Over at Main Street Theater you can catch some seriously dark excellence in the form of Donald Margulies's play Time Stands Still, and just to make it even sweeter local band Insko has lent their music to the score.
The play follows two journalists played by Sean Patrick Judge and the always-awesome Sara Gaston as they return from covering the horrors of the Iraq War. At the center of their lives are heaps of survivor's guilt and deep questions about the nature of what they do. Are they actually improving the world by chronicling such tragedies as parents burying their own children killed in combat, or are they simply showing us such things with no appreciable positive impact on society.
To really capture the mood of the internal struggles of our two heroes sound designer Alex Worthington decided to bring in the music of Insko, who play every note like it's coming straight out of a dream. Their work is ethereal and strange, and just perfect for the mental tribulations that they are being explored in the play.
"I have been working with these guys for several days a week for more than a year, and I have frequently heard Gunnar Cushway (guitar) and Matt Mena (Bass/various instruments) mention how the 2009 boom of arts and music in the Williamsburg, Brooklyn changed their own personal views on how songs can be written more creatively than the generic top 40, but still have that driving production and quality that we often hear in the pop world; bands like Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, Animal Collective, or The Hold Steady," said Worthington. "I know bands like these are ones that they hold up in high respect and are perhaps even considered influential, so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to use Insko's music in a theater production."
Worthington has chosen to use the song "Burst Apart" to close Act I as well as early in the play to help segue from more Arabic-sounding music into the soundtrack of the couple's Brooklyn home. "Komm süßer To" and "Ripe Bloom" are also being used for various segments. All three tracks can be currently heard on the band's YouTube page, but of course you're going to want to get the full effect hearing how they are used on stage.
Insko fans can get a 20 percent discount on tickets to Time Stands Still. Just mention the code: PHOTO when purchasing tickets. Maybe you'll even see the band there themselves as they intend to see how their music is being used in person soon.
"We think it's amazing; we're honored that they would even consider using our music in their show," said multi-instrumentalist Gunnar Cushway. "We would love for something like this to happen again. The convergence of different mediums I think is really appealing to us."
Time Stands Still runs through April 19 at Main Street Theater.
