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Diane Paulus
On Witness Uganda
The Shape She Makes
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Our 2013/14 Season has taken us from the halls of Congress in All the Way featuring Bryan Cranston, to the treetops of Sherwood Forest in The Heart of Robin Hood. The journey continues with two world premiere productions and an innovative dance piece. I am delighted to be directing Witness Uganda, a powerful new musical by Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews. Inspired by Griffin’s own experiences in Uganda, this DIANE PAULUS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR musical explores the challenges a young African American faces when he volunteers in Africa to make a difference through aid work. Each performance will include an “Act III” post-performance discussion with Matt and Griffin, members of the cast, or special guests who will discuss the themes of the show and their own research and work. For more information, please visit our website, and look further in this Guide to learn more about the creative process behind the production. In April, we bring you The Shape She Makes at OBERON, which is our second stage and a thriving incubator for emerging artists. Created by choreographer Susan Misner and playwright Jonathan Bernstein, this piece fuses theater and dance to explore the journey of a woman struggling to make sense of her childhood and relationships with her parents. Read on in this Guide to learn more about Susan and Jonathan’s collaborative process. In March, we present Final Cut, an explosive new dance theater piece created by acclaimed Russian choreographer Alla Sigalova. This three-day-only presentation at OBERON is a continuation of our longrunning artistic partnership with the Moscow Art Theater, and features the graduating acting class from the A.R.T. Institute. Flip the Guide over to learn about our final productions of the season, The Tempest and Twelfth Night. I look forward to seeing you at the theater!
Witness Uganda
WELCOME TO THE A.R.T.!
COVER PHOTO: MATT GOULD AND GRIFFIN MATTHEWS, PHOTO: ANDREA MOORE ARTS
A.R.T. BOARDS BOARD OF TRUSTEES Steve Johnson, Chairman Laurie Burt Paul Buttenwieser Kevin Cole Costin Mike Dreese Zita Ezpeleta Michael Feinstein Provost Alan M. Garber Lori Gross Ann Gund Sarah Hancock Jonathan Hulbert Alan K. Jones Fumi Matsumoto Thomas B. McGrath Rebecca Milikowsky Ward Mooney Robert Murchison Andrew Ory Diane Paulus William Russo
Mike Sheehan Diana Sorensen Lisbeth Tarlow Donald Ware BOARD OF ADVISORS
Candy Kosow Gold Barbara Wallace Grossman Horace H. Irvine II Ethan W. Lasser Dan Mathieu Travis McCready Karen Mueller Ellen Gordon Reeves Linda U. Sanger Maggie Seelig Dina Selkoe John A. Shane Michael Shinagel Sarasina Tuchen Alfred Wojciechowski Stephen H. Zinner, M.D.
Rachael Goldfarb, Co-Chair Ann Gund, Co-Chair Frances Shtull Adams Yuriko Jane Anton Robert Bowie, Jr. Philip Burling* Greg Carr Antonia Handler Chayes* Bernard Chiu *Emeriti Lizabeth Cohen Kathleen Connor FOUNDING DIRECTOR Rohit Deshpande Susan Edgman- Levitan Robert Brustein Jill Fopiano Erin Gilligan
TICKETS 617.547.8300 LOEB DRAMA CENTER 64 BRATTLE ST., CAMBRIDGE, MA OBERON 2 ARROW ST., CAMBRIDGE, MA
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americanrepertorytheater.org 2013/14 SEASON MATT GOULD AND GRIFFIN MATTHEWS PERFORM A CONCERT VERSION OF WITNESS UGANDA
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WITNESS UGANDA FEBRUARY 4, 2014 - MARCH 16, 2014 | LOEB DRAMA CENTER
By Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews | Directed by Diane Paulus Choreography by Darrell Grand Moultrie When Griffin, a young man from New York City, volunteers for a project in Uganda, he finds himself on a journey that will change his life forever. Inspired by a true story, this rousing new musical, staged by Tony Award-winning director and A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus, exposes the challenges confronted by American aid workers and the complex realities of trying to change the world. Witness Uganda was a recipient of the 2014 Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award and winner of the 2012 Richard Rodgers Award for Staged Readings, administered by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. With support from: Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Chair, Hunt Alternatives Fund
A STORY OF A GENERATION
A.R.T. Institute dramaturgy student Marissa L. Friedman interviews Witness Uganda creators Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews
PHOTO: GRETJENHELENE.COM
MARISSA L. FRIEDMAN: How did you start writing Witness Uganda? MATT GOULD: We were talking about needing money for our nonprofit, Uganda Project, and I said to Griffin, “Why don’t we write a musical about aid work?” And he said, “That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard!” A couple days later, we were still talking about how frustrating it can be to raise money. I recorded Griffin ranting, “It starts because it’s hard,” and began weaving it through music. The next morning I played it for him and something about it just worked. We decided to write a few songs and turn it into a kind of staged infomercial for
Uganda Project. We sold out two shows, but, after paying to rent the theater, we didn’t make any money. But people were crying. They were coming up to us saying, “This is my story. I love this!” So we began to think about it as a more formal theater piece, and then we were invited to Disney ASCAP [the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers] and were able to do a 25-minute performance one night and a 50-minute on the second. Word got around and it sold out. The show was a mess at that time, but we knew what the heart of it was: that people want to help. But sometimes they’re not sure how to do it, and sometimes they screw up. continued >
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GRIFFIN MATTHEWS: After the second performance, the composer Stephen Schwartz [Pippin, Wicked, Godspell] said to us, “Boys, this is a musical. Just figure out what story you want to tell.” And that was the night we knew we should start looking at it as a musical and not just an infomercial. Stephen was and is a champion for us and for other young writers in musical theater, which is a huge gift. MF: What was it like to win the 2012 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater?
“This is a story about our generation and the problems that plague our generation. Not just in this country, but also in other countries.”
MG: We came home from performing one of our two-man versions of the show and Griffin showed me this tiny little rejection-shaped envelope and asked, “What is the American Academy of Arts and Letters? I think we won something.” It said we won the Richard Rodgers Award. And it was signed, “Sincerely, Stephen Sondheim.” We were like, “This can’t be real!” We were given the award for a workshop production, and that experience gave us the space to clarify the story and to work with Diane Paulus and her team. MF: What does a musical offer as a vehicle for this story that another form might not? MG: Singing is crying. And musical theater is one of the most powerful, underappreciated, and underutilized art forms that we have. I think that this is a story about our generation and the problems that plague our generation. Not just in this country, but also in other countries. And the themes are cry-worthy. Griffin and I always talk about how being in the theater is like going to church or to synagogue or to mosque. It is meant to be a spiritual experience. Bringing a community together and hearing the cries of our generation in a common space is the experience we want to curate. The live form feels like the best way to do it. You have to get people in a room talking first. That’s what we hope this does. MF: This musical grapples with many issues, including sexuality, race, and religion; were they always represented in the text? GM: There are a lot of things in the script now that I didn’t want to talk about at first. Early drafts of the script did not include the character Griffin being gay. But marriage equality has pushed the gay agenda inside of the text. Five years ago there was no marriage equality—there was Massachusetts where it was ok, and that was it. I felt a kind of responsibility because we see a lot of white actors coming out of the closet and not as many black ones. And as a writer, I also felt like I wasn’t ever seeing myself on stage. Create something that you want to see! Otherwise, stop complaining!
W hear ant to mus the s ic from Visit o how? ur we bsite a
MATT GOULD AND GRIFFIN MATTHEWS
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PHOTO: COCO ECO MAGAZINE
nd wa to hea tch M r clips att an perfor d Grif m fin s elect americ songs anrep . ertory theate r.org
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MF: This past October you did a tour to schools and community groups in the Greater Boston area. How did that enhance your experience of the show?
LOWELL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WELCOME MATT AND GRIFFIN
PHOTOS: GRETJENHELENE.COM
MG: When I first lived in Mauritania, West Africa, as part of the Peace Corps, I thought the music there sounded crazy. It’s loud and didn’t make sense to my ears. But after a while, I started to love it. And you realize that there is a whole other structure to it. I opened up to those ideas and to understanding that those weird-sounding patterns seemed strange because they have a different structure than I was used to. They became a part of my DNA. Most of the Africans I know listen to everything now; they listen to Beyoncé as much as they listen to Baaba Maal. And we wanted to create a sound that walked the line between those things. Griffin can tell you how I walk around the house all the time making percussive clicking sounds with my teeth. I’m constantly making that music. I think it’s just a matter of going and collecting all those little pieces everywhere and finding a
WITNESS YOUR COMMUNITY
MG: I was thinking about this as we were sitting in St. Peter’s Church of Uganda in Waltham. We were living the dramaturgy of the piece right in that moment. This is the part of the show that is not about what happens on the stage. The performance itself has always been about the discussion that starts there and then gets taken out with the audience into the community. So, when a high school teacher is sending us Facebook messages saying, “You lit a fire under my students and they want to get involved,” and when we have local Ugandans saying to us, “I want to be a part of what you’re doing,” that is all part of the show.
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MF: The music in Witness Uganda is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. What were the musical influences, and how did you create this fusion of musical worlds?
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GM: The idea of the tour was to connect with community, which is what this show is about. It was a really humbling experience. Every performance was completely different, and they were all worth it. I really appreciated that there were a lot of brown kids and adults that we were able to share with. My way in to musical theater was through The Music Man—so I didn’t even know that brown people could exist in musical theater! I loved when we went to the West End House Boys and Girls Club and they cheered. It’s part of the mission, to go beyond the theater itself.
Witness Uganda
way to put them together.
Marissa L. Friedman is a second-year dramaturgy student at the A.R.T./Moscow Art Theater School Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University.
In the context of Witness Uganda, the act of “witnessing” is not a passive one. To witness your community is to discover how you can play a role in improving it. What social, political, or personal issues affect your neighborhood? Your city? Your world? Raise your voice alongside Griffin, Matt, and their thousands of supporters by sharing how you Witness Your Community. Through social media, post your idea or observation of community action by completing the sentence:
“I witness _____________”
For example: @americanrep I witness littering in my local playground. Let’s organize a weekend clean up! #WitnessUgandaART Posts, media, and projects catalyzed by Witness Your Community will be on display in the A.R.T. Lobby throughout the run of Witness Uganda.
#WitnessUgandaART @americanrep @witnessuganda
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“LET US NOT BURDEN OUR REMEMBRANCES WITH A HEAVINESS THAT’S GONE.” - SHAKESPEARE UNBURDEN YOURSELF. SOAK IT UP.
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DIANE PAULUS
A CATALYST FOR DISCOURSE
PHOTOS: CLAUDINE GOSSETT FOR ©DREW ALTIZER PHOTOGRAPHY
A.R.T. Institute dramaturgy student Christian Ronald interviews Witness Uganda director and A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus CHRISTIAN RONALD: What first drew you to this musical? DIANE PAULUS: Witness Uganda first landed on my desk when it was awarded the prestigious 2012 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater. I listened to the music, and I was knocked out by the score. It sounded like nothing I had ever heard before. Then I read the script, and it was like nothing I had ever read before— especially as far as musicals go. So it was really a combination of the power of the music and the subject of the story that hooked me. Then I remembered that when I had met with Stephen Schwartz to discuss Pippin he told me there was a musical about Uganda on the horizon that he thought would really interest me. Needless to say, it felt like fate. CR: The mission of the A.R.T. is to expand the boundaries of theater. How do you see Witness Uganda embodying that vision? DP: Working on Witness Uganda is about incubating a new American musical. Stretching the form and pushing the envelope of what we consider a musical to be is very much part of what it means to take on a show like Witness Uganda. It is about broaching new subject
matter and telling a story that you wouldn’t normally see told on the stage. The show serves as a catalyst for a larger conversation about the American impulse to help in the world—how complicated that is, but ultimately how important that is. When I program shows for the A.R.T., I am always thinking about how the work will reach beyond the stage. I knew that this show had enormous potential to inspire dialogue and debate on crucial subjects that need to be discussed. CR: Harvard is home to a wide array of academic departments and organizations related to international development and work in Africa. What has it been like creating a musical like Witness Uganda here in Cambridge? DP: Having an intellectual hotbed like Harvard at our fingertips allows the A.R.T. to collaborate with some of the world’s leading scholars. With Witness Uganda in particular, we’ve been able to draw upon a huge range of the University’s resources. Throughout the development process we have been privileged to collaborate with the Divinity School, Memorial Church, the Committee on African Studies, and the Kennedy School. We have also had the opportunity continued >
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“When we did our first workshop of this piece last year, there were so many young people who came up to me and said, ‘This is my story.’”
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to engage with Harvard undergraduates and student groups who have taken trips to Uganda and continue to do aid work there. CR: It is unusual for a musical to tackle such contemporary issues as Witness Uganda. What has it been like to work with material inspired by real events, and why do you think that audiences need to see Witness Uganda today? DP: It is so exciting to be working on a project that deals with the issues that we are facing in our increasingly complex global community. When we did our first workshop of this piece last year, there were so many young people who came up to me and said, “This is my story,” and they told me about similar experiences. There were also many people from the notfor-profit community who identified with the story. They understood how hard it is to run a non-profit and the challenges these organizations face on a daily basis all around the globe. I’m always interested in theater that DIANE PAULUS AND MATT GOULD IN feels like it’s speaking directly to the WITNESS UGANDA audience. Witness Uganda directly REHEARSAL addresses the challenges that individuals face today as they seek to make a real change in our increasingly complex and interconnected world. CR: You are known for assembling outstanding creative teams. Could you say a little bit about your process of collaboration on Witness Uganda? DP: Making a musical is a huge collaborative effort—it takes a village. The work can only begin when I have the right team at the table. In this case, the team that I’ve pulled together is a particularly exciting one. I’m thrilled to have Peter Nigrini as our projection designer—I’ve been familiar with his work for years. He created the projections for Here Lies Love, the musical based on the David Byrne and Fatboy Slim concept album. I was so impressed by his work that I immediately reached out to see if he would join us. We have Tom Pye, an internationally renowned set designer who has worked with incredible artists such as Deborah Warner, Fiona Shaw, and Simon McBurney at Complicite. Maruti Evans, whom I’ve known for years through his work with the designer Riccardo Hernandez, is our brilliant lighting designer. And of course there’s Darrell Grand Moultrie, a choreographer whose body of work spans the genres of concert dance and American musical theater. Darrell has also been to Africa, and the subject of the show really resonated with him. Designing the physical life of the show is always at the center of any production I do. The entire creative team has helped me to understand the dramaturgy of the piece through the world we are building together on the stage. CR: As an Artistic Director, you have said that you want the theatrical experience to exist before, during, and after each performance. How will this happen with Witness Uganda? DP: What is so exciting about this production is that the creators are in the show: Matt Gould plays in the band and Griffin Matthews plays himself. There are two acts in the musical, and we’re calling the post-show “Act III.” Act III is an opportunity at the end of the performance for Matt and Griffin and other members of the cast to speak directly with the audience—this includes asking questions and wrestling with the issues that arise throughout the show. Act III will also include curated conversations with experts from across Harvard’s campus and the Greater Boston community. Witness Uganda doesn’t end when the curtain goes down—it is at this moment when the real dialogue begins. Christian Ronald is a first-year dramaturgy student at the A.R.T./Moscow Art Theater School Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University.
PHOTO: KATI MITCHELL
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Witness Uganda DARRELL GRAND MOULTRIE
DANCING WITH DARRELL The movement of Witness Uganda
“The thing about being born in Harlem,” says choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie, “is that you have to dance. It’s a rite of passage.” As a young man, dancing was always an integral part of Moultrie’s life, a feature of everything from family gatherings to school assignments. “Harlem is like its own village—dance is a huge part of the culture. Socially, you always had to be able to move. And no one was ever afraid to express that. Historically, this is one of the traditions passed down to African Americans from Africa.” When watching Moultrie’s work, it is impossible to pigeonhole him into any one style. His eclectic influences range from musical theater and jazz, to opera, ballet, and modern dance. He takes inspiration from Alvin Ailey, Jerome Robbins, Sammy Davis, Jr., George Balanchine, and Gregory Hines—all artists who adapted traditional forms in order to create their own, unique modes of expression. “It’s people like Jerome Robbins,” Moultrie explains, “who crossed over and broke boundaries. He didn’t let people say, ‘Oh, you’re just a ballet choreographer.’ He said, ‘I’m going to do ballet, and I’m going to do Broadway, and I’m going to diversify in that sense.’” Moultrie’s amalgamation of dance techniques comes from a balance of intense study at New York’s LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts and the Juilliard School, as well as from direct observation of and engagement in the movement of life. “The native New Yorker is a rare gem in the arts,” he reflects. “You’re born an open palette, instantly exposed to the differences of others. You’re ready for whatever comes your way.” This openness to experience and expression is evident in his choreography. Moultrie has choreographed for numerous companies and institutions and has had more than 65 commissioned works in this country and abroad. He has also choreographed for commercials and Beyoncé’s “Mrs. Carter World Tour,” and collaborated with legendary hoofer Savion Glover. Coming from a world premiere at Juilliard, Moultrie is excited to be working on Witness Uganda and reconnecting with his musical theater roots. “When you work with Juilliard, you’re the boss. You choose the music and movement. The designers design to your vision. Working on a musical is really exciting because you get to collaborate and bring everyone’s visions to life.” In 2008, Moultrie went to South Africa to choreograph through a
program at Stanford University founded by a South African ballerina. An important element of this program was exposing South African students to choreographers of color. Moultrie was the first black ballet choreographer the students had ever worked with. “They were some of the hardest working students,” he remembers. “These kids wanted to know everything about ballet. They wanted to soak up everything we knew. It was very inspiring.” With some help, he obtained full scholarships for two students to train at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. One student excelled, while the other had a more challenging time adapting to new training in a foreign country. It took Moultrie time to realize that this was part of the journey of helping someone. “I learned that everything’s not going to pan out the way you want it to, or go perfectly. Just because you’re doing something good doesn’t mean you’re not going to be challenged.” This experience has greatly inspired Moultrie while working on Witness Uganda, which addresses the complexities of helping others. In preparation for this project, Moultrie has also been learning about tribal dances from the Luweero District, where parts of Witness Uganda take place. “I’m watching how they perform some of their traditions,” he explains, “how the boys move versus how the girls move, what they wear, and what parts of the body they use. When you go to different regions, you see the use of different body parts.” In describing the importance of dance as a means of expression, Moultrie reflects that “dance is a more immediate way of being able to feel something without being told what to feel. It’s very similar to music in how it connects people. Artistically, it’s the quickest way to find your own opinion. You can’t describe it. It’s something that you’re forced to feel.” Although Moultrie has traveled abroad and throughout the United States, he says that much of his knowledge, research, and inspiration still come from his hometown. “When you get on the train going downtown, you see everyone. Every race, shape, color, and fashion.” Being an observer of the different rhythms of life, absorbing everything into a beautiful synthesis, is the backbone of his artistry. Marissa L. Friedman is a second-year dramaturgy student at the A.R.T./Moscow Art Theater School Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University.
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By Marissa L. Friedman
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REGALITY BY DARRELL GRAND MOULTRIE
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2013/14 SEASON americanrepertorytheater.org JONATHAN BERNSTEIN (RIGHT) WORKS WITH SUSAN MISNER AND ACTOR MICHAEL BALDERRAMA IN A WORKSHOP FOR THE SHAPE SHE MAKES
THE SHAPE SHE MAKES APRIL 5, 2014 - APRIL 27, 2014 | OBERON
Conceived by Susan Misner and Jonathan Bernstein Choreographed by Susan Misner | Written and Directed by Jonathan Bernstein In this world premiere production, a precocious eleven-year-old seeks to understand what she’s inherited from her absent father and neglectful mother. This moving and heart-rending production uses a fusion of dance and theater to explore how the echoes of childhood relentlessly shape our lives.
PHYSICAL GEOMETRY
An introduction to the world of The Shape She Makes By Fiona Kyle
The Shape She Makes, co-conceived by Jonathan Bernstein and Susan Misner, combines dialogue and dance to reimagine narrative. It takes us from a nightclub to a schoolyard as we follow the stories of precocious, young Quincy and undervalued substitute schoolteacher Ms. Calvin. Quincy’s bright personality is coupled with a mathematical mind that perpetually investigates the world around her as she searches for clues about her absent father. Ms. Calvin, overweight and tethered to her aging mother, strives to accept herself while struggling to make a change in her life. Misner, also the choreographer of The Shape She Makes, began this play’s journey by asking, “Can people truly change?”
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Both Bernstein and Misner have been, as they say, “obsessed” with the structure of The Shape She Makes. Misner has woven the dance together with the dialogue that Bernstein has scripted. She believes that this piece “blurs the line between dance, abstracted dance, pedestrian movement, and storytelling.” The movement sequences include beautiful moments of modern dance as well as physical feats on the part of the ensemble. In The Shape She Makes, each movement is as necessary to the dance as it is to the plot. Misner says she learned this style from three influential choreographer-directors: Christopher Chadman, Rob Marshall, and Wayne Cilento. She first worked with Marshall
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“There are few boundaries in Misner and Bernstein’s collaboration. This openness flows into the rehearsal process. Every ensemble member’s ideas are experimented with and implemented as Misner and Bernstein see fit.”
on a production of A Chorus Line at the Westchester Broadway Theater after a decision to combine her dance training with her desire to act. Following that, she played the part of one of the dolls in Chadman’s 1992 Broadway production of Guys and Dolls. Misner subsequently sang and danced one of the cell-block murderesses in Marshall’s film adaptation of Chicago, and garnered a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in the film. She explains that the productions of Guys and Dolls, Chicago, and Cilento’s How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying incorporated dance in a way that helped tell the story. For her, a movement sequence has to be integral to the structure of a play or musical, and not merely a dance number for its own sake. Although Jonathan A.R.T. WORKSHOP OF THE SHAPE SHE MAKES Bernstein has directed at the Atlantic Theater Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and Williamstown Theatre Festival, among many other theaters, he considers himself primarily a writer now. He insists that each line and dance sequence be motivated by action; when faced with a sequence that is not furthering the plot, he is the first to cut or reshape it. Bernstein acts not only as writer and director, but also as another member of the ensemble; he firmly believes that there is no hierarchy in art. As director, he does not allow the word “no” in the rehearsal room. Each idea is weighed and considered thoroughly no matter where it originates. Bernstein allows each voice in the room to be heard, something that comes from his work as a teacher. He is the Artistic Director of the Performing Arts Project in North Carolina, a program which offers intensive training to high school and college students. He also teaches at New York University. The Shape She Makes began as a dance project about change that morphed into Misner’s exploration of creating new neural pathways and replacing one habit with another. Never one to rest on her laurels, Misner knew that she would not be satisfied with choreographing a ballet, and instead focused on characters and language. From there, she came up with the foundation of a story and asked Bernstein to work with her. The narrative that bounces back and forth between Quincy and Ms. Calvin has been achieved by improvisation of text and dance over years of collaborative work. There are few boundaries in Misner and Bernstein’s collaboration; choreographer and writer/director both give notes on the dance and the script. This openness flows into the rehearsal process. Every ensemble member’s ideas are experimented with and implemented as Misner and Bernstein see fit. During rehearsal, they value process over product, believing that it promotes greater creativity from the company as a whole. And they believe that the collaboration is not limited to the ensemble, but should also include the audience. Because every member of the creative team is actively participating, they also hope to achieve that level of involvement with each audience member. Can people change? Misner and Bernstein dare themselves, the ensemble, and the audience to search for the answer together. Fiona Kyle is a second-year dramaturgy student at the A.R.T./Moscow Art Theater School Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University.
A.R.T. WORKSHOP OF THE SHAPE SHE MAKES
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STUDENTS FROM THE MOSCOW ART THEATER SCHOOL IN FINAL CUT
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MARCH 5, 2014 - MARCH 7, 2014 | OBERON Directed and Choreographed by Alla Sigalova Featuring the A.R.T. Institute Class of 2014 Using only the languages of movement and music, this dance-theater piece is a reflection on the faith of humanity in times of war and destruction. A requiem for the dream of peace, this provocative production explores how we learn to love and hate one another, and how we survive in the most difficult of times. Staged by Alla Sigalova, a world-renowned choreographer, Head of the Movement Department at the Moscow Art Theater School, and a former judge on the Russian version of “Dancing with the Stars.” An A.R.T./Moscow Art Theater School Institute for Advanced Theater Training production.
BLOOD MEMORY By Robert Duffley
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What do children remember of their parents’ wars? More than we may think, argues Russian choreographer Alla Sigalova in Final Cut, a dance performance about the emotional legacy of conflict. Fusing modern dance with acting and music, the piece portrays a generation’s efforts to understand the battles of their forebears. First developed in 2011 with students of the Moscow Art Theater School, Final Cut grew out of rehearsal-room discussions about memories of war and their heredity. Sigalova and her students traced the destruction of freedoms—personal, political, and emotional— through historical conflicts to the present day. “Everyone at some point in their life experiences dramatic humiliation of some sort, and also some kind of limitation on their freedom,” she explains. “And I’m sure that experience is passed on through generations.”
To trace this passage of experience, and to develop a performance exploring these themes, students shared the letters and diaries of family members. To the Russian and Belorussian students, World War II and the Soviet-Afghan War had left the heaviest legacies. In their parents’ and grandparents’ stories of combat, imprisonment, and displacement, students saw the seeds of their families’—and their countries’—present circumstances. These stories, and the reflections they prompted, served as the basis for episodes in Final Cut. Now re-imagining the piece in Cambridge with secondyear students in the A.R.T.’s Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Sigalova hopes to add American perspectives to the mix. Dancing these stories from the past, Sigalova aims to prompt in audience members the same reflection she encourages in her
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students. By leading audiences “deep into the roots” where family and conflict merge, Sigalova hopes to stir the residual experiences passed from one era of war to another—as she puts it, “to awaken their blood memory.” In the context of current international conflicts, Sigalova feels this collective reflection is direly necessary. Sigalova is known for bridging disparate styles. Final Cut features the unique blend of genres which has served as her signature in performances across the globe. With degrees from both “Everyone at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. some point Petersburg and the Russian Academy in their life of Theater Arts in Moscow (where she earned a master’s degree in directing in experiences 1985), Sigalova has been working to fuse dramatic dance and traditional drama for her entire humiliation of professional life. After beginning her some sort, and career as a choreographer at the Satirikon Theatre, she has brought her dual set also some kind of skills to genre-defying original shows of limitation on which have toured internationally. their freedom. “I have developed my own language,” And I’m sure she says, citing a diverse range of that experience influences including choreographer Leonid Jakobson and actor/teacher Michael is passed Chekhov, as well as various masters of on through ballet, jazz, and modern dance. Hers generations.” is a language without words—even in her interpretations of well-known plays, the characters speak only with their bodies. But behind the choreographed storytelling is the bedrock of Russian dramatic arts, Konstantin Stanislavsky’s “System.” In Sigalova’s work, performers must merge dancers’ exactitude and finesse with Stanislavsky’s insistence that physically and mentally inhabiting the role onstage is the basis of live storytelling. Silent but exact, rooted in human psychology and the expressive potential of the human body, Sigalova’s synthetic language is uniquely poised to address international audiences. Like the communal memory of war she explores in Final Cut, her performances grow out of a deep, eternal space shared by families on both sides of the trenches. Robert Duffley is a first-year dramaturgy student in the A.R.T./ Moscow Art Theater School Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University.
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