Local actor and storyteller David Novak performs the one-man play, R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe, at The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. The show takes place on Saturday, Feb. 21. at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 22, at 3 p.m.
Press release from BMCM+AC:
The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center in downtown Asheville presents two performances of the one-man play R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE on Saturday, February 21 at 7:30pm and Sunday, February 22 at 3:00pm. The play, written by D.W. Jacobs from the life, work and writings of R. Buckminster Fuller, will be performed by noted actor and storyteller David Novak. This play is a mesmerizing autobiographical monologue that beautifully captures the insights and poetry of Fuller’s ingenuity. Tickets for the performances are $15 / $10 for BMCM+AC members and students with ID.
R. Buckminster Fuller (“Bucky”) was an epic thinker. His insights continue to inform and resonate with us today. Fuller spent two summers at Black Mountain College (1948 and 1949) and left an indelible mark on that community. It was the summer of 1948 when he (with the help of the entire BMC community) attempted to build his first large-scale geodesic dome. Though it was unsuccessful (and dubbed the “Supine Dome” as a result) he came back the next summer and did erect a dome successfully.
Fuller is best known as an inventor/designer and as the popularizer of the geodesic dome, yet his ingenuity extended into the realm of discourse as well. He was a poet and weaver of words. Bucky was famous for his impromptu lectures that could last for days. Aided by D. W. Jacobs’ brilliant weaving of Bucky’s words, noted actor and storyteller, David Novak, performs a rhapsody on the life of this great 20th century epic individual.
This performance is presented in conjunction with the exhibition poemumbles: thirty years of Susan Weil’s poem/images which received support from: the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, through the Asheville Area Arts Council; UNC Asheville Howerton Distinguished Professor in the Humanities.
David Novak is one of the nation’s leading performers in the storytelling revival. Novak is often featured at the National Storytelling Festival and on concert stages across the country, and was recently the Master Storyteller for The Disney Institute at Walt Disney World in Florida. Recipient of the 2002 Circle Of Excellence award from the National Storytelling Network, Smithsonian Magazine describes him as “a gifted teller who enhances his stories with a bag of tricks. His fluid voice can become a dozen different characters.” Barbara Leonard, Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Music Center On Tour says “David Novak embodies the definition of the word creative. He is an entirely original storyteller whose tales are inventions of his imagination or original adaptations of classic fables or myths. His expertise in the art of mime and circus techniques allows him to transform everyday objects and simple props into magical uses for his storytelling.” Texas storyteller, Jeanine Pasini-Beekman, says of Novak: “In him, the Brothers Grimm and Carl Jung meet Monty Python.” That about sums it up.
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