Getting In A Tangle: Meredith Rosenthal Goes In the Forest
A Fringe Festival favorite since 2011, Tangle Movement Arts is a contemporary circus arts company whose performances mix traditional circus like trapeze and acrobatics with dance, theater, and live music to tell multidimensional stories. Tangle’s work reflects individuals of diverse identities, with an emphasis on queer and female experiences, and is devised collaboratively by its all-female ensemble.
FringeArts spoke to Meredith Rosenthal, a member of this ensemble, about Tangles new work In the Forest—an immersive world of circus-theater that surrounds the audience with a 360-degree display of aerial dance, live music, giant yarn sculptures, and circus magic. The show comes to the 2018 Fringe Festival September 12-15, at the Sanctuary at the Rotunda in West Philly..
FringeArts: How did you become involved with Tangle?
Meredith Rosenthal: About five years ago, Lauren Rile Smith discovered me at a student showcase at Philadelphia School of Circus Arts. My first ever performance! She asked me to be a guest artist for a TinyCircus show, one of Tangle’s pop-up circus events.
FringeArts: What do you like about the company?
Meredith Rosenthal: Tangle feels almost more like a community than a company. Everyone is so supportive and encouraging. We try to make accessible circus for the masses, whether it’s by outdoor performances or our energetic narrative shows.
FringeArts: What excites you about In the Forest?
Meredith Rosenthal: This show is unlike anything Tangle has ever done before. There will be multiple sculptural “worlds” around the space where the different performers live. The audience will be able to move around the space at their leisure, taking in the different aspects and angles of the performance.
FringeArts: What’s the process like preparing for a Tangle show?
Meredith Rosenthal: It’s a democratic one! A lot of it is worked out through emails. I jumped into this one after a bit of a hiatus, and wiggled my way into the storyline.
FringeArts: What kind of response to get from friends who see their work?
Meredith Rosenthal: Excitement and awe!
FringeArts: Are you looking forward to anything else this Fringe Festival?
Meredith Rosenthal: I am definitely going to see the Circa show Humans. That show looks like it’s going to be crazy, and I’m always looking for circus inspiration. Le Super Grand Continental sounds great too: a performance meets dance party!
FringeArts: Thanks Meredith!
What: In the Forest
When: September 12-15, 2018
Where: The Sanctuary at the Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, West Philly
Cost: $14-$20
Created by Tangle Movement Arts
fringearts.com/event/in-the-forest