Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT TERRY PHOTOGRAPHY CAN'T TOUCH THIS FOR DARING, DELICIOUS THEATER, NOTHING COMES CLOSE TO TOUCH PERFORMANCE ART'S SEXYBACK AT OBERON. BY JARED BOWEN Colin Thurmond can do without the stuffiness of highbrow art, thank you very much. He's talking about the icy glares cast on those who clap enthusiastically between symphonic movements or the rigid formality of a live theater audience. That's not surprising for a man who dares to infuse Prokofiev with the throbbing beats of a nightclub or pairs Shakespeare with the Backstreet Boys. "The kind of work we're doing feels really young, really hip," he says. "Part of what we're trying to do is break down barriers that cause inhibitions in people." Four years ago, Thurmond cofounded Touch Performance Art, a performance design firm that stages highly inventive theatrical experi- ences at Oberon, the American Repertory Theater's club space in Cambridge. The classically trained Thurmond, who's also finishing a doctoral program at New England Conservatory, serves as music director, while Marissa Rae A March performance of Touch Performance Art's AcousticaElectronica, combining electronic and classical music, dance, circus arts, and immersive theater. EVENT INFO September 18, 19, 25, 26, October 2 and 3 at Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Cambridge, 617-547- 8300; american repertorytheater.org CONTINUED ON PAGE 60... BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 59 CULTURE Hottest Ticket