Addled Muse Fire Theater, Blue Mark Studios, Atlanta, August 18, 2018

So apparently we found ourselves last night on Jefferson Street in Atlanta's notorious Bankhead neighborhood (Bankhead Highway had such a bad reputation for crime, its name was officially changed to "Donald Lee Halloway Parkway"). We were there for something called Astral Cosmica: The Journey of Ophiochus by The Addled Muse Fire Theater Company.  One had to sign a waiver at the "door" to get in (door is in quotes because it was an outdoor event), and thunder was rumbling off in the distance.  

Turns out it was basically some people with various degrees of proficiency performing various fire dance routines (flaming baton twirling, flaming hula hoops, some fire breathing, etc.) to New Age music with a story line that was something about a cosmic villain (who came off more like an abusive frat boy than a mythological foe) who kidnapped someone representing the Moon (I think), and various dancers representing different zodiac signs basically dissing him in dance.  Fire dance.  That sounds dismissive and cynical, but it was actually a fun performance, with more that a little bit of an enjoyably amateurish "let's put on a show" ethic, complete with props that fell apart on stage, missed cues, and odd delays.  But no one (I think) was at the  Addled Muse Fire Theater to see the epitome of polished professionalism but instead were there to watch people fire dance, which is what the troupe delivered and which is what we enjoyed.

To make the night even more special, just a few minutes before the show began, to my complete surprise my daughter Britney texted me to say that she was there too, sitting just a few rows back behind us. We had two empty seats next to us at the front row (I'm thinking some people might have had second thoughts about taking a front-row seat at a fire dance performance) for her and her boyfriend, so in addition to the performance I got to enjoy the extra benefit of some quality family time.

Here's a little iPhone video clip from the performance.

In summary, despite the reputation of the neighborhood, despite the threat of rain which loomed over the entire night, despite whatever the waivers were supposed to advise us of, and despite - or maybe because of - the appealing amateurishness of the performance, it was quite the enjoyable night.