by Constance Jaquay Strickland
Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins
WHAT: πr2
WHERE: The Broadwater Mainstage, 1078 Lillian Way
WHY: Because what I witnessed was more than a performance—it was a full-body experience. Because the creative use of craft projections, natural elements like water and plants, and layered shadows turned the space into something mystical, something not of this world.
Because the projections by Catalina Nicoletti didn’t just illuminate—they conjured. Creating a world of memory and myth that danced across each of the four acts. Because the choreography of hands, light, water, and space was nothing short of divine.
Because watching Pia suspended in the air, fighting through space, felt radical—especially now, in a time of active global struggle. Because it wasn’t just movement; it was resistance, and it was survival.
Because the sculpture onstage—a magnificent Time Machine or cluster of clocks—was more than set design, it was a portal. It sits onstage like a relic or oracle, vibrating through your solar plexus with a quiet power that doesn’t fade.
Because Pia is utterly in command of her body, using it as an instrument to express a storm of emotions, questions, and longings. Because her performance felt ancient—tribal, ancestral—like something passed down through breath and bone.
Because she gave us a story told not through words, but through presence. Through embodied language. Through silence that spoke volumes. Because this is an amazing artist family that travels around the world to perform.
Because this international gem is in Los Angeles for a short time. Because this is ritual theatre. Because this is the kind of piece that swells through your whole body. Because this show reminds you: not everything about being human can—or should—be spoken.
HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11833
January, 2019
