194373571
No matter his location, be it California, Mexico or Pennsylvania, with the last six years as a South Philly inhabitant, Chris Davis has proven a prolific thinker who believes seeking solutions to mammoth mysteries can reduce the strength of figurative darkness. Through Saturday, the 33-year-old is analyzing attempts to vanquish the literal version with “Bortle 8,” a one-man show that he commences at sunset on the roof of his 1600-block-of-South-Fourth-Street residence.
“It seems we never want to be without illumination, and that’s great if we’re talking about wanting knowledge,” the Dickinson Square West dweller said. “However, what is it to lose our connection with actual darkness because of our obsession with lights, especially the artificial sort?”
A release from the inquisitive individual, whose 55-minute examination takes its title from astronomer John E. Bortle, creator of an eponymous scale to quantify the darkness of the night sky, states the work “goes from the depths of the ocean to the night sky in the hopes of finding the last untouched place on Earth.” That provocative premise couples with the frequent failure by many to understand themselves and their circumstances to form an award-winning message, with May’s Pittsburgh Fringe endowing the piece with the Gold Crow Award.
“We can shine lights on visible objects, but what about the darkness that people carry within themselves?” he asked. “There’s no light to see this, and it’s important to examine how difficult it can be to connect with ourselves.”
Loss lies at the heart of that confusion, and Davis, who, having enlisted Mary Tuomanen to direct the brainchild for last year’s SoLow Festival, is again teaming with the fellow South Philadelphian, contends that “Bortle 8” can offer therapeutic assistance to viewers. In that sense, the evening experiment provides an emotional release to all involved, with its generator particularly thrilled to incite introspection.
“Maybe I can help them to push themselves in the right direction,” Davis stated. “They’re watching me but I want them to concentrate on themselves. That’s why I do this show.”
Admirably philosophical, he added that theater stands as one of the benefactors of those with deep-seated doubts and desires to derive greater meaning from seemingly mundane, even boring activities.
“Lately, I’ve been focusing on the concept of saying ‘Yes’ and understanding its rewards,” Davis revealed. “That helps people to open new doors, be fulfilled and remain busy. I’m trying to keep myself aligned with that thinking, and I definitely see ‘Bortle 8’ as a motivator for me in realizing the communal and individual benefits of the theater world.”
Awareness of his duties as a burgeoning sage has bred “a lot of erasing” for the Oakland native. Latchkey kid status fostered many opportunities to write, with Davis coming to count literary lions such as magical realism pioneer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Frank Kafka, Jack Kerouac, Alexander Pushkin and Leo Tolstoy as inspirations.
“I’ve always gravitated toward material with strong narratives and great characters,” he said of his enthusiasm for regarding writing as empowering. “Making your own stuff stand out can take time, but you have to keep a healthy sense of self-criticism to keep plugging away and realizing that what you have within you is worth hearing. I’ve become accepting of the need to kill my baby, so to speak, to improve the message and the lasting effect. It’s not always the preferred way for most people, but I think it’s greatly helped my output.”
Davis deemed writing his vocation as a Bucks County-based high schooler and discovered theater as an Albright College registrant. The Reading-situated institution proved highly informative and inspired acting aspirations that combined with his original infatuation to make his stint at the National Theater Institute a dynamic delight.
“It really taught me not to dally or belabor anything,” he said of the Connecticut facility. “If we learned we had limited time to put something together, we had to have the discipline to do it. That’s been extremely helpful in the real world.”
Following three years in Mexico, the setting of “Drunk Lion,” another renowned Tuomanen-directed piece that has enjoyed productions in four states and Scotland, Davis moved to South Philly and has fallen for its creatively crowded communities. Along with prominent peers, the city has begun to provide more acceptance to his ideas, and he values that the turf has evolved into a playground for his active brain.
“I initially wondered what the hell I was going to do here,” he confessed. “Nothing was really going anywhere, but some stuff has caught on, and I want to stick with this life here.”
Much like lights that look to negate nightfall, success and satisfaction can prove fleeting in effect, so Davis advocates for never settling for suitable answers to pressing questions, believing that the highest form of honesty is the self-generated brand. Regardless of his duties, including coordinator chores for SoLow and playwright-in-residence distinction for Plays & Players Theatre, he knows chances for change abound and that people should strive to make something extraordinary out of something tedious. His favorite writers have succeeded in doing so and though he certainly possesses original ideas, many of which he hopes to capture in penning the Great American Novel, he definitely knows he must never slack on gratitude.
“We often wonder what people will remember about us,” Davis, who will take “Bortle 8” to the Maine-headquartered PortFringe; the District of Columbia-based Capital Fringe; and Edinburgh Festival Fringe by the end of August, said. “What we shouldn’t forget is how inspirational we can be to each other.”
■
For tickets, visit bortle8.brownpapertickets.com, or contact bortle8@gmail.com.
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
Photos Provided By Chris Davis
194373571
194373471
