slamdancealso will be debuting its “$99 Specials” program, a groupof nineshort films made by rean entry about a professor, his family and a noisy dog; and “Play Dead,” about a geeky high-school filmmakers armed with a digital sophomore obsessed with the cap- video camera and bound by tight “T liked [India] so much that when I met’my prospective wife, I felt that she should be exposed to forts to seek out more investor capital,” Kuhnsaid. Since it began in 1995, Slam- India too,” he says. “We went to India for a monthlong trip in Jan- uary of 1991.” “Ganesh” director sonal insights into Indian culture helped him and other cast members (MarilynHolt, Joan Mullaney and Kirt Bateman) in preparing theplay. Mulder remembers India as an almost-feudal land of austere grandeur and mystery. “It’s a very magical country. festival as stepping stone to bigger Internet projects, Kuhn There are certain things we miss that Eastern cultures have. They said. seem to enjoy time more—seem to have more time, in a way,” says Vince Horiuchi Whether Slamdance stays at the silver mine mostly depends on the company that ownsit, said festival organizers. “Tt really depends on where they are with it,” Slamdance special-projects director Lam- restrictions: The films had to be madefor under$99, produced in 99 berth said.“If it works, I wouldn't be surprised if we returned. We're “I am so happy to be at Slam- days and edited on an Apple computer. just takingit one year at a time.” Slamdancewill continueto use the Treasure Inn for moviescreeningsfor the press and as an information center. Shuttles will offer rides from there and the bottom of MainStreet to the new location every 15 minutesor'so. The Gallery at Park City eee.1a) 6) aev A SPECIAL COLLECTION OF PAINTINGS, SERIGRAPHS AND WORKS ON PAPER WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR AQUISITION Joan Mullaney,left, and Marilyn Holt tour India in Plan-B Theatre's production of Terrence McNally’s “A Perfect Ganesh.” @ Passage to India Plan-B Theatre Companypresents Terrence McNally’s “A Perfect Ganesh” at the Downstairs Theatre at Salt Lake Acting Company (168 W. 500 North, Salt Lake City) opening Thursday and running Thursdays-Saturdays through Feb. 17. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays;8 p.m.on Fridays and Saturdays. There is a Sunday matinee Feb.4 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15; $10 for tudor $13 for groups. Call ArtTix at (801) 355-ARTS of the Salt Lake Acting Company boxoffice at (801) 363-SLAC. Tony Larimer says Mulder’s per- has a road-show every year to exhibit films in cities such as New York and at the Smithsonian Institution.It also started an online film festival before Sundancedid. Slamdance Entertainment not only will distribute films but also woo musicians and use the Slamdance’s online film tain of the wrestling team — who died in a car accident. dance. I would rather be at Slamdance than Sundance,” said 32year-old Jeff Jenkins, writerdirector of “Play Dead,” who also is a supervising story editor for MTV's “Road Rules.” “Sundance has 200 movies, and we would get lost in the shuffle. In Slamdance, Wy1 heavy emotional baggage on their vacation, need whathe’s got. TheIndiansetting is an exotic world apart to the two women, but for Mulderit’s an imagined trip to a place familiar in memory. Mulderis the son of University ofUtah professor William Mulder, whodirected a research center in Hyderabad, India, in the early "70s. Paul Mulder lived in India with his left an indelible impression upon him, one he felt compelled to renew. “We're putting together ef- company will distribute inde- powerto overcomeobstacles and bring success. Margaret Civil and Katharine Brynne, who carry family for five years. The country Atlantic Streamline and was a co-producer of the sciencefiction movie, “The Thirteenth Floor.” the sametime as the Sundance Film Festival, is starting Slamdance Entertainmentwith film producer Marco Weber. The an elaborate stage dramaset in a complex land. Ganesha is god of wisdom andgood fortune, and has Mulder. “In American cultures, we're sometimes very quiet about things that happen to us. Sometimes you don’t know aboutthings that happento your bestfriends — you're supposed to bear your own pain.India is seen as a place where you goto heal yourself.” “A Perfect Ganesh”is a difficult work to put on the boards; the small space and limited lighting choices in Salt Lake Acting Fabric Clearance] Company’s Downstairs Theatre, where this “Ganesh”is being produced, multiply the challenges. Scenes transpire at Kennedy Airport, in a plane,a boatand train, and atsites all over India — the edge of a river, a balcony, on crowded city streets and in theexpansive Indian countryside. Larimersays his solution is to keep props andsets at a minimum andto create the color and chaos of India through the power of suggestion. “You have to become as imaginative as you possibly can, and trust the audience. At Plan-B, the people who go know and under- stand — they expect that. [Plan-B personnel have] already established themselves as trying to dor ambitious workin a small space.” “A Perfect Ganesh”is classified as a comedy, but because the two womenconfront unbearable griefs buried in their pasts, the play hasa tragic subtext. Margaret Civil (Marilyn Holt) lost a child in an accident andis hiding the knowledge that she has breast cancer. Katharine Brynne’s adult son ‘was murdered in a gay-bashing incident; she accuses herself because she was unable to come to terms with his homosexuality. Mulder and Kirt Bateman each take on multiple roles. Bateman assumes roles of porter, son, husband and some 14 othercharacters; Mulder performs a similar feat, and all with that elephant head firmly in place. “Since Ganesha is everywhere, T'm always Ganesha, but being someone else — someoneelse that has Ganesha in them,” says Mulder. “Shouldn’t we always have our beliefs, or our God in us?” YOU’RE A 600D MAN, CHARLIE BROWN Special “Step-down”Sale Over 500 bolts of drapery and upholstery fabric on sale. week The price goes down until the fabric is dan 22nd - $7.00 yd Jan 29%h - $5.00 yd Feb 5th - $3.00 yd Feb: 12th $2.00 yd PRESENTED BY THE GRAND THEATRE Feb: 19th - $1.00 yd Comein early for best selection The Design Company 2253 South 500 East SLC 466-3559 Mon-Fri: 9-4 Sat: 124 GEV CMs] CUM Ee Clete J Boston Globe Shakespeare’sWomen A Unique Solo Theater Experience Thursday, February 8 7:30 pm ° Kingsbury Hall EPTIONS FOR THE ARTIST ae ea] ry 2, 6-9 pm the rea ya] ary 3, 6-9 pm February 4 ir} aul rR TICKETS ON SALE NOW! Call 581-7100 or ArtTix toll free at 1-888-451-ARTS, visit the Kingsbury Hall Ticket Office or University wend Park coe yee ee ens © Fann... JANUARY 19 MONDAY tHroveH SATURDAY SATURDAY MATINEE 2:00 PM ———SSDL_SSS==S FOR MORE INFORMATION,CALL 957-3322 |
