In an ideal world should be an onus on theatre and the artists who work to produce theatre to uphold a particular ethos and promulgate art that entertains as much as it informs and represents the diversity of the world in which it exists. In the midst of the hetero-monotony that too frequently mires many theatre companies, Pittsburgh’s own folkLAB not only stands out, but sets the precedent for ecstatically inventive theatre devoted to profiling and praising the stories of people and communities—queer, POC, trans*, female-identifying, lower income, rural, etc.—often sidestepped or diminished by society.

FolkLAB was created in 2017 by Abigail Lis-Perlis to unite an ever-diversifying and expanding array of actors, writers, technical artists, and performers, and provide a place for projects that shattered the homogeneity so woefully commonplace in so much of theatre. Moreover, folkLAB was brought to life with the mission of equitable treatment for all its affiliated actors and artists, while consistently promoting visibility regardless of race, gender identity, sexuality, religious affiliation, nationality, etc. Since its inception, FolkLAB has been responsible for two remarkably bold series— the intersection of personhood, artistic processes, and the legacy of mythologies and storytelling. FolkLAB ambitiously launched with the opening chapter of in Our Voice, FEMME: a new American folktale,” which displayed the near-mythic talents of an all-female-identifying cast and creative team as they examined and redefined the feminine experience and role in the legends and stories we inherit and often restructure to occlude the awesome presence of the feminine voice. In Our Voice’s second chapter, aimed at redefining our historically monolithic conception of myth, was the sensationally popular and surreally haunting QUEER: new American tall tales.

Through the multi-generic and multidisciplinary lens used by an all queer-identifying cast and creative team, presented the tales of coming out, asserting personhood, and claiming a larger-than-life mythos that is inherent to being queer. FolkLABs other series, miniMythologies provides a platform for artists-in-residence to showcase the interpretative methods of building and articulating our stories/histories and inheritances through unconventional performance and art. The Ironweed Tales, miniMythologie’s first installment, featured FolkLAB’s first resident, artist Felicia Cooper—an astronomically talented puppeteer, designer, and performer—and explored several women’s journeys railing against ecological and environmental desecration, pronouncing solidarity with the earth, and steadfastly singing the beauty and complex resilience of Appalachia. miniMythologies’ eagerly awaited second installment—showcasing the talents and vision of writer, improviser and activist Nicole Gallagher—is set for 2019.

FolkLAB is a company that exalts and thrives upon both the challenges and serendipities of self-creation, self-renunciation and self-promotion, as well as the powerful and eudemonic community that congeals as a product of these dramatic self-declaration processes. As such, FolkLAB is only made possible through the herculean work ethic and tireless (emphasis truly on tirelessness) of the individuals involved, specifically FolkLAB founder and Artistic Director, Abigail Lis-Perlis. Lis-Perlis, who also works a demanding full-time job at always-buzzing Ace Hotel in Pittsburgh, has continually and deftly juggled unfathomably grueling 90 hour work weeks to ensure FolkLAB grows at the incredible pace it has thus far. In her summation, “I won’t mince words, it’s a monumental amount of work to accomplish so much in just a year, and it’s been rewarding but also exhausting.” The rewards have been marked and abundant, with Lis-Perlis’ dream, or “literal figment” as she calls it, of what folkLAB might be exploding into a wildly successful reality, already producing four full-season pieces that have employed 22 actors of diverse backgrounds and unique theatrical training and disciplines.

folkLAB’s productions thus far have enticed and provoked audiences to engage with storytelling and self-analysis in such an electric way that sell-out evenings for folkLAB’s productions are a common phenomenon. For her perpetual labors and unyielding dedication to making folkLAB not only happen but also maintain equitable conditions for the actors and crew involved in the show, Lis-Perlis was among the esteemed honorees for Incline’s “Who’s Next: Art”—a list of phenomenally gifted individuals under 40 relentlessly working to make a difference for community, art, and representation in Pittsburgh.

One of the most compelling and exciting pieces in folkLAB’s immediate future is the multi-artist collaborative, third installment of in Our Voice, OTHER: Multiracial Folklore. Originally intended to be an iteration of in Our Voice in which the focal point was an all-Black cast and creative team, OTHER was borne with director and creative engineer Kelsey Robinson’s realization that the work she wanted to produce, the work that most veraciously represented her and her sense of identity, had to be a work which explored and gave voice to multiracial individuals. When meeting with Robinson and some of the artists of OTHER, Brenden Peifer, Jalina McClarin, and Jason Gordon, the emphasis upon reclaiming one’s own personhood and story was equally as profound as the emphasis upon forging a beautiful, familial community that hitherto had not been experienced by the individuals involved in the project. Unanimously, the members of OTHER expressed that the space they joined together and labored to construct was the first in which they were surrounded by so many people who identified as multiracial or biracial. As Robinson further explained, it is not merely the aching isolation and discrimination or tokenization of being the only multiracial person in a classroom/social setting/workplace, etc. that has consumed so much of their lives, but it is also the feelings of dislocation in one’s own family, lacking anyone who resembles them or shares their experiences as multiracial.

OTHER, much like its predecessors FEMME and QUEER, seeks to reclaim the power and autonomy that is so facilely degraded and stripped away. As Jason Gordon described, much of growing up and living as a multiracial person is being faced with other’s tendency to dehumanize because of the need to label, the basis for his project NoRWAY (an acronym for “No, really, what are you?”—a callous question and mentality multiracial folks are so frequently forced to grapple with). OTHER aims to reverse the marginalization and alienation felt by multiracial folks by providing a spectacular compilation of unique and electrifying stories and performances, to give voices to those so facilely erased, and, in Robinson’s words, “to fuck with people,” testing their grasp on what is real and what one’s privilege allows.

OTHER is only one exhilarating part of folkLAB’s rapid growth and future presence as a bulwark of quality theatre and as a resource for the community in general. As staggeringly 80% of folkLAB has been funded by Lis-Perlis in the past year, rigorous moves towards grant money and fundraising (in tandem with folkLAB’s fiscal sponsorship with Fractured Atlas) to generate a sturdy financial backbone for the company and affiliated artists. In addition to aggressively focusing on funding and miniMythologies’ forthcoming second installment, folkLAB will endeavor upon a colossal multi-city and multi-artist project styled in the likeness of in Our Voice, entitled Wandering/Wondering. Simultaneously nomadic and deeply connective, Wandering/Wondering will be created and performed by progressive Jewish artists from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and New York City, spanning from 8-10 weeks, with hopeful tours in each city involved. Addressing the what catalyzed and shaped the project, Lis-Perlis stated, “I have never been religious, in fact, I’ve run from my inherent Judaism much of my life,” but in the recent, vile swell of antisemitism ravaging America, and, devastatingly Pittsburgh during the Tree of Life massacre, Lis-Perlis’ desire and need to reconnect with her Jewish heritage and peers was revitalized. Wandering/Wondering will explore identity, hatred, and the artistic processes of resilience.

Abigail Lis Perlis and the artists of folkLAB are virtually peerless in their unwavering commitment to thrilling, innovative theatre that demands the extolling and celebration of identities and peoples often relegated to marginalization and erasure. To support the growth of folkLAB and be part of the movement, visit folkLAB’s website and nab tickets for OTHER, running December 12^th-16^th.

Eva Phillips is celebrating her third year in Pittsburgh, third year writing for PGH in the Round, and twenty-seventh year not getting murdered (shockingly, despite all odds). She relocated to the brittle Steel City from Virginia to pursue her Masters in Literary and Cultural Studies at CMU (with a concentration in film theory and film criticism, and intersections with feminism and gender), and has spent the past few years in Pittsburgh cultivating her writing career, developing her blog https://www.tuesgayswithmorrie69.net/, raising two show cats, and widening her perspectives on the ever-evolving spectrum of theatre. She only has one Les Miserables tattoo out of her 32 tattoos, and she finds that morally reprehensible.

Categories: Feature

Tags: Abigail Lis perlis, Folklab, OTHER, WinterwithPITR