Un Poyo Rojo

About the Show

Two men stand side-by-side inside a locker room. The tension between them is palpable. This is theater, but there’s very little dialogue, just the sound of their bodies and the found noises of a portable radio. Instead, we are drawn into their primal language, a physical communication which intensifies throughout the show.

Mining multiple expressive forms—dance, athletic competition, clowning, martial arts, acrobatics, body percussion, mime, cockfighting, and more—Un Poyo Rojo probes the boundaries of bodily and spiritual interaction between individuals. It’s a provocation, an invitation for us to laugh at ourselves and, at the same time, to accept ourselves entirely.

The performance on September 21 at 8pm will be Audio Described for patrons who are blind or have low vision.

Creative and Production Team

Artistic direction Hermes Gaido With Nicolás Poggi, Luciano Rosso, a portable radio Choreography Luciano Rosso and Nicolás Poggi Production Jonathan Zak and Maxime Seuge

A Brief History of Un Poyo Rojo

Un Poyo Rojo started in 2008 when two performers were creating an act for a variety show in the Centro Cultural Laboratorio in Buenos Aires. Its initial creators, Luciano Rosso and Nicolás Poggi put together a duet with small comic touches in order to find ways within movement to show different relationships between two men, using elements of dance and also theater.

This duet came out of different movement proposals which mixed high impact contemporary partner work with duo sequences. After presenting the piece for the first time, the opportunity came up to perform the piece in many other spaces in the city of Buenos Aires. In April 2008, they were selected to participate in the “Ciudanza” festival which takes place in urban spaces around the city and with the collaboration of Hermes Gaido, the current director of the company, they recreated the piece.

In April 2010, they debuted a 45 minute long piece in the Espacio Cultural Pata de Ganso in Buenos Aires and received a highly positive reaction from the audience. Then with the full-length version of the play, they were selected by Spain’s Network of Alternative Theatres to tour three cities (Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia) as part of the Network’s 1st Latin American Circuit during the month of November in 2010. In 2011 they resumed performances in Buenos Aires with Alfonso Barón replacing Poggi, completing three sell-out seasons and continuing to tour various provinces in Argentina during 2012 and 2013. The show has now been running for more than ten years, with more than 2,000 performances, and for this performance, Nicolás Poggi returns to the stage.

About the Artists

Hermes Gaido: Stage director and graduate of the Buenos Aires Art Academy, where he studied with Alejandro Saenz, Eduardo Gondell and Paco Redondo. Between 1989 and 2008, he participated in 14 theatre, film and dance projects, touring Brazil, Holland, Korea, Syria, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Colombia, Guatemala, Panama and Peru. In 2009, he directed for theatre and music company URRAKA together with Luciano Rosso.

Luciano Rosso: Trained in five modes of dance, Rosso is a true star in his native country. His YouTube channel, filled with lip-synch videos, has millions of views. He has worked in film and theater as a dancer and choreographer and danced on television in El Show de Videomatch, Operación Triunfo and Los Roldán, all for Telefe signal. From 2006 to 2009, he served as a teacher of Scenic Experimentation in Movement and Body Percussion at the Cultural Center ‘Laburatorio’ in San Fernando.

Nicolás Poggi: Dancer, teacher and choreographer, he studied sculpture and theatre at IUPA and contemporary dance at Bahía Blanca, improving his talent in the atelier of Teatro San Martín in Buenos Aires, where he works as an assistant. He has danced with various companies in his native country. His creations include Afuera, Infiltrados, Mute, Transformer, Monte, El bobo and Tualet, in addition to Un Poyo Rojo.

Nerd Out

Join us at 4pm on Friday, September 20 at Cherry Street Pier at the Fringe Festival Bookstore where Happy Hour on the Fringe, the FringeArts podcast, will record live with Luciano Rosso and Nicolás Poggi of Un Poyo Rojo to discuss the creation of the work, moderated by Zach Blackwood (FringeArts Artistic Producer). RSVP here.

On the FringeArts Blog, read our interview with director Hermes Gaido.

Supporters

Festival Star Producers: Hank, Calder & Cole McNeil

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The Fringe Festival is sponsored by The Durst Organization, the University of Pennsylvania, M&T Bank, Getaround, and Parx Casino.

Learn more about our Fringe Festival Neighborhood Partners here.

About FringeArts

FringeArts is Philadelphia’s home for contemporary performance, presenting progressive, world-class art that expands the imagination and boldly defies expectation. Our programming exposes audiences to genre-defying dance, theater, and music performances by accomplished and emerging innovators who push the boundaries of art-making and redefine the artistic landscape worldwide.

Now in its 23rd year, the Fringe Festival is a three-week, Philadelphia-wide celebration of innovation and creativity through performance, visual, and digital art. With more than 1,000 artistically daring performances, the Fringe Festival explodes into every nook and cranny of neighborhoods across Philadelphia. See the full lineup of events here.

Support independent artists participating in the 2019 Fringe Festival by donating to the Independent Artist FestiFund of CultureTrust. This scholarship fund will become grants for artists who need our support to continue their important work! More information on how to donate at: FringeArts.com/festifund.

The Independent Artist FestiFund is a project of CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia

FringeArts Staff + Board

FRINGEARTS STAFF

Nick Stuccio, President + Producing Director
Carolyn Schlecker, Senior Adviser Operations
Amy Kurzban, General Manager

Zach Blackwood, Artistic Producer
Melissa Bridge, Director of Finance
Katherine Borden, Finance Associate
Tenara Calem, Audience Engagement Coordinator
Katy Dammers, Artistic Producer
Patrick Derrickson, Institutional Giving Coordinator
Claire Frisbie, Director of Marketing + Communications
Keighty McLallen, Director of Production
Mary Menchel, Client Services Manager
Porsche Murray, Office Manager + HR Assistant
Christopher Munden, Information Manager + Guide Editor
Kelly Orenshaw, Associate Production Manager
Rachel Swartz Robinson, Director of Development
April Rose, Fringe Festival Coordinator
Georgia Schlessman, Technical Director
Raina Searles, Marketing Manager
Jennifer Shorstein, Development Manager
Evelyn Swift Shuker, Master Electrician

FRINGE FESTIVAL STAFF

Marissa Both, Festival Box Office Manager
Rebecca Hartman, Front of House Coordinator
Kevin Hoover, Festival Technical Director
Sydney Justice, Superterranean
Jacks Katz, Venue Manager, Cartography, Un Poyo Rojo
Megan Schumacher, Festival Volunteer Coordinator
Eddie Smith, FringeArts Head of Audio
Row Walters, Venue Manager, Pursuit of Happiness

INTERNS

Sean Andrade, Graphic Design
Seth Boyce, Marketing Information Management
Carolyn Carrier, Development
Greer Cohen, Programming
Charisse De Los Santos, Patron Services
Sophie Don, Programming
Faith Flynn, Programming
Madena Kusi, Development
Jordan Landy, Finance
Bria Lee, Marketing and Communications
Laura Lizcano, Marketing and Communications
Calder McNeil, Marketing/Programming
Ellie Moonan, Production
Corinne Mastrella Presti, Production
Jacqueline Pothier, Programming
Emma Rogers, Programming
Stephanie Seymour, Podcast
Jack Yang, Finance
Julienne Jordan, Development
Laura Storck, Communications
Helly Manson, Programming

BOARD

Richard Vague, Chair
Jennifer Bohnenberger, Vice Chair/Secretary
Lisa P. Young, Treasurer
Emily L. Bittenbender
Mark Dichter
Denise DiSimone
Anthony P. Forte
David Grasso
David R. Hoffman
Kevin Kleinschmidt
Kathy Lentini
David Lipson
Tom Lussenhop
Clement D. Pappas
Salem Shuchman
Michael Solomonov
Stephen Starr
Nick Stuccio
Audrey Claire Taichman
Max Tuttleman
Paul Wright