Thirty artists took the stage at Bruka Theatre last weekend, Jan. 17-18, in an event called “Take Five,” first conceptualized by Elizabeth Tenney. Split into two nights, each artist had five minutes to give the audience a presentation or demonstration of their art.
Mary Bennett, the producing artistic director of Bruka Theatre, hosted the evening. All her jokes landed and she introduced each presenter in such a personal way. The job of a host is difficult, but Mary made it seem second-nature.
The stage was occupied by tattoo artists, poets, musicians, writers, actors and businessmen. Each presenter shared something different to their snippet of time, and it was exciting to see what would come next. Some presenters took a formal approach, while others riffed off audience interaction.
Each artist was given a warning at thirty seconds left in their presentation. When their five minutes were up, a horn blew and the presenter was forced to stop regardless if they were finished.
One of the note-worthy presentations was “How to Build a Family Brand,” where marketing expert Rob Gaedtke had his kids pass out money to active audience members. Another performer, Grant Denton, impersonated Freddy Mercury to drive his message of conscious karma.
The entire evening felt like a series of mini TEDTalks. Each presenter inspired something different and there was something for everyone to enjoy. It was an event unlike any other I have attended in Reno and I’m already looking forward to the next installment of Take Five.
Friday Evening Artists
- Connie Wray “How to Reinvent Yourself”
- Marisa Cooper “How to Resurrect a Classic Artist”
- Jeff Johnson “How to Light Up Your World”
- Joseph Garton “The Art of Making the Grade”
- Tia Flores “The Art of Working in the Amazon”
- Deborah Morrison “The Art of the Costume”
- Jesse James Ziegler “How to Create a Group Poem”
- Britton Griffith “How to Survive a Networking Event, like a Zombie Apocalypse”
- Janice Oberding “How to Speak to the Dead”
- Lewis Zaumeyer “The Art of the Set Design”
- Kelsey Sweet “How to Model for Art”
- Bill Quinby “How to Frame”
- Will Truce “The Art of Making Mead”
- Brian Jenson “How to Upgrade your Look”
- Christopher Daniels “How to Build a Diva Personality”
Saturday Evening Artists
- Jessi Lemay “The Modern Heirloom”
- Jon Potter “How to Tattoo”
- Susan Mazer, Ph.D. “Music: It’s About Time, Space, and Place”
- Stephanie Gibson “The Art of the Crawl”
- Rob Gaedtke “How to Create a Family Brand”
- Thomas Lloyd Qualls “How to Create a Myth”
- Grant Denton “How to Create Conscious Karma”
- Reese Kvall “How to Perform with Silks”
- Jeromy Manke “The Art of Advocating”
- John Wade “How to Burlesque”
- Dave King “The Artcar and Transportational Fire”
- Mary Bennett “The Art of the Improvised Play”
- Nick Ramirez & Rory Dowd “The Art of the Worst Little Podcast”
- Holly Natwora “The Art of Viewpoints”
- Cami Thompson “The Art of the Community Song”
