The holidays are upon us. Whether you’re planning to mark the occasion with a formal feast or a frozen dinner, Geoff Sobelle is fascinated.
“There’s such a ritual surrounding food, whether you’re talking about the holidays or just your daily ritual of having a doughnut and a cup of black coffee,” says the acclaimed theater artist, who blends absurdist humor, illusion and physical theater in order to explore the human condition. “What’s that all about anyway? Why do we eat what we eat, and what’s the real cost of that?”
That’s the central focus behind Sobelle’s Food, which opens Nov. 30 at OZ Arts, fresh off its sold-out runs at the prestigious Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Edinburgh International Festival. Presented as an intimate dinner party — complete with a massive table set with plates, silverware and a crisp white tablecloth — Food explores “the funny and fascinating relationship between humans and the food we eat.” And while there’s no actual eating at this party, Sobelle does hope the performance will feed the soul.
“One of the most exciting things for me as an artist is getting people together and really connecting,” says Sobelle, who grew up studying magic tricks and watching Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, and later trained in physical theater and clowning at the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris. “Yes, I hope they’re entertained. I hope they’re really tickled by what they see onstage. But I’m also excited about feeding a much larger conversation.”
Like Sobelle’s other independent performance works — including The Object Lesson (2013) and Home (2017) — Food strives to “find the extraordinary within the ordinary.” And one way to do that is to put the audience at the center of each performance, balancing personal ideas and experiences with a more global view.
“Food is one of those things that is truly universal — you can’t live on this planet and not deal with food in some way,” he says. “So you can start by thinking about the foods you like, and what that means to you and your family. But what about those experiencing food insecurity? What about food deserts?
“It’s such a massive issue, it’s really hard to wrap your mind around it all. And I’m certainly not trying to push any specific answers or agenda. I’m just asking that when you think about what you had for lunch, you maybe consider that there’s a lot that goes into that. We don’t have to tie it all up with a bow, but let’s consider all the different little tendrils. Let’s consider, for a moment, how we moved from the hunter-gatherers to the farms and factories, and now to unbridled consumerism. Oh, and maybe let’s have a little fun along the way.”
It might seem like a tall order. But for Sobelle — who says he is looking forward to experiencing Nashville’s food scene for the first time, and maybe even finding a little time to do some people-watching — it’s all about the human connection.
“My job is to set up the conditions for something interesting to happen, giving audiences the chance to play around a little,” he explains, noting that the results can vary wildly from audience to audience. “I love people. I’m endlessly fascinated by audiences because you never know what you’re going to get. Sometimes it’s hilarious. Sometimes it’s really touching. But for me, watching someone lean forward in their seat is what’s most exciting. Listening to someone else’s story, getting a keyhole into that person’s experience — that’s magic.”
More upcoming theater events:
Nashville Repertory Theatre Presents A Christmas Carol, Dec. 1-17 at TPAC’s Polk Theater
Studio Tenn Presents It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Dec. 7-24 at Turner Theater in the Factory at Franklin
Nashville Ballet Presents Nashville’s Nutcracker, Dec. 8-24 at TPAC’s Jackson Hall
David Alford’s A Holiday to Remember With Paul Carrol Binkley, Dec. 14-22 at The Belmont Mansion
Actors Bridge Ensemble Presents The Christmas Tree Farm, Dec. 15-17 at the Actors Bridge Studio
Handel’s Messiah With the Nashville Symphony Chorus, Dec. 15-17 at the Schermerhorn
