Derek Baxter appreciates risks. The entertainer’s taken them his entire career – from performing on Nickelodeon’s “All That” as a teenager to producing drunken comedies for the Tampa Fringe Festival – and now he’s helping others do the same.
He’s doing it as the artistic director of Off Kilter, one of Tampa Bay’s newest theatre companies. He designed it “to stand at the edge of theatre exploring boundaries, ourselves and the Avant-Garde.”
“Avant-Garde is different to so many people,” Baxter explains. “To me it’s whatever is new, whatever is yet to be explored, whatever is experimental. It is risky and collaborative work – work that hasn’t been seen yet. It’s about making us think and experience things in new ways.”
Off Kilter focuses “on creating space for regional artists to do the very thing they love to do – create art, tell stories, and entertain audiences,” the company’s website reads. It promises to be “where the freaks can come and see themselves, where the artists can appreciate their peers’ unique work and where the bourgeoisie can come experiment with the extreme.”
That’s what Baxter did with his award-winning “Schwasted Shakespeare” in 2018, the Tampa Fringe hit starring inebriated actors doing their best to perform “Hamlet.” He formed Off Kilter to produce the piece, the success of which cemented his desire to create more experimental works.
That ultimately led to Off Kilter’s production of “The Velocity of Gary (Not His Real Name)” in St. Petersburg, the company’s first follow-up. Presented March 12-21 at The MAR St. Pete, the city’s new space designed to strengthen the local performing arts community, the powerful narrative by James Still introduces audiences to a resonating theme of “anything can happen.”
“A full range of personality and visual language is explored in this exceptional piece, offering an intimate account of ‘Gary (Not His Real Name)’s’ world,” Off Kilter describes the show. “As a young queer hustler in NYC attempting to navigate his own journey armed only with a leather jacket and a pair of leopard print underwear, he’s beginning to feel rejected at every turn he takes.
“That is, until he finds a man that gifts him the weapon of his greatest assets: humor, pain and hope,” the company continues. “It’s that same hope that drives ‘Gary’ towards the life he’s meant to live despite the ups and downs that life tends to create.”
Baxter says the 75-minute production was the perfect fit for a COVID-conscious comeback. The MAR’s space – limited to a maximum of 30 people – allowed for socially distanced seating throughout.
“With the live performing arts having been shut down for year now, I believe the arts are in for a renaissance,” Baxter says. “We wanted to begin that journey alongside everyone else.
“I believe with society feeling that urge for human connection and experience after the year we have all lived through, art is going to push into new schools and thoughts,” he notes. “We are so excited to ride that wave and to help be a part of this new art that is about to explode onto the scene.”
Originally written as a one-person show, the role was split into two, emphasizing Off Kilter’s Avant-Garde flair and further protecting the audience. Actor Hippie Griswold performs as “the body” while wearing a mask and as “the voice,” Steven C. Fox provides the show’s narrative from behind plexiglass.
“It is such a beautiful experience to see the both of them work in tandem to bring this story to life in such a mesmerizing way – the text is great, but these two performances are astonishing,” Baxter details. “They have both been so trusting and brave during this process exploring both the world of Gary and the world of the Avant-Garde, something that is new to both, and they have excelled beyond my wildest dreams.”
“It’s completely different,” Griswold describes his role. “Being ‘the body’ and not saying anything has really stretched my abilities as a performer, in a good way. I’ve always been a fan of using body language and non-verbal communication to get across a story and I’ve learned so much doing this show.”
“Separating the voice from the body in this regularly one-man show changes the dynamic quite a bit,” Fox adds. “It lets both the voice and body be a little louder, more expressive and opens the gateway, letting the audience into Gary’s mental state even more. It builds association by disassociation.”
“It is always risky to do work that isn’t well-known,” Baxter also notes. “There is just a power to this piece and its connection to the heartbeat of humanity.”
He says it’s more relevant than ever, highlighting both the LGBTQ community and the AIDS pandemic in unexpected ways. “What I truly love about it is that it deals with the topic and issue as a part of everyday life,” Baxter notes, “which is exactly how we live now with both AIDS and the current pandemic.
“So much of the art surrounding the AIDS crisis is about its beginnings, about the fight for rights and acknowledgement,” he continues. “This piece is after that initial struggle … people in the story happen to be HIV-positive and [it shows] how they continue living their lives.”
As a part of its Avant-Garde approach, Baxter says it’s important for Off Kilter to present work that audiences can identify with, particularly those who are underserved. “The Velocity of Gary (Not His Real Name)” does that.
“We are here, we are queer and we have some shit to say,” he says. “I love to give a space for our community’s stories and a platform for people to see themselves represented in art. We have hit this amazing space in society where our community has worked and struggled for acceptance and equality … we are truly starting to see where that work is paying off. I love to see work beyond the struggle [that] accepts ourselves as equal members of society.
“‘The Velocity of Gary’ is very much a story in the vein,” he stresses. “I want to continue to tell our stories and focus on our work to give us all a place to live and see our humanity.”
Off Kilter is planning to do that year-round, having found the perfect city to call home.
“I love St. Petersburg, always have,” Baxter says. “I love its fresh, independent, unique and artsy vibe. I really felt that Off Kilter would fit well with the artists and people of the city nestled right in with all the eclectic studios and galleries, bars and indie restaurants.”
Work is currently underway for a project during Pride Month, one focusing on the more marginalized voices of the LGBTQ community. Doing so is personal for the artistic director, who says he “finally discovered my true sexuality in my late 30s” and is homoromantic asexual.
For that and other innovative work, Off Kilter invites Tampa Bay to join them. “You as an audience member are experimenting with your experience as well,” Baxter says. “Let’s find out together what works and what doesn’t for the future of theatre. Let’s see where we can go in 2021 and beyond.”
“The Velocity of Gary (Not His Real Name)” is playing now through March 21 at The MAR St. Pete, located at 2309 Central Ave. To purchase tickets and for more information about Off Kilter, visit OffKilterTheatre.com.
