Local theaterhounds will recognize the names Ernest Hemmings and TSTMRKT, the latter being the 24-year project of the former. Just about anything with the TSTMRKT label — from its traditionally cast plays to Hemmings' character-driven, DIY, one-man shows — represents some of the most experimental and thought-provoking theater being made in Las Vegas.
This week, TSTMRKT will debut its final Las Vegas-based production, The Guardian. Hemmings — who directed and wrote the play — plans to leave the city he's called home since 2002 and move to Philadelphia next year.
He’ll leave a legacy of provocative and outside-the-box creativity, as well as prolific collaboration with his theatrical peers. Earlier this year, he helped launch the Fallout Fringe Festival. Las Vegas' theater scene artistically evolved with Hemmings' output, and Hemmings himself creatively thrived in his new cultural environment.
"When I came here to Las Vegas, a lot of the things that I did changed — like, Las Vegas brought all this out," Hemmings said. "I don't think any of this would have existed had I not moved here. Had I stayed in Cleveland, I probably would have just petered away in the stand-up [comedy] scene. But coming out here and having this desert to play in, and having those testing grounds that I could make this kind of work, made it possible."
The Guardian will hold court at Vegas Theatre Company for three weeks, starting January 23. It’s a very timely and maybe unnerving story about an aging couple who quickly learn the harsh realities of modern retirement. It was inspired by news of abuse within the county's private guardianship program, a bizarre set of circumstances happening in Hemmings' own neighborhood, and his own anxieties about the future.
"The couple's really based on myself," Hemmings said. "I'm just trying to deal with the fear of getting older, and what that looks like. Because really, the fear in capitalism is that if you don't have enough money to live, you might as well just be dead."
That may sound like a downer of a show. But Hemmings' subversive humor aims to take some of the edge off the commentary of The Guardian. He references cult filmmaker John Waters as an inspiration.
"So it is a comedy," Hemmings said, grinning. "It's just a very, very dark comedy."
