The Happiest Medium review by guest contributor Rebecca Bernard

 A man and a woman wake up in bed beside each other, neither one recognizing the other and then going about their day. This is the premise or idea behind Contrasts, a highly physical story that “reveals the ever-present contrasts between men and women.”

Much happens in this hour long duo performance, conceived and performed by Dana Cavaleru and Richard Bovnoczki. The gifted performers transition from scene to scene with little dialogue,  creating beautiful pictures and humorous scenes. Familiar and not so familiar scenes are explored through the specific style of theatre the two Romanian actors have developed; a fresh combination of pantomime, dance and theatre. A stand out scene includes the recreation of a black and white picture, complete with scratchy erratic movements that Bovnoczki depicted so well the night I attended that the audience burst into applause. Dialogue introduced in the performance doesn’t distract – it sparkles, proving that both the performers’ voices and the use of different languages are as engaging as their  physicality.

Though beautiful moments are created and the premise is strong, the play does not entirely follow through. One is not quite sure who the characters are. Is the man and woman the same man and woman throughout, or are they musings on a theme? Each scene ends and goes into another, often with the absence of a transition to help make sense of this. And though the performers’ miming is often very good, this same lack of follow through shows up at times when an object is created and suddenly dropped, breaking the illusion it created for the audience. Half way through the actors start to include the audience, reacting to breaths, sighs and reactions from the audience.

Though this quality is nice, it becomes confusing since it wasn’t present from the beginning of the piece. Overall, though, the contrast of confusion to beauty, inventiveness and fun wins over the audience, making Contrasts a joy to watch.

~~~

CONTRASTS
Richard Bovnoczki and Dana Cavaleru
Director: Richard Bovnoczki, Dana Cavaleru
Theatre. Pantomime. Dance. Original stage vocabulary. Stories that make you laugh or cry. Two Romanian actors revealing contrasts. An ever changing imaginary set. Several European Awards. “If Tom and Jerry saw this show they would have reasons to be envious.”
1h 0m   International   Bucharest, Romania
Comedy   Dance
Staycation: In Someone Else’s Shoes   Ride the Rollercoaster of Love
www.contrastsshow.blogspot.com
VENUE #19: HERE Dorothy B. Williams Theater
Wed 15 @ 8  Thu 16 @ 4:15  Sat 18 @ 6  Sun 19 @ 8:15  Tue 21 @ 7  Thu 23 @ 7

Related Posts:

• Dancing Into India – Being Becoming (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Pink Milk (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Punk Grandpa: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• For Body And Light (2014 Frigid New York Festival)
• For Body And Light: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2014 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

If you feel like taking a trip to New Delhi or Mumbai this summer, skip the flight and hop on the 6 train to Astor Place. There, at the White Box Theater at 440 Studios, Malini Srinivasan accompanied by Kadhambari Sridhar and Umesh Venkatesan will transport you not only to the Indian subcontinent, but also back in time to the second century, B.C. with their mesmerizing Bharathanatyam performance, Being Becoming.

At first, she’ll hide from you behind the translucent magenta curtain, where she will skillfully put on her make-up so her already beautiful eyes will dazzle even brighter. Then she will wrap the jiggling bracelets around her ankles. Next, she will weave flowers in her hair – and the curtain will rise – lifted by the other two dancers as if  to invite the audience into a world none of us really know. For the next hour or so, the lithe and nimble trio clad in gold, blue and red iridescent costumes will tell us stories about a spiritual seeker, a woman in love and even about the Hindu gods Shiva and Parvati – all without a single word. The artists don’t need any sounds but the music and the changing staccato of its beat. The mastery of Bharathanatyam is being able to tell the story without speaking.

One of the oldest Indian classical dance forms, Bharathanatyam has a name as complex as the techniques it employs. In Tamil, a language spoken in South India, Bha- stands for Bhavam (expression), Ra- for Ragam (music) and Ta- for Talam (beat or rhythm) while Natyam means dance. So if Bharathanatyam looks unpronounceable, try Bharatha Natyam.

Having evolved from ancient Indian dancing, Bharatha Natyam is characterized by nrtta – the movement technique of complex rhythmic patterns and sharp and clear geometric shapes made by the dancers’ bodies. Another unique characteristic of this classic art form is abhinaya, the mastery of expression, and the dancers’ use of hand gestures and symbols to relate the story and their emotions to the audience.

There is a reason why the performance in called Being Becoming. It’s not just a beguiling title, made to catch your eye in the nearly 200 Fringe shows this year. The name takes its origin in the essential ideas of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, presenting the concept that a person can become one with the object of his or her desire or devotion. This idea, also popular in Indian poetry and painting, weaves through the performance pieces of the show: the spiritual seeker wishes to unite with Lord Shiva and the lovesick maiden wants to be one with Lord Vishnu.

Granted or not, their desires and explorations are a way to disappear in your dreams, and a form of meditation, perhaps. And so the dance goes on with its sharp and precise hand movements, the seductive head rolls and the gentle flutter of eyelashes followed by fervent looks up above for an ultimate solution for all the mortal and immortal ills – leading us through the wonders of Indian mythology and thousands of years of history.

~~~

Being Becoming
Malini Srinivasan and Dancers
Choreographer: Malini Srinivasan
She puts on her make-up and becomes a classical Bharatanatyam dancer. With each dazzling gesture she transforms into a playful child, forlorn lover, or Ardhanariswara: half-man, half-woman. Join us on a journey where gestures create and each of us transforms.
1h 15m   Local   Queens, New York
Dance   Drama
Staycation: Overseas Adventure   Ride the Rollercoaster of Love
www.malinisrinivasan.com
VENUE #06: The White Box at 440 Studios
Sat 11 @ 2:30  Fri 17 @ 6:15  Sun 19 @ 9:15  Tue 21 @ 2  Thu 23 @ 9:15  Fri 24 @ 7

Related Posts:

• Contrasts (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Pink Milk (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Snow White Zombie: Apocalypse – The End Is Nigh In Fairy Tale Land (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Punk Grandpa: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• For Body And Light (2014 Frigid New York Festival)

Broadway Week, September 4 – 16, with 99% of plays and musicals offered in a 2-4-1 bonanza, is always eagerly anticipated. The Fall discounts include nearly 20 shows, including some hard-to-get-tickets-to blockbusters.  In addition, 25 Theatre District restaurants are offering a free dessert when a ticket stub from participating shows is presented.

“The only thing better than seeing a Broadway show is the opportunity to get two tickets for the price of one,” said Charlotte St. Martin, executive director, the Broadway League. “Thanks to NYC & Company, we’re thrilled to offer this exciting opportunity again to  theatergoers.”
Productions participating in Fall’s Broadway Week are Bring It On, Chaplin, Chicago, An Enemy of the People, Evita, 2012 Tony-winning Best Revival [in its last weeks on Broadway] Porgy and Bess, Tony-winning  Jersey Boys, Tony-winning The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, Mary Poppins, Newsies, Nice Work If You Can Get It, 2012 Tony winning Best Musical Once, Peter and the Starcatcher, Tony-winning long-run champion The Phantom of the Opera, Rock of Ages, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Tony-winning War Horse, and Tony-winning Wicked.  All are subject to availability and blackout dates may apply. Use the code BWAYWEEK at theatre box offices to save a bundle in service charges.

Participating restaurants are B. Smith’s, Ca Va Brasserie, FireBird, the Russian Tea Room, Shun Lee West, and Sky Room Times Square. To book tickets for a Broadway Week show and for the complete list of participating restaurants, visit nycgo.com/broadwayweek.
Amtrak Guest Rewards members earn 100 points or more for tickets purchased to participating shows by registering their account with Audience Rewards before purchase.
Broadway Week is produced by NYC & Company, the Broadway League, AARP, Amtrak, NBC-4, and The New York Times. For more information, to make online purchases, and a full list of restaurants, visit nycgo.com/broadwayweek.

Happy 100^th!

World dance impresario, Hungarian-born Paul Szilard is 100 (August 24). Many of the world’s ballet companies owe their current renaissance or, in fact, wouldn’t exist today without his amazing largesse. In June, at Paris’ Theatre du Chatelet, on the opening night of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater season, he was was decorated by the French Ministry of Culture for his years of bringing great dance to France and for his contributions to French culture.

Mr. Szilard has presented not only Alvin Ailey, but also New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Martha Graham Dance Company, Madrid’s Ballet Víctor Ullate, and, among others, Universal Ballet and such artists as Mikhail Baryshnikov and Judith Jamison here and throughout the world. The first English-language Broadway show presented in Japan, West Side Story, was presented by Mr. Szilard.

As a leading dancer, Mr. Szilard performed throughout the world. Under My Wings: My Life as an Impresario, his autobiography, was published in 2002.

Kipling’s Jungle Book Onstage

Theatre East presents a new adaptation of Kipling’s classic The Jungle Book by Megan O’Brien, Off Broadway beginning September 1 for a limited engagement at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre [416 West 42^nd Street, between Ninth and Ten Avenues].  Dina Epshteyn directs. This tale of a lost boy being adopted by the animals of the jungle is told through the eyes of young Alex, who through the pages of the story uses his imagination to bring the book to life. Through shadow puppetry, and new staging this is a show the entire family will enjoy. For more information, visit www.junglebooktheplay.org.

Tickets are $25; $20, for groups of 10 or more. They’re on sale at the box office and through Ticket Central, (212) 279-4200 or www.ticketcentral.com, where you can find the performance schedule.

Celebrating Brazil

Millions will throng Sixth Avenue, in the vicinity of Little Brazil, West 46^th Street, between Sixth and Fifth Avenues for the 28^th annual Brazil Day festivities. They lead off with a parade and music festival on Sixth Avenue on Saturday, September 1. Then, the next day, 25 streets of the surrounding area become New York’s largest street fair. The stage at 42^nd Street and Sixth will showcase some of Brazil’s hottest musicians and entertainers will be in a Samba-madness mode, along with visiting soccer stars. Since Brazil will host the 2016 Olympic Summer Games, you can expect even more enthusiasm this year. For more information, visit www.brazilianday.com.

Sponsors include Brazil’s TV Globo and the newspaper The Brasilians and BACC Travel, owned by Honorary Little Brazil Mayor  João de Matos.
For authentic Brazilian delicacies and famed all-you-can-eat meats from dozens of skewers, visit the classic steakhouses Churrascaria Plataforma on West 49^th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, and the Churrascaria Plataforma in Tribecca; and Brazil Grill, Eighth Avenue and 48^th Street.

Related Posts:

• 59 Reasons To Catch The Body Politic At 59E59
• Theatre Review- Embraceable Me
• Angel Eaters Trilogy – A Three Course Meal

When Sheherizade began, it seemed like this might just be a production where there was interpretive dance to help us feel part of the story. But once the story of the storytelling began I was quickly swept up by the organic flow of this piece, wrapped up in the stories as dance, storytelling, a strange type of puppetry, and the hopes and dreams of the characters in the stories-within-stories blended into a magical world that is a wonderful successor of the original .

Director Priscila Garcia along with Director of Movement Anne Marie Bookwalter did a great job of working together to create a beautiful flow which seamlessly transported the audience from one magical world after the next, and made this show an experience I’ll never forget.

Sheherizade starts with the story of a troubled king who has taken up the nasty habit of marrying a new woman every day, only to behead her the day after the wedding. The first scene is simple: nothing but drums and dance and flowing red silk representing the blood the King is shedding, as well as the terrible emotions he is harboring. The King’s pain and rage as well as the sadness of those having to live with the results of his murders is clearly shown through expressive dance and movement.

We then shift to an even more troubled adviser who has had the charge of minimizing the damage this mad King does by placating him as well as supplying him with new brides. He confesses the King’s crimes to his wise daughter Sheherizade hoping for some counsel or comfort, because he is truly at his wit’s end. Wanting to ease her father’s troubles as well as those of the kingdom, Sheherizade quickly colludes with her sister to hatch a plan to end the King’s reign of terror.

She does this by offering to be the next bride, but instead of waiting until the morning to await her fate as others had done, she asks for sister to come with her, for it has always been there way to end the night in a story. surely he could give into this one final request.

Before telling you a little about the three tales covered in this lush and delicious 40 minute production I wanted to make a quick note about a wonderful technique in this piece. There is not one Sheherizade, and not one King. The role of Sheherizade was passed from one character to the next after every story like some early tribesman passing a totem one to the next to allow another to speak a story around the fire in days past.

This allowed for a different cadence and enactment of the storytelling as well as allow all to be part of the stories. I fell into the story deeper as one never knew what was going to happen next. The cast worked as a wonderful organic whole from the first moment of the play to the last; many thanks to Alex Akin, Terry Kenard Barnes, Erron Crawford, Rodney Earl Jackson Jr., Michael McGuire, Jordan Phillips, Lucia Roderique, Alex Speith, Jasmine Thomas, Josh Wilder for all being the stars as well as costars of this play.  Great ensemble effort.

The first story was that of Liang and the Magic Paintbrush, a well known folk tale from China. Liang is a poor man who wishes more than anything to save up his money to buy a paintbrush. A good fairy takes a magical paintbrush from a scholar who had been hoarding it away for many years, and tells Liang he must do Good with the paintbrush. When Liang finishes the final stroke in a drawing of a butterfly it flies off the page as it comes to life. Liang does many good deed from then on from drawing fish for the hungry, to drawing a well for a village. Eventually the Emperor hears of his exploits and captures Liang and commands for him to to draw him mountains of gold. Liang does this but also draws a sea between the Emperor and his gold and a boat for him to reach it by. When he is commanded to draw some wind he instead draws a hurricane that wrecks the boat and the people are freed from the emperors conceited and self-serving rule. The King who has been listening to this story doesn’t like the ending, but enjoyed the story and Sheherizade.

The second story is from the Dutch tradition of storytelling, and was called The Most Precious Thing In The World. There once was a very rich Lady (played by Michael McGuire) who was so rich that she was bored with all of her gold and jewels and sent her favorite captain out into the world with a ship full of gold to purchase The Most Precious Thing In The World.  While he is gone everyone wonders what sort of thing he will return with.  He brings lovely golden wheat which he says will feed all of her people and The Lady commands he toss it into the sea because she is so mad he missed the point of his assignment. There it grows and chokes off all  shipping into her country and causes the ruin of her fortune.  An interesting concept used in this piece was that everyone in it moved as if they were puppets with dangling arms and shuffling legs and bobbing heads.  That, plus Michael McGuire’s pronouncing of the h’s in wheat really made this an entertaining piece.

The third story was about Mansa Musa The Lion King Of Mali. In the story we hear of how the famous King made his country of Mali so amazingly successful in the 14th century (taken from this 2001 version by Khephra Burns). Kankan Musa was captured by slave traders and taken deep into the desert, a place very foreign to him. He was tutored by Tariq in new ways of seeing the world and eventually learns that in order to be a good King (or human being for that matter) it is more important to be compassionate than to be fierce … more important to be knowledgeable than to be controlling.  By learning  humility fighting against the destructive tendencies that live in us all, this helped him to become one of the greatest leaders of a nation ever.

This final powerful story heals the King of his rage and pride at last as the overall story ends with him embracing Sheherizade and weeping.

The choices and crafting of the stories by playwright Aidaa Peerzada (along with story design of each of the individual pieces by Rodney Earl Jackson Jr., Priscila Garcia, and Anne Marie Bookwalter) was exquisitely done in a very touching and thoughtful way that is a good example to all.  The music design pulled us through the story with excitement and magic, and the lighting by Calvin Johnson highlighted everyone’s strongly emotional faces beautifully throughout each scene.  The costumes by Patricia Sehar Peerzada were  entrancing, never distracting to the plot.  They blended in beautifully with the stories.

Seeing Bathwater Productions’ Sheherizade was a very joyful and meaningful experience, and like the King in the story I was sorry when it was done and hoped I could hear just one more story before I left.

~~~

Sheherizade
Bathwater Productions
Writer: Aidaa Peerzada
Director: Aidaa Peerzada and Rodney Earl Jackson Jr.
Choreographer: Aidaa Peerzada and Rodney Earl Jackson Jr.
A Slam/Musical adaptation of The Arabian Nights, incorporating movement, puppetry and stories from around the world. The new bride of a violent king tells fantastical tales, to ward off her death, and lure the King into overcoming his sadness.
0h 40m   National   San Francisco, California
Musical   Spoken Word/Poetry
Staycation: Fantasy Island Excursion   Overseas Adventure
www.sheherizade.com
VENUE #15: The New School for Drama Theatre
Wed 15 @ 3:45  Thu 16 @ 6:30  Sat 18 @ 8  Sun 19 @ 5:15

Related Posts:

• For Body And Light (2014 Frigid New York Festival)
• A Way Of Man (Fringe Festival 2011)
• Dandy Darkly’s Trigger Happy!: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Eighth Grade: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Don’t Move To Toronto: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

Even casual readers of The Happiest Medium know that when it comes to Company XIV and Austin McCormick I am reduced to a screaming fan-girl.  I am older, of course -not a girl, so my screaming is done on the inside (most of the time), but when it comes to this neo-baroque dance ensemble everything about them makes my heart race, my temperature elevate and my eyes tear up. Every time I walk through the doors of the theatre at Bond Street I shiver with antici ————————-pation about what will greet me – for here I have seen the most dazzling pieces of multi-media theatre I have ever experienced.  EVER.

This week Company XIV has been holding a workshop where Austin McCormick, Laura Careless and guest instructors have been showing gifted dancers the Company XIV way.   I will be moderating a discussion with Austin from 1.15pm-3pm tomorrow, Friday, March 9 at the Company XIV studio at 303 Bond Street, Brooklyn. If you’re free, come on down.  If you’re busy – break your plans.  Because after you read this, you’ll want to see this man in person.

I was lucky enough to be able to sit in on the workshop Tuesday afternoon and even though I was there for hours the time flew and my mind raced as I was captivated by what I saw unfold before me.  This opportunity was like a dream come true – akin to (I can only imagine) being able to go to spring training if you love baseball.  It’s watching your idol, your hero, behind the curtain, in the process of creating magic in a way that few ever get to experience.

I wish I could spend every day with Laura Careless and Austin McCormick.  Theirs is a world so opposite of mine – the world of breathing, movement, communing with your core – yourself, your space.  My world is about sitting, observing and then writing — hoping that my words adequately translate what I’ve experienced in a way that tantalized the readers.  And even though I meet dozens of people doing what I do, and even though I am part of a community and a team, it is rare that my actual work involves anyone other than me.

For anyone who has ever seen a Company XIV show there can be no question —  there is an energy, a type of spell that falls over the space where they dance, binding performers to audience.  McCormick (who conceives, directs and choreographs all his shows) blends eroticism with beauty, each movement somehow conveying ecstasy and anguish at the same time. It’s bitter and sweet – it’s longing and loss wrapped in joy and celebration.  Every time. Every time.

Very often when you meet your heroes they are so much less in person than they are from afar. They disappoint by being less spectacular up close – less of the magical creatures  you see from your seat in the dark.  Not so the members of Company XIV. Laura Careless, Sean Gannon and Austin McCormick are gorgeous in person – and I don’t mean on the spectrum of beauty, though they have that as well.  They are gorgeous because they shine with talent, with energy, with enthusiasm for what they do, and the eagerness to share it.  They glow with vitality, they glimmer with the fire that comes from doing what you love to do, and doing it well every time. They are warm, welcoming … they capture you with their spirit in person as much as they do from the stage.

On Tuesday I took my spot and first watched Laura Careless teach a class. I see something I can hardly put into words begin to happen; her class is beautiful and smooth, with moments of sudden release,  all done in this almost reverent environment of Austin’s studio/performance space.  The ambiance is as captivating as the class, beautiful old chandeliers light the room, coupled with natural daylight streaming in through the skylight.  The class takes place amid what’s left of the Snow White show I saw just a short while ago – a silver tree, glowing orbs of light.  It is both a dramatic effect and yet completely commonplace, for this (as I said) is 303 Bond street where everything is stunning.

I watch Laura’s class – her gestures are free, gorgeous, wild.  There was falling to the floor and springing to the feet, bouncing, twirling; with movements which students were interpreting  in their own style – some open and unrestrained, some tight and precise, but somehow all fitting together and looking amazing.

Laura ended her class with a meditation, one where each student was guided to thank their body for allowing it to give so much.  This simple gesture took my breath away; we often don’t thank ourselves for our own talents, we often don’t recognize what we do for ourselves, the gift we give ourselves.   And of course this gave me a moment to silently thank these dancers for giving me so much as well; perhaps they felt my thanks, perhaps they only felt the energy that increased in the room.

There was a break, but dancers dance.  Even between dancing, they dance.  They may not even know they do it, but dancers always dance.  I love that.

Up next was Austin’s workshop and here’s where I got to watch the master at work.

I work with words.  Words are fixed and I know what to expect from them, although I am often surprised by how a subtle pairing or combination will shade the meaning, giving a nuance I didn’t expect.  I love to play with words and find that sweet spot.   Austin McCormick has something  much more amazing and organic to work with of course, and because human beings are living and breathing and moving, they can contribute to his internal vision.  Watching Austin as he watched his vision come alive was an experience I’ll never forget.

He is sure and precise but completely at ease.  This is his element, there is no hesitation, no second guessing, no frustration.  With the help of  Laura  they take the dancers through the routine slowly at first. At times it’s so exquisite that it’s like hearing a word whispered slowly in French.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a dance class, this is a true workshop: a place where ridiculously talented people are learning the XIV way.  So I shouldn’t be astonished at how quickly the dancers pick up the spellbinding choreography, but I am.

It’s wonderful to be able to see how these pieces come to life, to see Laura talk through the movements alongside Austin.  She speaks automatically and without hesitation. She says things like “on your hands, BAM!, thread your knee, roll back, extend back with arch” She speaks with as much ease and grace as Olivier recited Shakespeare … “Slip, cross, step, grab leg, bring it in, hand to face”.

While I don’t pretend to ever have been a dancer – not even a 3 year old weekend jazz/tap baby – I can’t help but think that Austin has created a language all his own.  I listen as he directs the dancers to move with words like “snippety … to the heart” There’s a deep poetry to it that would put e.e. cummings to shame.  There are words like Ninja Ladies, Picture, Open Heart, Cowabunga. I love how it sounds. I love more how it looks.  I love most how it makes me feel.

Writing this story was easy; surprisingly so – it was as if Austin McCormick, Laura Careless and Sean Gannon had gotten hold of my hands and were choreographing my fingers.  I sat alone, up high in the bleachers, like a fly on the wall, watching these dancers and letting the creativity boomerang around the room, allowing it to somehow capture me in the energy as well.  Like a medium who goes into trance, I watched for hours and when I came home later that night and read what I’d written it was like I was reading my words for the first time.  Which proves my theory.  This  ability Austin McCormick has to create magic transcends dance. It reaches out and embraces, influences, and inspires all manner of artists, be they singers, dancers, actors or writers — of fiction or of fact.

I’ll end with a snippet of a song that was being played in the studio at some point while I was there. Again, simply because dancers dance even when they aren’t dancing, I couldn’t tell if they were on a break or working out a routine.  Of course it didn’t matter … and this song will tell you why:

When I was 12 years old, my father took me to the circus, the greatest show on earth.

There were clowns and elephants and dancing bears

And a beautiful lady in pink tights flew high above our heads.

And as I sat there watching the marvelous spectacle

I had the feeling that something was missing.

I don’t know what, but when it was over,

I said to myself, “Is that all there is to a circus?”

Is that all there is, is that all there is

If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing

Let’s break out the booze and have a ball

If that’s all there is

~~~

I leave you once more with a reminder that tomorrow you’ll have a chance to attend the discussion I will be moderating with Austin McCormick 1.15pm-3pm on Friday, March 9 at the Company XIV studio at 303 Bond Street, Brooklyn.

See you there!

Related Posts:

• Company XIV – The Workshop You’ve All Been Waiting For …
• Nutcracker Rouge – The Way The Nutcracker Should Be
• The Fairest Of Them All: Company XIV – Snow White
• The Halloween Plays – Three Bursts Of Fire, Fear And Fantasy
• She’s Mad But She’s Magic: LOVER. MUSE. MOCKINGBIRD. WHORE

Performance art pieces, in general, can be thrilling to behold, whether they break new ground, or simply retrace the steps made by others in new and innovative (or deeply personal and fascinating) ways. The idea of combining dance, theatre, and clown with music to portray emotional journeys and the struggle of gender roles sounds so exciting! And it could be…if Aerial Allusions was a different show.

From the moment Jaz Morneau began his opening monologue/stream of consciousness (I wasn’t sure if it was improvised or written) I was worried.  His diatribe on the world at large was better set for an Occupy New York symposium for 20-somethings than an art piece on gender dynamics. What followed was a brief, entertaining moment of dance work by Azana, and it seemed that perhaps it was moving along toward something with burlesque overtones – which would have been enjoyable. In fact, most of the moments when Azana danced solo were interesting to watch, and it might have been much better production overall. Unfortunately the piece tries so hard to make a statement about the human condition and our lack of empathy for the opposite sex, that it gets in its own way via monologues/streams of consciousness that are uninteresting and without passion behind them. It ends up coming off as a pretentious piece that is a shadow of what talent Azana seems to have in her movement (as shown by the tormented dance scene that she has after being beaten, which was actually quite lovely). The rest of the production, outside of the above mentioned scene, simply mimicked the first half, with the gender roles reversed.

I wanted very much to like this show, and I know the performers were dancing their hearts out. For that I give them credit. It is the presentation of the piece, which was strangely dispassionate for dance performance art, cobbled together with the illusion that what they have said is somehow enlightening, that I question.

~~~

~~~

The 2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL will run February 22-March 4 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Ave and Ave A). Tickets to all shows may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444.

Related Posts:

• Aerial Allusions: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• The Rope In Your Hands: Katrina, In Their Own Words (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Fear Factor: Canine Edition – Puppy Love (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Musical Pawns: Lost Music And Direction, Found Voices (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Stripper Lesbians: When Baring It All Is Academic (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

What do cell phones, natural disasters, and the industrial revolution have in common? LOL: The End (written and performed by Michi Ilona Osato, Una Aya Osato, and Yoshimasa “Sen” Osato) sets out to investigate how the world got to where it is, starting with Man’s earliest domination over nature in order to create shelter, and ending with the isolation that can occur as Man becomes more and more enmeshed in the virtual world of hand-held devices.  Though there are less than a dozen words squeaked out in this dense multimedia interaction (which includes curated new media samples from YouTube, ultramodern kabukesque pieces of clowning, and interpretive dance) the message of this show is still clearly vital, diversified, and meaningful.

The central push of this piece is to show how our scramble for comfort is never-ending and essentially the more we have the more our smaller problems require higher costs to avoid them. The end of the world has never been so engrossing as with the physical comedy and funny dramatic redirections of the audience by Michi as the personification of Greed with its quest to maintain power over others. She sets us in our place while we have pity for Una’s embodiment of the innocence of the havenots around the world and throughout history.

As the story progresses we are given an evolving view and review showing that sometimes those who don’t have the most (or are the  meekest – or most friendly) can actually be  the great causers of  disaster even if they are also the most abused.   They are like drowning victims who will desperately pull down anyone or anything along with them as they sink to the bottom.  Yoshimasa, as the face of the Earth  (or more elusive “Nature”) shows how the earth is patient, but can be irritated at the ridiculousness of Man’s desire to remake the world into something safer and easier to control yet only manages to make it less stable.   While LOL is light-hearted in its depiction of our moves toward disaster, the overall message is more hard-hitting than many documentaries on the subject.  This is perhaps because we can identify with the characters so readily.  With so much meaning laden on so little verbal communication, kudos must be given to the director Moises Belizario who had a lot to orchestrate in this piece. With the sheer number and requirement for precise arrangement, stage manager Clarissa Ligon should get a shout out as well.  The multimedia portions of the show were divided between the sometimes driving and sometimes serene music of Yuri Ryback and Jordan Battiste, as well as by the careful video curation and editing done by Una Aya Osato and Michi Ilona Osato.

Performers from left to right: Una Aya Osato, Michi Ilona Osato, and their father Yoshimasa "Sen" Osato

The beginning of this play, I believe, was intentionally a bit alien and hard to understand; the mysticism of the past which ruled us is so much less in control now-a-days. The dialogue between the three on stage at first seems almost like an abstract dance celebrating color and emotion. By the end of the show the audience is shown a postapocalyptic world where humankind is reduced back to their primal state by a believable set of circumstances.

We see the dance with death, the wonder and the magic of how we react to the power of “disasters” celebrated again by those now newly primitive, echoing the beginning of the play.  In this beautiful yet horrifying dance toward the end, we see the black veil of death alternating with the bright red of fire, blue of water disasters, and even white of disasters of the air in a way that clearly shows the sort of fear modern people could find if our filters of  intervening media of various types were removed.  In this very much the-end-is-the-beginning-is-the-end sort of moment, we realize that most likely, no matter what we do, it is possible the world will go on even if civilization is swept aside by human carelessness.  It becomes quite humbling to see the end where everything returns back to square one, except for the relics of the past strewn around a new landscape.  Like the myths of giants who caused the mountains, the somber peace that enshrouded the audience after the rush of symbolic destruction was palpable.

The image of Yoshimasa as the calmed Earth Spirit in the end  covering his children with a dark veil, with a look of compassion yet a hint of bewilderment and the remaining covering of bright pink hair (representing I think the lasting spiritual miasma which would stay with the earth) that ends the play is  one that will stay with me for a long time.  Try to fit this show in if you can, and you will likely get a lot to reflect on for many days to come.

~~~

~~~

The 2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL will run February 22-March 4 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Ave and Ave A). Tickets to all shows may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444.

Related Posts:

• LOL: The End. : 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Punk Grandpa: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• The Terrible Manpain Of Umberto MacDougal: The Total Package Of Manpain (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• JapJAP – Labels Schmabels (FRIGID New York 2011)
• Get STUPEFIED By Paul Hutcheson

If you read THM with any frequency you already know that I am a HUGE fan of Austin McCormick and his amazing Company XIV. What comes out of the 303 Bond Street Theatre is almost impossible to describe – because how can you describe the way your life is changed, over and over again?

The Company is now taking things to the next level with their Workshop (full information after the jump) which will take place March 5-10, 2012. Space is limited so I urge you to take a look at the schedule and see if you can join Austin McCormick, Laura Careless and Sean Gannon who all made this marvelous workshop possible. During the week fantastic instructors will take you through Repertory Classes (know what it feels like to be a Company XIV member), Lucid Body Classes (open to actors as well as dancers) and Gaga Classes (no! NOT Pokerface! This is the movement language developed by Ohad Naharin).

I’m also thrilled that THM will be intimately involved in bringing this Company XIV workshop to you: I’ll be doing an exclusive two-part series on the website and you won’t want to miss it.

I’ll start off a few weeks before the workshop with an in-depth article, then I’ll follow that up with an on-the-scene report. Best of all – I’ll be moderating a panel discussion with Austin McCormick himself (Friday March 9th 1:15 – 3:00). That panel is open to the public and admission is by donation, so give what you can. You won’t want to miss hearing the man himself answering some fantastic questions – I know I can’t wait to hear what he has to say!

So, check out the information below, sign up, mark your calendars … and get ready to have the time of your life with COMPANY XIV!

Company XIV Workshop March 5th-10th, 2012 Company XIV invites you to join us for a week of workshops at our studio at 303 Bond Street, Brooklyn, New York. From March 5th-10th company members, guest teachers and Director and Choreographer Austin McCormick will introduce participants to the Company XIV movement and style through a week of classes designed to hone the specific dance, theatre and stylistic skills featured in the company’s work. Workshop Schedule Monday (March 5th) 10am-11am: Registration (Studio available for warm-up) 11:15am-12:30pm: Gaga  (Bobbi Smith) 12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch Break 1:30pm-4:30pm: Lucid Body  (Fay Simpson) 5pm-7pm: Repertory/Creation rehearsal with Austin McCormick . Tuesday (March 6th) 9:30am-10am: Studio available for warm-up 10am-12:30pm:Lucid Body  (Fay Simpson) 12:30pm-1:30pm-Lunch Break 1:30pm-3pm: XIV Company Class  (Laura Careless) 3:30pm-7:30pm- Repertory/Creation rehearsal with Austin McCormick . Wednesday (March 7th) 10am-11am: Warm-up/ Registration for open class 11am-12:15pm- Gaga. (Bobbi Smith) 12:15pm-1:30pm: Lunch Break 1:30pm-3pm: XIV Company Class  (Laura Careless) 3:30pm-7pm: Repertory/Creation rehearsal with Austin McCormick . Thursday (March 8th) 9:30am-10am: Studio available for warm-up 10am-12:30pm:Lucid Body. (Fay Simpson) 12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch Break 1:30pm-3:30pm: XIV Company Class  (Laura Careless) 3:30pm-7pm: Repertory/Creation rehearsal with Austin McCormick . Friday (March 9th) 10am-11am: Warm-up/ Registration for open class 11am-12:15pm: Gaga  (Doug Letheren) 12:15pm-1:15pm: Lunch Break 1:15-3pm: Interview with Austin McCormick 3:30pm-7pm: Repertory/Creation rehearsal with Austin McCormick . Saturday (March 10th) 11am-11:45am: Warm-up/Registration for open class 11:45am-1pm: Gaga. (Doug Letheren) 1pm-2pm: Lunch Break 2pm-6pm: Repertory/Creation rehearsal with Austin McCormick 7pm-8pm: Showing  (Open to public) Class descriptions   Repertory Experience a day-in-the-life of a Company XIV performer with this series of classes with Company XIV Choreographer and Director Austin McCormick! Austin will teach and coach XIV repertory and also create original choreography to give each performer an individualized and educational experience. This series of classes will result in the creation of a piece and culminate in an informal performance for invited guests. Dancers of all backgrounds and actors with a strong sense of their own physicality are encouraged to attend, and all participants must be present for the duration of every session. The Lucid Body class on Monday 3/5 is a mandatory pre-requisite for this class as Austin will be drawing upon vocabulary from the technique.   Lucid Body The Lucid Body technique (www.lucidbody.com) was created by Yale School of Drama Faculty Member and author of “The Lucid Body; A Guide for the Physical Actor” Fay Simpson as a physical training method for actors, and has been invaluable to Company XIV performers as a path to opening the body to the expression of every human potential. Based on the premise that each body holds the potential to experience every human condition, Lucid Body technique is a safe and deep psycho-physical process of introspection, exertion and mental challenge. Classes will build upon each other. The class on Monday 3/5 is a pre-requisite for the Repertory workshop.   Gaga We are honored to host Batsheva Dance Company members Bobbi Smith and Doug Letheren to teach Gaga as part of the Company XIV Workshop. Gaga is the movement language developed by Ohad Naharin throughout his work as a choreographer and Artistic Director of Batsheva Dance Company in Israel (www.batsheva.co.il/en/). Classes (all 1 hr 15) are offered on a single class basis, or as part of the Full Workshop schedule as the emphasis on an instinctive and individual experience of movement is a great preparation for Company XIV work.   Company Class Taught by Company XIV founding member Laura Careless, this class is both an ideal preparation for the repertory class that follows and a well-rounded class in itself. Join XIV dancers for a 1hr 45 class that combines yoga, dance technique and energy work in an approach to movement that is formally structured yet places equal emphasis on sensation. A dance background is recommended for this class, which can be attended on a single class basis as well as part of the Full Workshop schedule. With live music.   Interview and Discussion with Austin McCormick An informal discussion with Company XIV’s Founder, Director and Choreographer moderated by Karen Tortora-Lee, Editor-in-Chief and Founder of the website The Happiest Medium (www.thehappiestmedium.com). Open to the general public and entry by donation.   Class options Registration is required for ALL classes. Space is limited. (Please see below for details on how to register.)   Full Workshop: $300 All classes including participation in studio showing on Saturday 3/10   Repertory Only option: $200 All repertory workshops including pre-requisite Lucid Body class on Monday 3/5 and participation in studio showing on Saturday 3/10   Lucid Body Class Course: $65/$40 for Repertory participants 3 classes with Fay Simpson, creator of the Lucid Body technique.   Single Classes (Gaga and Company Class only): $15   Registration Please email Laura@CompanyXIV.com the following: Name Date of birth Email Phone number Headshot and resume Choice of class option (If open classes, please specify date)

Related Posts:

• Let’s Keep Dancing … At The Company XIV Workshop
• Nutcracker Rouge – The Way The Nutcracker Should Be
• The Halloween Plays – Three Bursts Of Fire, Fear And Fantasy
• The Fairest Of Them All: Company XIV – Snow White
• She’s Mad But She’s Magic: LOVER. MUSE. MOCKINGBIRD. WHORE

The Knocking Within

ANIKAI Dance Theater
Texts from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, MacBeth, Titus Andronicus and Othello
Selected and compiled by Wendy Jehlen
Direction, concept: Wendy Jehlen
Choreographer: Wendy Jehlen with Pradhuman Nayak

ANIKAI Dance Theater premieres “The Knocking Within,” a new text-based work looking at insanity and a dysfunctional relationship through texts from three of Shakespeare’s tragedies – Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and Titus Andronicus.
The scenes will not play out in a linear manner, but rather will be woven into each other, so that the effect is of the disorientation of unmitigated mental illness and a relationship out of control, or is it the nightmares of two lovers?

Show Times:

• Tues 1/17 @ 6:00pm
• Fri 1/20 @ 8:30pm
• Sun 1/22 @ 3:00pm

Answers by Wendy Jehlen
Artistic Director
ANIKAI Dance

Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
This is an international festival. What part of the world are you coming from … and will your show tantalize the NYC audience with a taste of your nation’s culture?
Wendy Jehlen:
We are from India and the US, by birth. However, this work, and all ANIKAI works, draws on influences and deep study of traditions from throughout the world. The subjects are also universal – dreaming, the space between waking and sleeping, relationship, love, fear. I believe that our work speaks to that culture of people who do not identify themselves with any one place, but rather with a global community.

Dianna Martin’s Question
Who is the greatest inspiration to you artistically?
Wendy Jehlen: It would be impossible to name just one person. We have both had so many influences and mentors. Much of this piece, believe it or not, was inspired by a few episodes of Radio Lab on NPR.

Geoffrey Paddy Johnson’s Question
What emerged as the greatest challenge during the development of this production?
Wendy Jehlen:Narrowing it down. The texts are so rich, as are the ideas we’ve been wrapping around them. It took us a while to settle into a structure, after which it flowed. I’m sure that we will make changes after this run, which is the premiere. After that we’ll be taking it to Boston, around India, and after that, who knows? The creative process is never over.

Antonio Minino’s Question
You’re in Times Square surrounded by the best Broadway houses and highest selling entertainment in the world. What resources are you utilizing to spread the word about your show and get butts in seats?
Wendy Jehlen: We’ve been using the Internet a lot, emails, Facebook, websites. It was listed in the Times under dance. I’m hoping that there will be curiosity about the breadth of influences and sources for the work, as was expressed in the Times listing. Also, this is a very intimate piece, and performing it for an intimate audience is perfect.
~~~

Related Posts:

• THM Sponsors The Times Square International Theatre Festival
• The Bardy Bunch – Keep On Singing And Dancing All Through The Night
• The Bardy Bunch: The War Of The Families Partridge And Brady (Fringe Festival 2011)
• Punk Grandpa: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• For Body And Light (2014 Frigid New York Festival)

Libby Skala in A Time to Dance photo by Damon Calderwood

A Time to Dance

written and performed by Libby Skala

The story of a pioneering Austrian who transcends poverty, artistic repression and the rise of Hitler through the magic of dance.

Show Times:

• Tuesday, 1/17 @ 6pm
• Friday, 1/20 @ 9pm
• Sunday, 1/22 @ 3pm

Answers by Libby Skala (Playwright, Director, Producer, Performer)

Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
This is an international festival. What part of the world are you coming from … and will your show tantalize the NYC audience with a taste of your nation’s culture?
Libby Skala: I’m first generation American, but my great aunt, in whose voice the play is written, came from Vienna, Austria. Through the narration of her life, the audience travels a fanciful journey through Vienna’s artistic, socio-economic and political environment during the early part of the 20th century, and then onto America where she built a new life.

Dianna Martin’s Question
Who is the greatest inspiration to you artistically?
Libby Skala: My grandmother. She was a huge aficionado of every form of artistic expression. She was an actress, architect, painter and poet who nurtured artistic expression in everyone she encountered. Not only did she encourage me, but she was a superb role model as the first woman architect in Austria and an Academy Award-nominated actress who worked well into her 90s.

Geoffrey Paddy Johnson’s Question
What emerged as the greatest challenge during the development of this production?
Libby Skala: Finding a structure for the piece under tremendous time constraint. The play was accepted into a festival before it was completed, and when no structure emerged, I tried to withdraw to no avail. I didn’t have time to bring a director on board because I’d been waiting first for the play structure. Opening night was a flop, but by the second performance out of sheer necessity, the structure was in place and the show flew.

Antonio Minino’s Question
You’re in Times Square surrounded by the best Broadway houses and highest selling entertainment in the world. What resources are you utilizing to spread the word about your show and get butts in seats?
Libby Skala: Email, Facebook, Twitter, postcards sent by snail mail, press releases to press, alumni networks, special interest groups, postcards dropped in key locations, word of mouth.

~~~

.

Related Posts:

• THM Sponsors The Times Square International Theatre Festival
• SEASONS (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)
• 1,934 Days: 4 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)
• Alita The Show: 4 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)
• The Knocking Within: 4 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)