Hamilton7
Tor Lukasik-Foss is a performer who has issues, and when he transforms his feelings into an act simply titled New Wave Your Behaviour, I’m sure many people can relate. In this show, his character is having more than just your average mid-life crisis. In fact, he’s diagnosed with a Dissociative disorder.
It’s become troublesome enough where he’s been “discharged” from work until he can sort things out. The higher-ups are kind to keep him sort of on the payroll, and with more time at home, his family are somewhat liking having him around and hating it (when he has his episodes) at the same time.
That’s the background of this one-act show where it weaves between him talking about life at home to that of driving to his therapy and going home. To keep him entertained, he listens to lots of New Wave music in his car, courtesy of Sirius XM. It helps him tune the world out. Instead of citing acts or using music from Blondie, Duran Duran or Talking Heads, he’s keeping the tunes generic. The unique tracks he composed work just as well without having to pay licensing fees. What I experienced is therapeutic.
I had to ask Lukasik-Foss if parts of this work are auto-biographical and he said yes. What happened to his mom wasn’t too long ago, and for him to wade through that difficult time and develop a highly entertaining show is amazing in itself. According to his webpage, he has social anxiety. That explains the look he has on stage. It adds to the unworldliness that is also prominent in the synth scores he’s composed. And the way he confronts the medical profession is something I have to cheer for, since he sees “Authority” as “unfair,” and this punkish attitude seems normal for anyone feeling ganged up upon.
Also perfect is in how Tor explained why his mom loves the music of Joan Baez. Although she’s not part of the movement, she is a figure well known to history for her contributions to counter-culture.
Even more appropriate is a critical look at whether Carl Jung’s Four Archetypes is even appropriate to his therapy. Instead of I’d, Ego and Superego, what’s at the heart is the role of mother, rebirth, spirit, and trickster in defining the individual. Though that seems more like a context appropriate for Joseph Campbell to study in literature, this tangent is a mystery to me. Like Tor wanting to know more than his therapist, I’ll have to do some reading to understand this aspect of New Wave Your Behaviour more.
This show was very well received when it was first performed and I’m glad he took the show on the road. There’ll no doubt be more shows to come, and I highly recommend it! Even my spirits were lifted and with what this show arms me with, I’m ready to tackle the Authority too!
Remaining New Wave Your Behaviour Shows at the Victoria Fringe Festival
- Aug 30 6:00 pm
- Sep 1 2:15 pm
Trailer
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