Little Lady featuring Sandrine Lafond (Photo credit Paolo A. Santos)

I can’t remember, before this show, the last time I saw an adult person unhesitatingly put their whole big toe in their mouth and suck on it with a sense of blissful satisfaction. You can marvel at the flexibility of such a feat even as you cavil at the notion of exactly how clean, now, was that toe before it went in to that mouth. This combination of awe and uncomfortable personal fastidiousness is what Sandrine Lafond, the performer and creator of Little Lady, is happy to promote. She wants to hold you in a spell of fascination as she pricks away at your comfort levels, never allowing you to lapse into a passive, carefree enjoyment of her performance. Perhaps it’s her butoh training at work, or perhaps she’s artfully channelling a sense of anger stemming from her experience as a female performer. Either way she has devised in this one woman piece a highly individual performance of peculiar distinction.

We first meet the Little Lady of the title, as lights come up on stage, in a kneeling position, head down, derriere aloft, face averted, apparently sleeping comfortably. After some don’t-try-this-at-home wakeful stretching exercises, she turns to us revealing an alarmingly wide-open pair of eyes behind buffoonish spectacles and a broad, guileless smile. But she is wearing some sort of head covering, has a stuffed, protruding stomach, and favors a cropped fur jacket that gives her a dowager’s hump. She appears a strange hybrid of Little Edie from the Maysles brothers’ Grey Gardens, and a kinkajou. Shortly she falls into the aforementioned luxurious morning toe suck. Is she human at all? The question seems even more apropos when she flourishes a two foot walking stick and stiffly, awkwardly rises to a posture that might be called a stand, staggering uncertainly on the balls of her feet, legs bent outward in spastic totter, emitting a sort of babyish gurgling laughter. Who she is and where she is are a mystery. There’s an animalistic unpredictability to her movements and a sort of leering carnal sensuality in her investigations; nostrils sniffing, tongue extended, she appears to appraise the male audience members in the front row. Her movements and gestures recognize no bodily decorum as she stirs up an air of possible social affront. In short, despite the open faced smile and stare, she’s a bit dangerous.

Lafond’s Little Lady is a creature of routine however, and we watch as she follows a pattern of behavior revolving around her rest, her meals, her television programs, and her bodily self enjoyment. Unseen by the audience, the television shows serve as clues to the passages in her life. Programs devoted to knitting, boxing, and warfare are relayed through the actresses enthusiastic and alarmed reactions. Physically her body undergoes a series of transformations, from the crooked, lurching movements of the opening sequence, through a grotesquely sexualized persona, to a more naturally moving, unencumbered personality. En route she seems to lose much of her animal self-satisfaction and confidence. Less bizarre and recognizably human by the conclusion, she is also clouded with uncertainty, newly timid. The final act is played out in a video clip showing the freshly formed Little Lady alone and lost in a desert landscape, buffeted by winds, scorched by the sun, pricked by thorns. Despite her predicament, and aided by a genteel parasol, she perseveres, eventually stumbling upon …

There’s a visual freshness in the presentation of all of this, both skillful and compelling. Lafond seems to be comically and ruefully evaluating her evolution as a performer, and as a woman. The formally confrontational manner in which she relates the tale partly gets in the way of making you care what becomes of her character, but she isn’t – thank goodness – asking for our sympathy here, merely our attention. Which she is quite adept at capturing, and manipulating. For all the apparent clowning there’s an evident performative maturity and poise at work. She’ll take you there alright, it’s just that, much like herself, you may end in mere bewilderment at where exactly you find yourself. Deferential nods are owed to director John Turner for following her all the way, videographer Paolo Santos for the atmospheric – dare one suggest Lynchian? – film footage, and make-up and costume artists, Elisabeth Lehoux and Nelly Rogerson, who contribute effectively in elaborating such a bizarre tale. Yves Frulla‘s musical accompaniment feels the most familiar part of the exercise and helps to frame the performance in a tradition of clowning which Lafond, happily and admirably, disposes of. Though not precisely a joyride, there’s enough surprises and  whoop-de-dooh to make it memorable. It’s a trip alright, oh yeah.

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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:

• Little Lady: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• The Flower Thief – A Bittersweet Bloom
• Christopher Marlowe’s Chloroform Dreams
• Starting Tonight! Frigid Hangovers Begin At The Kraine Theater
• The Rope In Your Hands: Katrina, In Their Own Words (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?

Little Lady featuring Sandrine Lafond (Photo credit Paolo A. Santos)

Little Lady

The transformation of Cirque Du Soleil performer and Celine Dion dancer to performer generated theater artist is mirrored in this dark, comic and at times grotesque fable about our modern obsession with image. The exquisite movement skills of Lafond juxtapose with the world of distortion and manipulation accentuating LITTLE LADY’s tormented and blissful metamorphosis.

Show Times:

• Thu 2/23 @ 6:30pm
• Sat 2/25 @ 2pm
• Tue 2/28 @ 9:30pm
• Thu 3/1 @ 11pm
• Sat 3/3 @ 5pm
• Sun 3/4 @ 12:30pm

Answers by Sandrine Lafond
(Creator and performer)

Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Sandrine: It was last summer, I was on Manitoulin Island in North Ontario. I was working on two different characters and I needed a name to make sure I wouldn’t mix them up. It was the first thing that came to my mind. The only reason I kept it is because people liked it right away, so they decided! The name of the character and the piece are the same as ,I wanted simplicity.

Diánna Martin’s Question
If you were going to invite five people, anyone from past and present, to see your FRIGID show – who would you invite and why?
Sandrine: I would invite my father, he died when I was 7 and I would love for him to see who I am. My first dance teacher who has passed away too. She was the first one who believed I could be a dancer. I would love for her to see she was right.

Antonio Minino’s Question
What is the biggest sacrifice you’ve ever made for your Art and was it worth it?
Sandrine: I am always traveling, living in my suitcases. I see my family and friends rarely. It is worth it as I am happy and I know I am an inspiration for them as I always go for my dreams.

Geoffrey Paddy Johnson’s Question
Was there any unexpected discovery made during the development of this production and, if so, can you share it?
Sandrine: The biggest discovery and surprise during this creation was to realize how much inspiration living in Las Vegas gave me. It is the seed of my show.

Michelle Augello-Page’s Question
What do you hope the audience receives from the experience of seeing this show?
Sandrine: I hope the audience will feel emotions because this is the only time that we feel we are really alive.

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH

THM Bonus Question – We’re serious this year!
In the THM virtual Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH which FRIGID Show do you take on? And what do you throw?
Sandrine: I don’t understand the last one, lost in translation, so do as you want.

Oh, Sandrine, Sandrine. Lost In Translation – the movie that launched ScarJo’s career.  Such fond memories.  But even cuter, you have no idea what Rock, Paper, Scissors is!  Oh – so glad you left it up to us.  We will choose wisely for you.  And we choose … SCISSORS.  Because you are always living out of suitcases and scissors come in handy when you are always on the road.

You’ve been challenged by Love In The Time Of Chlamydia (who took on everyone) and she threw ROCK.  So – in this case – you lost.  But don’t worry!  There are more chances to win!

Thanks Little Lady for participating in The Happiest Medium’s FRIGID New York Festival 2012 Q&A. And for playing our game! You’re officially SCISSORS in any and all challenges. You may win in the future, you may not – who knows! This is how it works in the crazy world of the Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH!

For the rest of you don’t forget to check out Little Lady!

Related Posts:

• Little Lady: Finding Her Way In The World (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• I’m Only Explaining This Once: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Fear Factor: Canine Edition – 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)
• Man Saved By Condiments: Some Time Alone To Ketchup (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)