Events Calendar
|
Latest Issue
|
Membership
|
Log In Sign Up
  • Play

    Play

    • A Beginner’s Guide to Soccer
    • You Spin Me Right Round: D.C. Roller Skating 101 in 2021
    • Leading the League: The WNBA’s Natasha Cloud on Breaking Barriers + Inspiring D.C.
    • Spring Has Sprung: 10 Ways To Get Outside in the DMV
    • Play Week Combines Games + Social Impact
    • High and Go Seek Illustration
    • O Captain, My Captain: Washington Spirit’s Andi Sullivan
  • Life

    Life

    • Local Entrepreneurs Infuse CBD into Wellness
    • 19 Entrepreneurs Shaping D.C.’s Cannabis + CBD Industries
    • Upcycling in D.C.: Transforming a Culture of Consumption
    • The Green Issue: Experts + Advocates Make Case for Cannabis Legalization + Decriminalization
    • The District Derp Story
    • Grassfed Media Champions Cannabis Clients
    • Nat Geo Explorer Gabrielle Corradino on Plankton, the Anacostia + Conservation
  • Eat

    Eat

    • The State of Takeout in the District
    • A New Twist on Food Delivery: MisenBox
    • Next-Level Home Dining Experiences in D.C.
    • Foxtrot Market Is Officially Open for Business in Georgetown
    • Food Rescue + Assistance Programs Fill the Gaps in a Pandemic Food System
    • Hungry Harvest Helps to End Food Insecurity
    • Notable Summer Bar + Restaurant Reopenings to Try this Spring
  • Drink

    Drink

    • Pandemic Drinking: Derek Brown Leads the Way to Low-ABV Future
    • D.C.’s St. Vincent Wine Creates Covid-Conscious Experience
    • A New Way to Binge: Sobriety Anchors Business + Being for Gigi Arandid
    • King’s Ransom + The Handover in Alexandria Celebrate a First Year Like No Other
    • Wines of the World Are Just Around the Corner
    • Open-Air Drinking + Cocktail Delivery Changes in the DMV
    • Denizens Brewing Co.’s Emily Bruno: Brewing Change for Community + Industry
  • Culture

    Culture

    • The Artistry Behind D.C.’s Cannabis Culture
    • The Best Movies of 2021…So Far
    • The Survival of the Brutalist: D.C.’s Complicated Concrete Legacy
    • Plain Sight: A Street-Front Revolution in Radical Arts Accessibility
    • A Touch of Danger in Shakespeare Theatre Company’s “Romeo & Juliet”
    • Artgence + Homme: Where There’s Art, There’s a Story to Share
    • 21 D.C. Makers + Curators to Follow
  • Music

    Music

    • Emma G Talks Wammie Nominations and the D.C. Music Community
    • J’Nai Bridges: A Modern Mezzo-Soprano in a Changing Opera Landscape
    • Punk Legends The Go-Go’s Talk Four Decades of Sisterhood, Resilience + Zero Fucks Given
    • Ellen Reid “Soundwalk:” Exploring the Sonic Landscape at Wolf Trap
    • SHAED Releases First Full-Length Album in a “High Dive” of Faith
    • Obama + Springsteen Present “Renegades”
    • Christian Douglas Uses His “Inside Voice” on Pandemic-Inspired Debut Album
  • Events

    Events

    • Play Week 4.17-4.25
    • Midnight at The Never Get 4.30-6.21
    • Cannabis City Panel Presented by BĀkT DC + District Fray
    • Browse Events
    • DC Polo Society Summer Sundays 5.9
    • National Cannabis Festival’s Dazed & Amused Drive-In Party
    • Vinyl + Vinyasa 4.30
  • Log In
    Sign Up

Log In Sign Up
Photo Gallery: Keshi, Weston Estate + James Ivy at The Anthem
Conor King of Milk. on Making a SXSW Debut
Optimism, Sunshine, and Gearing up for SXSW: Danny Davis of Husbands
Christopher Willatt of Oracle Sisters on SXSW, Astrology + “Hydranism”
Abracadabra, The New Wave of No Wave, On Lifting Spirits At SXSW
Radar: Things To Do in D.C. This Week
Home » Articles » Culture » So Silly It’s Actually Genius: “Missed Connections” at The Parks at Walter Reed

Culture

Missed Connections "Missed Connections." Photo courtesy of theatre company.

So Silly It’s Actually Genius: “Missed Connections” at The Parks at Walter Reed

Share:

May 5, 2022 @ 1:00pm | Mela Rodrigues-Oliveira

Not everyone wants to cramp into a tight seat at the theatre.

But for those who want a showtime experience where they can both lounge and laugh, now through May 14, there is no better show to catch than Faction of Fools’ seriously silly comedy “Missed Connections” at The Parks at Walter Reed.

Having organized an outdoor family-friendly display of absurdity on the lawns of Walter Reed, the Faction of Fools Theatre Company is D.C.’s premier organization for shows exclusively rooted in commedia dell’arte.

An Italian comedy style forged in masked performances and serious situations with ridiculous outcomes, commedia dell’arte’s approach to the stage is one of collaboration.

Instead of directors, you have capocomici: troupe leaders who don’t demand, but rather encourage their actors to define their characters and their intentions.

And what sets Faction of Fools apart from other commedia artists is they recognize the historical ramifications of their artform.

Although commedia is rooted in equal group narrative creation and the spirit of “Carnevale,” it’s still a European art form that has historically excluded people of color and LGBTQ+ identity.

But with Faction’s take on commedia, those principles of group creation and egalitarianism are used to subvert white hegemony and develop a theatre troupe that encompasses perspectives other than Euro-centric ones.

And those perspectives come together phenomenally in the “Missed Connections” narrative.

A work co-developed and written by all their players, “Missed Connections” lies in the fact that all the characters are incredibly driven people who just happen to have absurd rationales.

“Missed Connections.” Photo courtesy of theatre company.

Setting their tale on the same park greens they performed on, “Missed Connections” revolves around the ever-so-magnificent Aphrodite Fittereri, a butterfly whose presence makes fact look like fiction and calls Walter Reed home.

But unbeknownst to the unseen Aphrodite, there is a vast collection of foolish characters on the green who either want ahold of him or need to square off against those who do.

From a world-class secret agent being duped by an overzealous park volunteer to a prim-and-proper sophisticate squaring off against a lovestruck grad student, everyone in “Missed Connections” has defined goals, but is willing to climb ridiculous heights to achieve them.

This show’s amazing humor lies in the fact that no one has any chill. If these characters were told to jump, they wouldn’t ask “how high?” They’d already be stuck in some ridiculous place and beg for help getting down.

It’s incredibly forward intentionality coming from incredibly eccentric characters.

All the aspirations displayed are pretty clear-cut, but what isn’t clear is where these foolish participants picked up such odd-ball personalities.

This comedy is so wonderfully smart that they can’t help but act foolishly. It’s reminiscent of Oscar Wilde with how the stories are so well-developed but try to come off so juvenile.

It’s comedy taken seriously. And Faction of Fools has proven just how serious they are with this great showcase.

“Missed Connections” runs through May 15 and performs Saturdays and Sundays at The Parks at Walter Reed. Tickets are $15-$35 and can be bought here.

The Great Lawn at The Parks at Walter Reed: 1010 Butternut St. NW, DC; factionoffools.org // @factionoffools

Enjoy this piece? Consider becoming a member for access to our premium digital content. Support local journalism and start your membership today.

Mela Rodrigues-Oliveira

Share:

Related Articles

No Articles

DISTRICT FRAY MEMBERSHIPS

District Fray members receive unlimited access to our digital content, including new articles published daily. We also have membership options available for locals interested in our print magazine, member events, or first-access tickets and giveaways.

Join Today
COMPANY
About United Fray Team Hiring: Join Our Team!
GET INVOLVED
Become A Member 2023 Editorial Calendar Corporate Wellness Contact: Media Pitches + Advertising Inquiries
EXPLORE
Eat Drink Music Culture Life Play Events Calendar
OUR CITIES
Washington D.C. Jacksonville Phoenix
Subscribe

By clicking submit, you agree to receive emails from District Fray and accept our web terms of use and privacy and cookie policy.

© 2023 District Fray.