For Body And Light is so ethereal that to try and describe it flows beyond the bounds of a normal review. It’s almost as if what is expressed cannot be caught – or recreated … or defined with enough fluency to properly convey the experience of this breathtakingly beautiful production from TRAVAIL ROUGE now playing as part of the 2014 Frigid New York Festival.

For Body And Light is directed and choreographed by Stéphanie Morin-Robert in collaboration with spoken word and music artist Ian Ferrier.  Together they have created a work so mesmerizing, so hypnotic, so trance-inducing that one hour with this talented group of performers will not only bring you the type of peace and calm that one usually seeks out in, perhaps, a yoga studio or a church  – or in other places of meditation — but it will also have filled you with a longing to stop your own world for a little while and just … be.  With phrases like ”Rosary of thought”  this performance is filled with prayer – not to a god, however, but to a state of consciousness.

For Body And Light is not plot based, but there is no denying the story: the rich sound design, the dulcet spoken words and the echoing movement all take you to a place that is drenched in waves, fog, and other forms of sea and tide and tide-pool and ocean.

Have you ever sat by the sea in silent contemplation?  The water – at once blank and vast – suddenly takes on subtleties and shadings which speak to you, inviting you to simply stay present in the moment.  And suddenly the repetition is no longer endless and monotonous but rather lively and versatile and filled with possibility, even as it repeats its ancient progression as it always has and always will.  This is what it is like to watch For Body And Light.

As Ferrier describes a world of stars, of torchlight, of “beauty and strangeness” with wondrous creatures and the water climbing over the edge we watch as incredibly graceful, lithe and limber bodies mimic the water, riding the waves, being the waves.  They are twisting and churning in a beautiful, tortuous undulating symmetry.

There is a moment in For Body And Light when the dancers move together on the ground like creatures who are bonded by something timeless and ancient and unspoken.   Saturated in both bright light as well as shadow, bodies roil and sway in an echo of the sounds of the surf which are played gently underneath the softly intoned words of Ferrier.  As he speaks of imaginative worlds which dwell in tide pools and the shapes that move within them, of the life that is both ancient and pristine, our own corporeal frames seem to become lighter, less “mine” more universal. Watching this show, you feel both at one with the performance as well as completely alone in your own solitude.

So much light your mind is almost purged of darkness …

We’re not meant to live without shadows

The source of light is a type of pail which swings from a long rope and is raised and lowered as the movement dictates.  Often it swings forcefully casting unpredictable, unexpected layers of shadow-play.  Sometimes it is beamed on the swaying bodies carefully, the way a silent midnight searcher would move their flashlight on the beach in the hopes of discovering something wonderful without disturbing it.   Choreographer Morin-Robert works this light expertly, part Kuroko, part ensemble performer.  She moves the light (as do other dancers) and so the beam becomes another character – moving, engaging with the swaying bodies, leaving some in shadow and burning others in a stark high beam.

The words are both philosophical as well as straight-forward: take this speech at face value or let the journey of light and movement and atmosphere allow the words to become a metaphor for your life.  However you take it, it remains breathtakingly beautiful.

Movement performed by: Alexia Martel, Linnea Gwiazda, Allison Burns, Marie-Pier Gilbert and Marie-France Jacques

~~~
For Body And Light
Company: TRAVAIL ROUGE

Directed and choreographed by: Stéphanie Morin-Robert
Spoken word and music: Ian Ferrier

Remaining Performances:

Mar 05, 5:30PM
Mar 06, 10:15PM
Mar 07, 7:05PM

Click HERE for tickets

Running time: 1 h 0 min
Price: $10.00 – $15.00
Seating: General Admission

The Kraine Theater
85 E. 4th Street
New York , New York 10003
2nd and 3rd Ave

Horse Trade Theater Group will present the 8th Annual FRIGID New York Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4^th Street between 2^nd Avenue and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1^st Avenue and Avenue A) February 19-March 9. Tickets are available for purchase in advance at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling 212-868-4444. 

Related Posts:

• For Body And Light: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2014 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Punk Grandpa: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Sheherizade: Why Ten Dancing Heads Are Better Than One (Fringe Festival 2012)
• 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)

Planet Connections Theatre Festivity is New York City’s premiere eco-friendly theatre festival, connecting artists and audiences with diverse dynamic charitable organizations.

The Planet Connections experience entertains, enlightens and informs.

The Happiest Medium (proud sponsors of The Planet Connections Festival), continues the Q&A which we’ll be running every day until the festival begins on June 3rd.  We’ll highlight 2 different shows each day, so make sure to come back and check daily!

Today Anne Jordanova, Antonio Miniño, Diánna Martin, Karen Tortora-Lee, Sarah V. Schweig and Stephen Tortora-Lee all ask one question each of Erin Jividen, writer of Down The Rabbit Hole: A One Woman Musical and Mark Jason Williams, writer of Recovery.  These two shows both deal with some very heavy topics in ways that strive to leave the audience uplifted.  Let’s take a look . . .

Down The Rabbit Hole: A One Woman Musical

answers by Erin Jividen

Here’s Antonio’s question -

If you would have to single out a quality between dialogue, plot or character, which one is the strongest in your play/piece, and why?

I would have to say dialogue, mainly because the play is written entirely in Def Jam Poetry, Spoken Word and Verse, and so it’s a very unique way to approach theater and converse with the audience- as if they were having a conversation right out of a Dr. Seuss Book.

Here’s Karen’s question -

What has been the most surprising or unexpected thing that’s happened during this play? Did that wind up taking the play in a new direction?

I once was performing a song from the show and in the back booth and circuit exploded and started a fire. I could see my stage manager running around with a fire extinguisher trying to put out the fire, all the meanwhile- I kept on going. Luckily we didn’t loose power, and the audience never knew that there was a fire in the back booth!

Here’s Anne’s question -

What do you think is the central theme and reason this play was conceived?

I wanted to talk about some of the hardships and struggles that I’d gone through in my life, and represent a wide range of women’s “voices” to be heard. It sort of was like my own “therapy”… I finally let it all out and told the truth. Since then, the truth has set me free.

Here’s Stephen’s Question -

Why should the audience (we) go to your play? What will the audience learn about the “human condition” by going to your play?

Down The Rabbit Hole deals very closely with several topics that are all about the human condition, and yet does so in a artistic, creative and unique way. Just a few of the topics addressed are: Survival, Society’s Judgment, Eating Disorders, Forgiveness, Child Abuse, Suicide, Molestation, Transgender topics, and sexual discovery.

Here’s Sarah’s Question -

What is your favorite line from the play?

“A woman alone with a rabbit, is just as good as a woman alone with a man!”

Here’s Diánna’s Question -

What about this play do you feel most drawn to personally, and because of that, what message do you hope the audience walks away with?

The entire play is very personal because I wrote it from my experiences in life, and more importantly, my heart. Each character I play dives into a social topic that I personally dealt with, and which also relates to all women of all ages. They walk away feeling like they’ve gone on a journey, have dealt with some demons, and yet, still feel like, “Happily Ever After” really does exist.

* * *

Recovery

answers by Mark Jason Williams

Here’s Antonio’s question -

If you would have to single out a quality between dialogue, plot or character, which one is the strongest in your play/piece, and why?

Dialogue. It’s sharp, witty, engaging and helps to keep the play light, even with a subject as heavy as leukemia.

Here’s Karen’s question -

What has been the most surprising or unexpected thing that’s happened during this play? Did that wind up taking the play in a new direction?

I wrote a character of a nurse, who had a very small part was in her 50′s. Then we ended up casting someone much younger, who brought a totally different perspective to the character, and I was so fascinated by the idea of being young, yet having gone through the same kind of experiences (marriage, surviving cancer before you turn 30) that I wrote a much bigger role.

Here’s Anne’s question -

What do you think is the central theme and reason this play was conceived?

The play was inspired by my childhood experiences as a leukemia patient, something which I hardly talk about, but has always remained in the subtext of my life. The central theme is it’s never too late to start living, especially when faced with an uncertain future.

Here’s Stephen’s Question -

Why should the audience (we) go to your play? What will the audience learn about the “human condition” by going to your play?

The play takes a hard topic, leukemia, and makes it human, and easy to relate to. It’s poignant and compelling, without being sappy, and explores the human capacity for love under the most challenging circumstances. It’s a play about life and death, and one that puts the human condition to the test. I hope the audience will learn that it’s possible to have a sickness and still maintain one’s identity.

Here’s Sarah’s Question -

What is your favorite line from the play?

“So we know the ending? Big deal. I’m more concerned with finding our beginning.”

Here’s Dianna’s Question -

What about this play do you feel most drawn to personally, and because of that, what message do you hope the audience walks away with?

I’m drawn to the notion of exploring the human capacity of love and survival under the most challenging circumstances, and want the audience to walk away thinking hope does spring eternal, even if the outcome doesn’t seem that way. As a leukemia survivor, I thought it was important to tell an honest story of people with leukemia who share adventure and fall in love, and live, while facing an uncertain future.

Related Posts:

• For Body And Light (2014 Frigid New York Festival)
• Acts Of Love (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• Acts Of Love – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• Eminem And His Road To “Recovery”