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.

~~~

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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.

~~~

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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)
• The Terrible Manpain Of Umberto MacDougal: The Total Package Of Manpain (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• JapJAP – Labels Schmabels (FRIGID New York 2011)
• Let’s Keep Dancing … At The Company XIV Workshop
• Death: It Happens – Still Daddy’s Girl (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

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: The War Of The Families Partridge And Brady (Fringe Festival 2011)
• Macbeth, Aquila Theatre; Macbeth, Epic Theatre Ensemble
• Let’s Keep Dancing … At The Company XIV Workshop
• LOL:The End – Beginning And End (2012 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
• 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)
• WOYZECK MUSICAL DEATHMETAL: 4 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)
• Sanctuary: 4 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)

Of all the things to be tempted with this holiday season, nothing is so tantalizing as Company XIV’s production of Snow White which lures audiences to 303 Bond Street with all the seduction of an evil queen extending a shiny, beautiful, apple in order to cast a magical spell.  One thing is certain – there is definitely something bewitching the spectators who walk in innocently and emerge 90 minutes later – filled to overflowing with images of exquisiteness and spectacle.  If that’s not magic, I don’t know what is.

The lights are hung, // The wires strung, // The sets are all painted and built
The make-up’s applied // And I’ll say it outright: // The gold you will see is just gilt.
The kingdom and forest is plastic and steel // But the dancing feet are real.

And so begins the narrator’s speech as Jeff Takacs (who, as with all of the Company XIV productions, is responsible for the adaptation of the work, and has written the script) welcomes the audience to Snow White, conceived, choreographed and directed by Austin McCormick. It’s the perfect way to begin a fairytale: with the truth — that all the dazzling bells and whistles which make this show shine are remarkable, but take it all away and you’d still have the amazing dancers, executing the superb steps created by McCormick.  However, between the whirling and the witchery is where the wonder lives.

I have long since left all expectations at the door when it comes to Company XIV and Austin McCormick; the only thing I can be sure of is that the show will be dazzling, delightful and richly textured in a perfect blend of media and styles.  And so it is with Snow White – which immediately beguiles the audience with a Gothic-inspired funeral scene sung beautifully by Lauren Michelle.  What follows is not just dancing but aerial silk, aerial hoop, acrobatics, and mixed media.

What I’ve come to love about McCormick (as a director) is that if a work of his is labeled “family friendly” it does not mean he has diluted his vision for the young ones; if anything, he challenges the wide-eyed tots in a way that invites them to appreciate a world of pure imagination – a world that hides nothing and therefore allows for everything.  Rather than stripping away elements so that children can grasp the story more fully, McCormick actually layers in more complexity so that a younger sensibility is served alongside that of the adults. I envy the children who are growing up with Company XIV as an example of what theatre can be; they are being given memories that will spark them to create amazing things on their own, rather than walk in the footsteps of what they see being churned out by Hollywood in order to sell more happy meals.

This Snow White hasn’t been altered much from the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale – there’s the death of the queen, mourned throughout the land, who leaves behind her sweet little girl with skin as white as snow, hair as black as ebony, and lips as red as roses.  There’s the evil stepmother who is so vain that she can’t go a day without demanding that her magic mirror confirm that she’s the fairest in the land.  There’s the inevitable moment when Snow White (Gracie White) grows into her beauty and outshines the Evil Queen (Laura Careless) prompting the queen to hatch all sorts of plots which include death by hunter (hunter fails), death by suffocating corset (untied by a raven), death by poisoned hair comb (pulled out by a fox) and finally the worst of all – the poisoned apple which sends Snow White into a deep sleep.  Later she is awakened by the charmingest of Princes with a kiss, the two marry and the Evil Queen gets her comeuppance.

Gracie White as Snow White, Ashley Handel and Laura Careless as The Evil Queen

What McCormick has done is changed the focus of the piece; while the title may be “Snow White” the best moments are given to McCormick’s muse and principal dancer, the fantastic Laura Careless, who clearly sinks her teeth into the role of the Evil Queen as deeply as Snow White sinks her teeth into the poisoned apple.  Careless’ full range of talents are on display in this production, not only does she dance through each scene with an awe-inspiring  fervor but she clearly displays a wonderful gift of accents and even humor.  Having watched Ms. Careless over the last few productions I was delighted to see this side emerge – while she never fails to amaze it was wonderful to see her in a role that had so many opportunities to showcase the campier side of her (seemingly limitless) talents.

Of course, leave it to McCormick to have the audience thrilling to the darker side of such an innocent tale.

Gracie White as Snow White (photo by Steven Schreiber)

For her part Gracie White as Snow White is lovely; she has all the charm of an innocent young maiden who seems to never learn that an evil queen is out to get her.  The aerial work she does on the hoop is delicate and elegant and she often seems to defy gravity as she is hoisted and held and dropped before being caught at just the precise moment, all while smiling peacefully.

Of course, there is no one element of the piece that could exist without the other; McCormick has hit on a formula that works and employs a team that does extraordinary things with lighting effects (Gina Scherr), video projections (Corey Tatarczuk) and repeating musical themes.  So talented are they that set designer Zane Pihlstrom even make it snow — beautiful glittering bursts of sparkling snow that flutter and disappear … just like this production soon will.  So get your tickets now and give yourself the best holiday present of all.

~~~

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Break dancing, waving, popping, locking, and expanding the very definition of hip-hop style, the dancers in Decadancetheatre’s When the Sky Breaks 3D weave a radiant and essential story, moving beyond narrative dance and into an abstract world where environment is infused, challenged, and released through the body.

When the Sky Breaks 3D is directed by Jennifer Weber and choreographed and performed by The Deca Crew: Megan “Megz” Alfonso, Ann-sylvia Clark, Lucile “Frak” Graciano, Taeko Koji, Casandra “Defy” Rivera, and Adaku Utah.

The performance is set in an urban landscape with 3D visuals by Holly Daggers, reflecting city streets, buildings, and fences, transforming and morphing the physical environment by the elements and the rising and setting sun.  DJ Boo keeps the beat and the energy high, creating a musical immersion into the world when the sky breaks.

The Deca Crew is a force of talent – One moment they float, fluid as water, moving as ethereal poems. The next, they hit the ground, fearless and strong, determined to feel absolute gravity. Their love of movement and of dance is infectious. The audience was completely spellbound by their abilities and their powerful individual and collective work.

Wearing b-boy style street clothes (jeans, sneakers, button down shirts), this all-female crew plays against the stereotype of women in hip-hop, blurring the divide between men and women, redefining gender and image in dance, and breaking past these rapidly changing constructs.

The Deca Crew celebrates diversity as well as individuality. These women are powerful, strong, and beautiful. They are not hiding nor exploiting their femaleness – they are simply evoking a strong sense of self, of personhood. They are speaking through the body in its most essential places, and the entire experience was exciting, provocative, and moving.

It is difficult to relate the experience of being in the audience during this show. When the Sky Breaks 3D is a story told through dance, through the movement of body. I felt the story – images, impressions, emotions – much more than I could ever put into words. Dance is a medium of Art inherently difficult to express through written language because it is so rooted in the language of the body.

Yet, I understood the story. I felt the struggle and the liberation in the expanse of life itself. I felt the confines of environment and our internal and external worlds, and the need for connection and community. I felt the opening up after so much struggle, the pure exhilaration and replenishment of our energies as we come together, manifest dreams, and wake up to the experience of being truly alive.

The choreography of When the Sky Breaks 3D is nothing short of amazing. Several scenes stand out in my mind – one in particular is a scene where the dancers are fighting. At first two, then four, in a syncopated expression of movement; they struggle against each other, and ultimately themselves. The movements are strong and forceful, falling and rising, breaking apart and coming together – mirroring so many different struggles within our lives. The audience held its breath until the final resolution, as the dancers stood in unity together under the threatening sky.

There were so many beautiful and visceral moments; this show felt like a journey. At the end, the audience was on its feet with thunderous applause, feeling the energy and power of the performance; whistling, clapping, and cheering as each dancer moved to the forefront, moved to express such gratitude for the experience, for the individual and collective talents of The Deca Crew, and for this stunning work of Art.

There is one more chance for you to see When the Sky Breaks 3D as part of the New York International Fringe Festival: August 26 at 9:15 PM at Venue #5, the beautiful Dixon Place.

+++++++

~~~

When the Sky Breaks 3D

Choreographed/Performed by * Megan “Megz” Alfonso *  Ann-sylvia Clark *  Lucile “Frak” Graciano *  Taeko Koji *  Casandra “Defy” Rivera *  Adaku Utah

www.decadancetheatre.com
Director: Jennifer Weber
Choreographer: Decadancetheatre

1h 0m
VENUE #5: Dixon Place
Fri 26 @ 9:15

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Meet Anna.  In Anna & The Annadroids: Memoirs of a Robot Girl - an  interesting combination of modern dance, techno music, social commentary, science fiction, multimedia, and a bit of burlesque – Anna  is an android who is made of  ”pure synthetic organic flesh”.  So instead of being made only of metal with a “mind full of microchips” she’s got a heart filled with “…love…passion…confusion…pure sexuality”.  The dancing and aerial acrobatics of Anna Sullivan (Anna), are accompanied with ambient, driving techno beats created by various artists which she performs while wearing beautiful costumes created by Elizabeth Harzoff.  The acrobatics seem to correspond to times of dreams (whether regular or daydreams) as something seems to be making her concentrate on something other than reality.

The rest of Anna’s real life, including two other characters (the Doctor and Nurse) are represented by projected comic/graphic novel style drawings (expertly done by Natalya Kolosowsky and Grace Passerotti) and robotic sounding voices which lie in striking contrast to Anna’s very “human” sounding voice which we hear in the interludes between dances.

Coming of age for an organic robot with an increased capacity to dream can be quicker than expected, and can sometimes be dealt with cruelly.  During her few days portrayed in this show we see her cope with basic emotions of belonging and we watch her struggle with working in an ad business which requires her to “feel” what she doesn’t feel in order to sell products.  She can’t possibly live that type of lifestyle as she is an android living by herself most of the time.  It seems the main conflicts arise from the Doctor who created her.   (Or, more to the point, switched her on, as it is inferred that Anna is just one of the Annadroid models in a long android line).  He assumes she will think the way he thinks because he programmed her a certain way.  The sensual components seem to be a drawback for the owners of Amerifluff (the fictional company which created Anna), but are a great pro for us, the audience, because it powers Anna’s dancing … which is her way of exploring her struggle to understand what it means to be “human” even if it is only in her synthetically created way.

An Annadroid being born

Lighting  is very important in this show – whether a spotlight following Anna as she dances (or is in the air), or the subtle colors that complement the video projects on the screen,  lighting designer Michelle Marcus does an exceptional job at blending it all in.  There are a few art video components of the show (Plastic Pleasures, Touchy Buttons, and Love Dream were all done by James Tyler) which are high quality and deal with the  issues of consumerism as well as illustrate the emptiness of many modern relationships due to technology.  These videos help advance the plot along as we realize that Anna the Annadroid is becoming more and more discontent with the commercial culture in which she has become enmeshed via her creation.  It’s torturing her,  due to the emotions hardwired into her circuitry – ironically added to make her better connect with customers.

And she dreams … because it is so much more real than real life.  Eventually (2 days after her creation) she wanders into a club and leaves a “hot mess”.  This creates bad publicity for Amerifluff so it is decided to put Anna in the Annadroid dungeon for a bit.  Later she will be reprogrammed without the emotional capabilities she was originally bestowed because they only lead to “inefficiency”.

Annadroid in dungeon

There is then a very touching scene near the end called Rewind-A-Spine that documents Anna restitching her personality to deal with the madness that is the Annadroid dungeon but also represents the brief pieces of Humanity she has interacted with.  Much of the musical accompaniment is driving yet almost trance inducing techno by many artist including: David Morneu, Anna Sullivan, Jennifer Agnew, (and additional audio and sound design by Allen Dicenzo).

All in all it is well worth seeing if you like android fiction, thoughtful burlesque or simply beautiful modern dance.  Only a few more shows left to explore Anna live in New York, before she only becomes a virtual presence on the internet via the Amerifluff site.

~~~

Anna & The Annadroids: Memoirs of a Robot Girl
Writer: Anna Sullivan; Music, Forest Christenson and David Morneau; Illustrations Grace Passerotti and Natalya Kolosowsky; Videos, Brent Haley and James Pryor
Director: Anna Sullivan
Choreographer: Anna Sullivan

0h 45m

www.amerifluff.com/memoirs.html
VENUE #5: Dixon Place
Sun 21 @ 8:15 Mon 22 @ 5:30

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Yes, we may have Fringe on the brain, but that doesn’t mean that other things aren’t going on this weekend.  And, quite fittingly one of those other things is something called The OTHERS Project.  Paul Bedard, co artistic director for Theater in Asylum, took a moment to chat with me about a very exciting evening of theater, music, dance, poetry and drinks that will be going on this Sunday night.   Read on as Paul explains their particular definition of “asylum”, how they’re using their themes, and what their version of Frankenstein will look like …

Theater in Asylum’s mission is to “suspends beliefs and moralities through visceral, emotional and thrilling dance-theater to rigorously investigate our world and to believe again more wholly”. Tell me more about the work Theater in Asylum has been doing to showcase this mission.

Paul Bedard: THEATER IN ASYLUM’s name came from its first piece, NIJINSKY IN ASYLUM. We have been obsessed for a while with the idea of asylum not as a place for the crazy but as a sanctuary for the volatile (politically, morally and ethically). We try to pick characters or ideas that would benefit from the temporary suspension of the rules and of our preconceptions. We then try to unpack the origins of those rules and preconceptions surrounding the subject. We have offered this theatrical asylum to Vaslav Nijinsky, Poe’s “Me” in Annabel Lee, Lucia Joyce, and now “the other” with The OTHERS Project. This November we tackle our biggest task yet by offering asylum to Victor Frankenstein and his Creature. For each performance, we hope audiences will suspend their beliefs upon entering, engage in a visceral investigation, and experience a transformation or affirmation of those beliefs upon leaving.

The OTHERS Project is happening on Sunday night. I love the fact that the audience can mingle with the artists. Tell me about this up-close-and-personal approach.

The OTHERS Project is our second cabaret-style event we are holding at New York Theater Workshop, following April’s The DEATH / MEMORY Project. For each event we have invited artists to create short works to bring to event and to complicate the events overall theme. April’s theme was time as it relates to memory at one end of the spectrum and death at the other. The order of the night was constructed to create as many contradictions and complications as possible in the discussion around this theme. Breaks between each performance offer audiences the chance to engage with each other and with the artists on night’s theme. The OTHERS Project will investigate the idea of “the other,” both how “the other” is identified and separated. We again follow a cabaret structure with breaks to spur conversation and debate.

What other wonderful things can we expect down the road from Theater in Asylum?

This September THEATER IN ASYLUM will travel to Connecticut to teach a devised-theater intensive to 7-12th graders, hoping to theatrically empower them with a form of theater new to them. Then, this November, THEATER IN ASYLUM’s FRANKENSTEIN comes to life at NYC’s Looking Glass Theatre. Our modern retelling of Mary Shelley’s classic once again asks: At what point is your creation alive? What responsibility do you have to your creations? What will happen if you abort your creations? FRANKENSTEIN will feature aspects of traditional theater, dance, media and a chilling warning to humanity’s future.

Paul, that sounds terrific!  Thanks so much for giving us a glimpse into Theater in Asylum and what you’ll be offering on Sunday night.   I can’t wait to see more of the work you’ll be doing … and to check in again with you later this year.

~~~

For more information on this Sunday’s event please click here for ticket info.

All seating is general admission, first come first serve. Standing room available.

Complimentary wine all night with $15 donation

Special Reserved seat with $25 donation

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