Tweaksters perform variety show, mesmerize audience with visual, auditory elements

Kellen Jenkins / The Bulletin

Regan Patno of the Tweaksters performs last night in Albert Taylor Hall.

Visual, auditory and conceptual stimulation flooded through the aisles of Albert Taylor Hall as the Tweaksters performed a variety show of fabulous feats of physical fun as their tagline states.

“I came because I’m a part of the Emporia Arts Council and I wanted to bring my daughter,” said Ken Weaver. “I thought it was a very entertaining performance. I most of all enjoyed the rope lights; there was a lot of physics included in that aspect of the performance.”

The audience was filled with members of the Emporia community and ESU students. The Tweaksters included a variety of elements in their production. Every couple of minutes they would switch to a new type of music, dance, elaborate costume and new props were brought on stage.

“We wanted to make a show that we would like to see,” said Julia Snyder, performing member of Tweaksters. “It was originally made for adults. I think that because it’s a wordless show it transcends so many different ages. Before the show we pick and choose what’s right for the audience that were performing for.”

One of the acts included juggling plastic pots. The pots were used as juggling tools and steps. Sometimes the two performers would juggle by interchanging the other’s pots and sometimes they would use their own. Another scene included ribbon dancing with a choreographed routine. The music would change becoming softer and lighter for the woman and strong with a heavier beat for the male while they each did an individual dance. Then the components of both of their songs were interwoven when they performed at the same time.

“One of our favorite aspects of the show is traveling and entertaining various communities throughout the United States,” said Regan Patno “There are a lot of great communities out there that we didn’t know existed.”

Another scene included 5 medicine balls. Here they rolled across the balls and at one point Snyder balanced on the moving ball while spinning an umbrella and balancing a ball on the umbrella while it was spinning. A good deal of there performance relied on their ability to find their own balance and to work off one another to find their balance together to work together to create a fulcrum.

“When we first started this we would practice for entire weekends, Snyder said. “However, now on average I’d say that we practice a minimum of two hours a day seven days a week. But we never really stop working. It’s an entire business. If were not practicing we are gathering props or costumes.”

The Tweaksters also used black lights in their performance. One of their scenes included two green rope lights that they used in accordance to the sound of the music. The music for this scene was the beginning music for the show the “Twilight Zone.”

“We heard from several people that we were like the Blue Man Group but we had never seen them perform before so we went to a show,” Snyder said. “We realized that we did have some similarities with the use of backlights and just the raw creativity. We see the comparison to the Blue Man Group as a compliment.”