Ringling International Arts Festival 2016 opens in Sarasota, with an emphasis on laughter

If there’s a message to this year’s Ringling International Arts Festival, Dwight Currie said, it’s that it’s OK to have fun.

“Great art can make you laugh too,” Currie said. “It doesn’t have to be serious.”

Currie is the curator of performance for the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, and as such, he’s the person ultimately responsible for selecting the artists who appear at the annual RIAF.

The 2016 RIAF begins Thursday and continues through Oct. 16 at locations around the Ringling campus.

The emphasis is on lively, highly entertaining acts this year, but Currie said it just sort of worked out that way. He searched for the most intriguing acts he could find for the festival, and at some point he realized that he was gravitating toward artists who would make audiences happy.

“They are all high-energy artists, or acts that are so celebratory,” Currie said. “I don’t know if I was conscious of the fact that the festival would be at the height of election season, but maybe that’s what I had in mind.”

RIAF has never shied away from humor in the past, but it has always featured artists who were elegant, thought-provoking and emotionally provocative.

Currie said the level of artistry at this year’s festival is a lofty as ever. The only difference is the intended audience reaction.

And, in looking at work from all over the world every year, Currie said that humor is becoming a trend in performing arts.

“Some people are calling it ‘the new sincerity,’ ” he said. “Confrontational performance has run its course. Nobody can be shocked by anything anymore. Artists want to be liked, and they want their work to be enjoyed.”

As always, RIAF consists of performances that are about an hour long, scheduled so people can comfortably get to several performances in a day, and see all the artists during the course of the festival.

Here’s a look at the 2016 RIAF artists:

Doug Elkins Choreography, Etc.

The company that performed “Fraulein Maria” at RIAF in 2011 returns with two compelling expressions of flirtation, romance, jealousy and betrayal: the comic “Hapless Bizarre” and “Mo(or)town/Redux,” a retelling of Shakespeare’s Othello set to a Motown score.

7 p.m. Oct 13, 8 p.m. Oct. 14, 2 p.m. Oct 15, Mertz Theatre.

Gravity & Other Myths

An internationally-celebrated circus troupe from Australia that performs “A Simple Space,” a joyous performance of acrobatic ability and exhilarating human physicality, presented amidst the Ringling’s collection of historic circus wagons.

7 p.m. Oct. 13, 5 p.m. Oct. 14, 8 p.m. Oct. 15, 2 p.m. Oct. 16, Circus Museum.

Eighth Blackbird

They’re a Grammy-winning sextet that the Ringling people say combines “the finesse of a chamber ensemble, the energy of a rock band, and the audacity of a storefront theater company.” They’ll be performing “Hand Eye,” a program of compelling new music from four extraordinary living composers.

7 p.m. Oct, 13, 5 p.m. Oct, 14, 2 p.m. Oct. 16, Historic Asolo Theater.

Thaddeus Phillips

Director/actor Phillips performs “17 Border Crossings,” an account of his theatrical journey across international borders in this provocative examination of imaginary lines, arbitrary passports, and curious cross-cultural customs. It’s a surreal montage that blends stand-up comedy, floor shows at Havana’s Tropicana, musicals about Austria, cheesy magic acts, and recipes for chile relleno.

8 p.m. Oct. 14, 5 p.m. Oct. 15, Historic Asolo Theater

Circo Aereo & Thomas Monckton

New Zealand’s Monckton and Finland’s Circo Aereo will present a hilarious and spectacularly catastrophic concert of mishaps on, in, under, and around a magnificent grand piano.

5 p.m. Oct. 14, 8 p.m. Oct. 15, 5 p.m. Oct. 16, Mertz Theatre.

Matt Haimovitz

The Israeli-American cellist performs Bach pieces reinterpreted by contemporary composers. Two of the three performances are sold out; only the Sunday performance still has available tickets.

2 p.m. Oct. 16, Historic Asolo Theater.

LMnO3

LMnO3 are a trio of dancers of who met while working with Elkins in “Fraulein Maria.” At RIAF they’ll perform their piece “B.A.N.G.S: made in america,” a daring but hilarious (according to critics) piece that uses rap, body percussion and game show tactics to examine female friendships. (The title, “B.A.N.G.S.,” beauty, age, number, goodness and size.)

9 p.m. Oct. 15, 5 p.m. Oct. 16, Historic Asolo Theater.

Tickets to all performances are $30-$35 for general admission and $27-$31.50 for Ringling members.

Besides the performances, RIAF also features an opening night Courtyard Celebration, in the Ringling Museum of Art Courtyard, with a live Afro-Cuban band called Afro-Brazilian rhythms of Dendê & Band. It starts at 8 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are $80, or $72 for members

There’s also a free “Conversation with the Artists,” a panel discussion featuring Currie and RIAF artists about the artistic process. That’s set for 2 p.m. Oct. 14 in the Chao Lecture Hall. Even though it’s free, you’ll need tickets in advance.

As you’re likely to find out in that discussion, Currie is as enthused about this RIAF as any of the previous ones, maybe even more so. But he’s aware that the emphasis on joyfulness may cause a backlash.

“It will have its detractors who say it’s lightweight,” Currie said. “But I’m excited about it.”

Details: Oct:13-16, The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota,. Various times. Tickets to all performances are $30-$35 and $27-$31.50 for Ringling members; Opening celebration is $80 general, $72 for members. 941-359-5700, ringling.org.

This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Ringling International Arts Festival 2016 opens in Sarasota, with an emphasis on laughter."