Hurry Up & Wait premieres Saturday
Performance art at Turchin Center

By Scott Nicholson
Hold onto your socks...but not for long.

A new performance art piece, “Hurry Up And Wait,” will premiere at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts on Sat., Sept. 6. The piece is written by Mar Startari-Stegall and features performances by a local group of arts known as Alchemy. The performance is based around a coffee-shop theme and Startari-Stegall said it was inspired by “the confusion of our times. We’re all running around, hurry, hurry, hurry, and then wait.”

The show is structured around Startari-Stegall’s poetry, combining original music, dance, movement, and spontaneous art, and audience participation is a key part of the performance. The audience is invited to blow bubbles, throw socks and fold a paper airplane to fly down to the stage.

“We have something to say,” said Startari-Stegall. “We start with poetry, then add movement, theatrics and music and it bounces around and becomes a big circus. With the audience involved, it becomes an even bigger circus.”

The original music is written and performed by Christopher Winson and Aaron Teague. Dancers include Kristen Kissik, Martha Enzmann, Holly Roark, Sandra Diaz and Teague. Several cast members will be in the audience to incite response and interaction, and throw the odd sock at inopportune times. The coffee shop serves up past lives, scars and memories along with decaf and scones.

Startari-Stegall was the writer of last year’s performance piece “40/40 Vision,” inspired by her approaching age 40 and the accompanying expectations and discoveries. The piece also inspired the art show “Since I Got Here,” collecting her work since her arrival in the Boone area.

This time around, “Hurry Up and Wait” will be recorded, with the poetry and music compiled on a CD that can be ordered at the show. Cost is $5 for adults and free for children.