Stroke
of Genius: Pantomime Masturbation Throughout Performing Arts
History
Cheeky Sex-Themed “Lecture” Blends Academic Pretentiousness
with Absurd Clowning
Innovative, award-winning team to premiere the satire Stroke
of Genius: Pantomime Masturbation
Throughout Performing Arts History at mid-May arts festival
The plot’s description reads:
Dr. Walter Winkworth-Pérez has devoted the past decade of
his academic career to the study and preservation of a highly
specialized art form. His research has made him the world's
foremost expert on pantomime masturbation conventions dating
back to ancient Greece. Attendees of this prestigious multi-media
lecture series will become familiar with techniques and regional
styles of comedic simulated self-pleasure in their correct historical
contexts. Those who were unable to obtain seats in last semester's
workshop, "All In the Wrist: Vaudeville Jack Practicum," will
enjoy this exclusive expanded material. This week's syllabus
has an additional focus on the mysterious genius who immortalized
timeless theatrical skills on the 1920s silver screen. Dr. Winkworth-Pérez
will present an in-depth study of the man who became the sultan
of sexual subterfuge, the master of the affected "wink-and-whack":
the legendary Spankin' Shyster himself.
Although educational in nature, this special enrichment presentation
does contain explicit and potentially offensive material and
is consequently not suitable for students under age 18.
The venue—The Fringe Theatre—may be Tampa’s newest professional
performing arts space, but the host organization is well known
in Tampa theatrical circles. The Fringe Theatre is operated
by the Tampa International Fringe Festival (now in its eighth
year), an organization dedicated to incubating and promoting
outside-the-box artists’ performances. Housed in a recently
renovated 1929 building on Ybor City’s main avenue, this space
is part of the new Kress Collective artist colony.
Each weekly performance of the feature presentation—clocking
in at 45 minutes—will be accompanied by a short opening act
from a special guest to round out the evening’s entertainment.
The first guest has yet to be formally announced, but Tampa
Fringe producer Trish Parry is quoted as saying, “Tampa’s
community of Fringe artists gives us a wealth of choices when
it comes to comedy openers. Our pool of talent covers so many
genres: stand-ups, novelty musicians, burlesque acts, you name
it…all dedicated to collaborating on our shared goals. And,
of course,” Parry jokes, “the fact that our cast-and-crew
beer fridge is full of good, strong imports helps pull in talent,
too.”
Boiled Horse Productions includes writers, performers,
designers, and others who have collaborated on previous theatrical
successes. Stroke of Genius was created in partnership
with Vulva Va-Voom & Co., a scripted vaudeville/cabaret team
(founded 2006) with multiple experimental theater circuit honors,
including three Edge Award wins, two Venue Choice picks, and
a recent Social Good Award.
The head writers/actors on the Stroke project were honored earlier
this year by having their collaboration Vulva Va-Voom: Hollywood
Psychic of the Golden Age selected by jury to appear in
the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Winter Mini-Fest. This
month, they began touring Hollywood Psychic out of state
and plan to tour Stroke nationally over the next few years.
“Stroke of Genius is exactly the story we have been wanting
to tell,” said Shane Mayforth, Founder at Boiled Horse.
“Is it a story that needed to be told? That’s going to depend
on how easily offended you are. To me, it’s about three things:
one, the futility of looking for hidden subtext where none was
intended. Two, the absurdity of people who fixate on inherently
stupid subject matter. And, most importantly: three, the opportunity
to make d**k jokes. So many d**k jokes.”
Stroke of Genius features nine professionally shot and
edited “silent film” segments, a careful balance of intellectual
and juvenile humor, historically accurate points of interesting
trivia, and– as previously stated– many, many d**k jokes.
Performance Dates:
July 7, 2023 at 8:00 pm
July 14, 2023 at 8:00 pm
July 21, 2023 at 8:00 pm
July 28, 2023 at 8:0 pm
Tickets: $15.00
Purchase Tickets: https://tampafringe.thundertix.com/
Location: The Fringe Theatre (in the Kress Collective
building), 1624 E 7th Ave., Ste 307, Tampa, FL 33605 (Directions/Map)
Tampa Fringe Info:
