Credit: Hunter Canning

Tonight marks the opening night of Target Margin Theater’s production of The Tempest at HERE Arts Center (through May 27; tickets $25), the final show in their 20th anniversary season. Directed by Artistic Director, David Herskovits, The Tempest is a reflection on the passage of time and theater- two beautifully intertwined themes, appropriate for this anniversary season. I had conversations with David Herskovits and Steve Rattazzi, who plays Prosporo, to discuss the journey. In speaking to why he was drawn to The Tempest, Herskovits reflected on the scale:

I was interested in the way that the play is small. I’ve done a lot of Shakespeare where I’ve loved the sweep of it and there is sweep in this play too, but for some reason working in this physically contained way was exciting to me. It’s one of the few plays at the end of Shakespeare’s career that was written particularly for indoor chambers at court, as opposed to outdoor productions in the midday sun. I’m not doing an archaeological production, but that is all inspiration. In a way it’s also a big production for us. It’s more expensive than any other production we’ve done so it feels like a big deal, but artistically there’s something about the frame of it being very intimate that is wonderful for me.

With every production Target Margin reinvents itself. For example, the last Target Margin show I saw was Second Language, a devised piece about the limitations of language performed by Target Margin company members and ESL students at LaGuardia Community College at the Chocolate Factory in Long Island City. The creative through line consists of creating a unique language for each piece as Herskovits is interested in “developing multiple artistic impulses at the same time and challenging the actors to create a performance style that is particular to the project and different from past work.” Steve Ratazzi, who has worked with Target Margin for the past twenty years and was in its first production, Titus Andronicus, spoke about the process of creating a performance language for The Tempest, which was something completely new based on something old.

It’s based on ballet and old declamatory styles of theatrical presentation, but it isn’t those things. It’s a quirky thing. David wanted it so that at any moment you could look at it and it would be a beautiful painting/composition, but he didn’t want to choreograph each move. We created our own movement, interesting body positions informed and inspired loosely on paintings and sculpture we saw at the museum. We developed a movement style to interact in this new movement universe without too much self-consciousness.

I found the company’s ongoing reinvention and flexibility reminiscent of some reflections Rattazzi had of Prospero’s journey in the play:

It’s partially thrust upon him the events of his day, both astrologically and the fact that his enemies show up on the shore of this island. The issue of forgiveness is huge. It makes me think of the Rilke poem The Archaic Torso of Apollo, a beautiful poem that it ends with, “You must change your life.” That always stuck with me- the difficulty of forgiveness and the Herculean nature of that gesture to change your life.

The dialectic between the grandiose and intimate of this undertaking struck me as well as the culmination of the passage of time, change, forgiveness, beauty, and how “theater is life writ large,” in the words of Herskovits. As I waited to speak with him, in between tech and the first preview performance, I popped into the theater where crew members were making final tweaks to the intimate magic box set. David Birn, a set designer who specializes in old theaters and theatrical machinery, designed a set modeled after a 17th century theater with lots of visible machinations to create hand-crafted magic in plain sight. Herskovits came in from the rainy day having just picked up coffee for the crew after running an errand for his costume designer, Carol Bailey. We staked out a momentarily quiet, empty dressing room for our conversation, during which TMT company members would pop in and out as their call time approached. There was a wonderfully frenetic energy all around in anticipation of the first public performance. “I’m always conscious of the reality of the theatrical event. The making of the play is always the material of the play.” In this world, the magic is visible, not illusory.

To end the piece and start the week, I leave you with the poem that Rattazzi referenced:

Archaic Torso of Apollo
by Rainer Maria Rilke
translated by Stephen Mitchell

We cannot know his legendary head
with eyes like ripening fruit. And yet his torso
is still suffused with brilliance from inside,
like a lamp, in which his gaze, now turned to low;

gleams in all its power. Otherwise
the curved breast could not dazzle you so, nor could
a smile run through the placid hips and thighs
to that dark center where procreation flared.

Otherwise this stone would seem defaced
beneath the translucent cascade of the shoulders
and would not glisten like a wild beast’s fur:

would not, from all the borders of itself,
burst like a star: for here there is no place
that does not see you. You must change your life.

Credit: Hunter Canning

The Tempest
Directed by David  Herskovits
Set Design: David  Birn
Costume Design: Carol  Bailey
Lighting Design: Lenore  Doxsee
Sound Design: Kate  Marvin
Music Supervision: Thomas  Cabaniss
Music Direction: David  Rosenmeyer
Production Stage Manager: Joseph Fletcher.

Featuring: Clare  Barron as Miranda,  Purva  Bedi as  Sebastian,  James  Tigger!  Ferguson as  Antonio,  Yehuda  Hyman as  Gonzalo, Mia  Katigbak as  King  Alonso,  Meg  MacCary as  Stephano,  Nana  Mensah as  Ariel,  Mary Neufeld as  Caliban,  Hubert  Point­Du  Jour as  Ferdinand,  Steven  Rattazzi as  Prospero,  and J.H. Smith III as Trinculo.

Mondays,  Wednesdays -  Saturdays  at  8:30  p.m.,  and  Sundays at  4:00  p.m.    Dark  on  Tuesdays.  Tickets  are $20  for  performances  May  4  ­8,  &  $25  for  all  remaining  performances,  and  may  be  purchased  at  www.here.org,    or  by  calling  TheaterMania  at  (212)  352­3101.

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Here’s some shots from tonight’s gala dinner for Soho Rep at The Park in Manhattan. Andy will have the recap in a bit.

Edward Norton

Steve Buscemi

Edward Albee & Marian Seldes

More after the jump! Continue Reading

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Seis actores nacidos en la década del setenta y principios del ochenta reconstruyen la juventud de sus padres a partir de fotos, cartas, cintas, ropa usada, relatos, recuerdos borrados. ¿Quiénes eran mis padres cuando yo nací? ¿Cómo era la Argentina cuando yo no sabía hablar? ¿Cuántas versiones existen sobre lo que pasó cuando yo aún no existía o era tan chico que ni recuerdo? Cada actor hace una remake de escenas del pasado para entender algo del futuro. Como dobles de riesgo de sus padres, los hijos se ponen su ropa y tratan de representar su historia familiar. Carla reconstruye las versiones sobre la muerte de su padre que era guerrillero del ERP. Vanina vuelve a mirar sus fotos de infancia tratando de entender qué hacía su padre como oficial de inteligencia. Blas se pone la sotana de su padre cura para representar la vida en el seminario. Mariano vuelve a escuchar las cintas que dejó su padre cuando era periodista automovilístico y militaba en la Juventud Peronista. Pablo revive la vida de su padre como empleado de un banco intervenido por militares. Liza actúa las circunstancias en que sus padres se exiliaron de Argentina. Mi vida después transita en los bordes entre lo real y la ficción, el encuentro entre dos generaciones, la remake como forma de revivir el pasado y modificar el futuro, el cruce entre la historia del país y la historia privada. * Mi vida después fue escrita a partir de material original y con la colaboración de los actores. ** La música fue compuesta con la colaboración de Liza Casullo y Lola Arias.

Lola Arias (Buenos Aires, 1976) Escritora, directora de teatro, actriz y música. Fundó la Compañía Postnuclear, un colectivo interdisciplinario de artistas con el que desarrolla diversos proyectos de teatro, literatura, música y artes visuales. En teatro escribió y dirigió: La escuálida familia, Estudios de la memoria amorosa, Poses para dormir y la trilogía: Striptease, Sueño con revólver y El amor es un francotirador. En colaboración con el artista suizo Stefan Kaegi, dirigió Chácara Paraíso (una instalación biográfica con policías brasileños) y Airport kids ( un proyecto sobre niños internacionales en suiza). Además, junto con Ulises Conti, compone música y grabó el disco El amor es un francotirador (sello metamúsica). Publicó: Las impúdicas en el paraíso (poesía, Ed.Tsé-Tsé), La escuálida familia (teatro, Ed. Libros del Rojas), Mi nombre cuando yo ya no exista (teatro, Ed. Cierto Pez, Chile), Poses para dormir ( Antología dramaturgias, Ed. Entropía), la trilogía Striptease, Sueño con revólver y El amor es un francotirador ( teatro, Ed. Entropía) y relatos en revistas. Sus textos fueron traducidos al inglés, francés y alemán, y representados en varios festivales internacionales. Entre otros: Festival de Avignon, Steirischer Herbst Festival Graz, In Transit Festival Berlin, We are here Dublin, Spielart Festival Munich, Alkantara Festival Lisboa.

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Brian Feldman | Artistic Director

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I went to see TELEPHONE on Tuesday night with no idea what to expect. I knew that it was an adaptation of a 1989 book by Avital Ronell – I had a vague memory of reading an essay of hers in the magazine MONDO 2000 back in the early 90′s. I remember her being in some weird performance group and in my mind I kind of lumped her in with Kathy Acker and that whole world of impenetrable writing. I am a big fan of Ken Rus Schmoll’s, I’ve always enjoyed Gibson Frazier’s work – and that was about it. I was alternately puzzled, delighted, intrigued, bored, frustrated, fascinated and engaged. Overall it is not going to be everybody’s cup of tea, but it is extremely well done and Birgit Huppuch – who is new to me – delivers an amazing performance of one of the most daunting monologues I’ve ever encountered.

TELEPHONE is a fantastic show for sophisticated theater palates, probably less so for the casual audience member. The play reminds me of nothing so much as Beckett. The first part is this high-concept vaudeville two-hander (complete with footlights) between Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant, Watson.  The middle part is kind of like Lucky’s monologue in Godot. The third part is like the dark quiet psychological existential wasteland of many of Beckett’s shorter plays.

The first part is pretty accessible and entertaining, meditating on the implications of the telephone in a light but thoughtful way.  It is particularly relevant now as the internet is making us re-examine, yet again, the nature and signficance of physical presence, the fallibility of memory, the effects of mediation on experience and relationships, etc.

The second part, while delivered in a virtuoso performance by Birgit Huppuch (and I really can’t say that enough. She is really, totally, breath-takingly good), is nearly impenetrable.  I found myself struggling to find a way in, and finally just letting go and watching Birgit go through this startling array of emotions and thoughts.  Part of me wondered if this was, in some way, supposed to suggest an interior monologue of Alexander Graham Bell’s wife, Mabel Hubbard, who was deaf. Bell’s history with the deaf community is fraught and though many of his inventions were, initially, created to assist the deaf, in the end most of them ended up privileging the hearing. As a result the modern deaf community kind of has a special circle of hell reserved for Bell.  So I kind of imagined this monologue as a startling and difficult portrayal of internal chaos, but also a physicalized/vocalized expression of the alienation of the deaf from the hearing, of the Cassandra-esque dilemma of having vision & knowledge but never being fully understood. And, of course, the frustration of being in a romantic relationship with this intrinsic barrier.

The third part was my favorite part –   dark,  mysterious, intimate.  One had a feeling of omniscience, of being a secret listener on the fiber-optic telephone highway, a random stream of intimacy, loss, love, absence and the struggle to connect. It was haunting and beautiful and moving.

Um. So. Yeah. Like I said – not for everyone but if you’re up for a really amazing, challenging, intriguing and ultimately rewarding theatrical experience, go to the Cherry Lane and check out TELEPHONE.

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Maybe that was it!? Maybe that’s what I was doing on Monday, February 2nd?!

One way or another, Little Theatre is always a good time!

Now at the NEW Dixon Place!!! With twice as much betterness!

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Little Theatre, Vol IX, No. 3 – February, 2009

SEXPERT BETSY BIXBY WHEAT

a performance by Kate Valentine

CONGERIES I

music by Matthew Ostrowski

WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME

a performance by Heidi Schreck

MGM GRAND

dance

RAMRODS OF THE ROARING NOUGHTS

a play by Gary Winter, directed by Alec Duffy

with Sarah Petersiel, Matthew Lewis, Arthur Aulisi, B. Brian Argotsinger and Loren Fenton

and live music by Dave Malloy

Monday, February 2, 2009 at 8:00 pm

The NEW Dixon Place

161 Chrystie btw. Delancey & Rivington

(F/V 2nd Ave; R/W Prince; 6 Bleecker, JMZ Bowery)

Tickets $15 @ the door or ;online

$12.00 w/ printout of this email

first come, first served, no reservations

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If you haven’t been out to Montclair’s PEAK PERFORMANCES series yet (shame on you!) but if you haven’t, this is a good reason to go. Auteur and Provocateur Jan Fabre is bringing the world premiere of his new work ORGY OF TOLERANCE.

It is surprisingly easy to get out to Montclair, the tickets are affordable, the theater space is fantastic and the programming is exciting and cutting-edge. 

I’ve been hearing a lot of good early word for this piece – go check it out!

Orgy of Tolerance

Jan Fabre

Troubleyn (Belgium)

Concept, direction, choreography and scenography: Jan Fabre

Dramaturgy: Miet Martens

Music, lyrics: Dag Taeldeman

Jan. 22nd & 23rd • 7:30PM

Jan. 24th • 8:00PM

Jan. 25th • 3:00PM

Alexander Kasser Theater

Jan Fabre returns to Peak Performances @ Montclair with a brand new work! Two years ago on the Alexander Kasser Theater stage, Fabre presented two premieres that received critical acclaim: Je Suis Sang and Quando L’Uomo Principale e Una Donna (based on the provocative work of Yves Klein where a single dancer goes from being male to female before your very eyes!). 

 

Reacting to the alarming growth of neo-fascism worldwide and particularly in Europe, Belgian artist Jan Fabre takes a provocative stand with his newest work: Orgy of Tolerance. With the numbing realization that he lives in an age of normalcy and neo-fascists – where nothing is forbidden anymore – his navel is knotted with the extremism of tolerance and like Monty Python, his new show pricks the bubble of instant gratification. 

 

Not suitable for children under 18 years of age. Please note that this performance contains nudity, profanity and adult subject matters.

 

“Truly surprising provocative imagery.”

- The New York Times

 

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Rumors abound – I’ve gotten at least three emails/facebook messages that the Ohio is closing. what I hear is that the space was sold out from under them and as of the end of the year its done. though i’ve also heard that shows booked there through Feb. might be alright. everyone else is scrambling to find new homes.  

What do you know? Info please!!

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If you want to see an amazing and inspiring exhibit, head up to the Jewish Museum for Chagall and the Artists of the Russian Jewish Theater 1919-1949. From their website:

In the new-found artistic freedom of the years following the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, Jewish theaters such as Habima and the Moscow State Yiddish Theater (acronym, GOSET) became a catalyst for modernist experimentation, revolutionizing existing concepts of theater and scene design. Habima performed in Hebrew and its productions of Jewish mythical and folkloric plays were noted for their rich visual effects and their emotional intensity. GOSET, which performed in Yiddish, created daring productions of Yiddish dramas that enthralled audiences with a new expressionistic style of acting. Both groups embraced visual artists who created stage and costume designs combining Russian folk art elements with stylistic vocabularies of cubo-futurism and constructivism. This unusual combination of populist and high art sensibilities became extremely popular, attracting large audiences of both Jews and non-Jews and garnering international critical praise.

It is a peek into a fascinating moment in world history and art, the intersection of tradition and futurism, of looking to the past to envision the future… even though we know how it ended, the work is still striking in its audacity and experimentation. Plus, the art on display is in great shape; from what I understand some of it was only recently discovered and has never before been outside of Russia.

[update: read the review in the NY TIMES]

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Screen Test is director and visual artist Rob Roth’s latest multi-disciplinary work, currently on show at the Lower East Side’s Abrons Art Center. The piece is a one-hour long eerie, haunting, and sometimes tickling performance that takes place in the nightmarish apocalyptic setting of a post-nuclear-holocaust scenario. It’s hard to describe exactly what happens during this concentrated hour: the star of the show is Theo Kogan, founder of the rock band Theo and the Skyscrapers. Kogan plays at once a composite of genteel divas from 1950’s Hollywood (Marlyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor are evoked in her performance and in the projections on her white dress), and a loud and screaming punk rock singer backed by a guitarist, a drummer, a bass player, and even a cello player.

Unfortunately, and probably because English is my second language, I often had a hard time understanding the lyrics of Kogan’s songs. It is particularly unfortunate as the lyrics make up most of the text in the piece (apart from the disturbing and demanding requests made by the off stage voices of the presumed directors of Kogan’s performance who remind her that she really needs to “nail it” in order for the show to “sell”). In a particularly touching scene, however, I was able to follow Kogan’s words. After the “generators” fail and Kogan is lit by her crew holding up flashlights, her singing slows down, becomes more intelligible, and we hear her sing: “no one speaks of what is worse, to bleed or turn to stone. I’d rather fade away”.

The show brings up images of nuclear explosions and radiation exposure, combined with shots of Marilyn Monroe and other acting female icons from the 1950′s. Screen Test is as much about the damage of a hypothetical nuclear holocaust as it is about the pressure to perform and entertain. Is a film being made? A music video? What about the suffering and pain surrounding the show’s star? As the directors speak of “takes”, we are left baffled by the priorities in this apocalyptic world. The moments of staged rage and general craze are some of the least appealing in the performance: the volume of the music is not loud enough to be as powerful as it wants to be, and the performers’ bodies are too in control to give off the energy of actual distress. The piece is most successful when the layering of sound, projections and live acting creates images and moods otherwise impossible to achieve. The screens behind the performers are placed at an angle, so that the projections seem to mirror each other and produce an organic-like symmetry that makes the images look alive, and the bodies of the performers are often used as screens in themselves. It was particularly striking when the naked torso of a skinny man wearing a gas mask was projected with glowing rib-like shapes, changing him into a pulsing insect-like creature filled with light.

Overall, the haunting atmosphere created in Screen Test perfectly fits the mood of this Halloween weekend (it will only play through November 2, with an extra performance on Friday night at 10pm). It feels like the large cast for the piece greatly enjoys spooking their audience, the performers looking as gruesome and pale as they can master. The music in the piece is fun and the Butoh inspired choreography is a great match to the apocalyptic setting. This short and well-timed performance is visually powerful and brings together genres that speak with each other in disturbing harmony. Leaving the theater last night I felt strangely uplifted, this vision of horror, pain and confusion so theatrical as to continuously reassure me of its artificiality, while the poetry of its images and sounds lingered with me through the rest of the evening.

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