Susan Marshall & Company
Bard Spiegeltent
Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Bard College, NY
July 6–15, 2007
Reviewed by Elizabeth Zimmer
“Spiegel” is German for “mirror,” and a spiegeltent is a sturdy temporary structure designed to shelter drinkers while providing stylish diversions to keep them tossing back refreshments purchased at the bar. Last summer saw one installed at New York City’s South Street Seaport; this July another went up on the campus of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson. It has stained-glass windows, with mirrors installed below them and on the carved wooden pillars supporting the tent.
As part of Bard’s celebration of composer Edward Elgar, the campus’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts commissioned choreographer Susan Marshall to produce an entertainment suitable for the high, round stage at the center of the tent, around which the audience is deployed in a couple of rows of folding chairs. Behind them are cabaret tables where people can continue drinking while watching the show. Marshall’s Sawdust Palace, a 90-minute suite of 20 “acts” ranging from live piano numbers to chicken-plucking, gave us both the superficial glamour of vaudeville showgirls and the emotional subtext apparent in her best work for the stage.
Pianist Stephen Gosling played Elgar’s Salut d’Amour on the piano while being teased by Petra van Noort; Stephin Merritt’s The Book of Love, from the Magnetic Fields’ recording of “69 Love Songs,” undergirded a passionate duet for Joseph Poulson and Darrin M. Wright, the former in a sheer, ruffled blouse, the latter in a “wifebeater” undershirt. A sensual atmosphere thus established, Kristen Hollinsworth and Luke Miller led an apparently hypnotized van Noort around the circular room, greeting patrons who either shrank from the gesture or welcomed it. Because there was only one “wing,” making quick changes difficult, the dancers wore layered costumes, shedding one to reveal another and keep the action moving.
The divertissements followed in duos and trios, with the occasional larger item; the material was mostly new, though one wonderful number, Tea for Two, was borrowed from Marshall’s recent Bessie-winning show Cloudless, doubled to two couples for improved visibility in the circular space. Turning a ritual of serving tea into an erotic pastime, it holds its power on a second viewing.
The high point of the bill, to my mind, was Chicken Flicker, a sort of backstage romance for Hollinsworth and Poulson; he appeared, butcher-like, in a huge white apron, riding a stool on casters, and she wore fishnet stockings, character shoes, and swaths of black and white feather boa. She lay across his lap; he took his gloves off and plucked her feathers, to the strains of Zorba’s Dance by Mikis Theodorakis. Finishing his task, he did a triumphant “chicken dance,” while Luke Miller swept the feathers away with a chenille bedspread. This and other lengths of fringy fabric did double and triple duty throughout.
One charming conceit followed another, from Hollinsworth sprawled atop the piano, presenting her butt as a stand for Gosling’s next rendition of Elgar, to Miller and Poulson making “body music” with their hands and various bare body parts. The few young boys in the house beamed at this one, which appealed to their raunchier instincts.
Wright performed a star turn in Belt Man, his torso wrapped in half a dozen leather straps. Kasia Walicka Maimone, who’s been dressing Marshall’s dances for 12 years, hit the jackpot again here with one glamorous get-up after another; I cherish the vision of the tall Miller in a salmon-pink satin shorts suit, running through the house.
A couple of the works utilized flying, the dancers dangling from rigging attached to the high center of the tent. As always, Marshall’s choreography deploys arms to powerful emotional effect; the small circular stage made “up” the direction of choice in many situations. Designed as an after-dark entertainment in a cabaret setting, Sawdust Palace suffered a bit from being viewed at a Saturday matinee, but still communicated Marshall’s trademark alchemy of gesture and feeling.
Although designated a “world premiere,” it is likely to be tightened before it’s shown again. It’s scheduled to reappear April 9–12, 2008 at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland in College Park.
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Jan 22, 2021
Courtesy Marcell
The Pre-Performance Routine That Will Get You Into Character
It's the day of the show. You've rehearsed countless hours and meticulously developed your character, and you're ready to make it count. It's time to get into the right headspace without "getting in your head." Time to transform naturally without overthinking it. For all the artistry that leads to this moment, getting into character can be an art form in itself, unique to each dancer but resting on some common principles.
Get Grounded
<p>The foundation of a great performance starts before setting foot in the theater or on set. It's about finding your (mental) center, whatever that looks like for you.</p><p>While driving to set, Mollee Gray, a Los Angeles–based dancer and "So You Think You Can Dance" alum, loves to turn up the volume and sing loudly to country music. This serves a double purpose, waking up her vocal chords and taking her to her happy place, so that once she arrives she's ready for anything—which is especially helpful when filming scenes out of order.</p><p>For Broadway dancer Morgan Marcell, preshow meditation creates a clean slate. "It's really important for me to be in a mental space that's able to accept new things, because then I'm able to make decisions as the character more freely," she says. If she's in a distracting location, like a crowded train, she might listen to music or a podcast that the character would listen to. "It gives you a baseline, a mood you've set for yourself," she says.</p><p>Viktorina Kapitonova, principal dancer with Boston Ballet, takes quiet time at home before a show. "I lay down and visualize the performance," she says, "mentally playing the role, feeling her emotions, her thoughts, stepping into her mind."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUwMjEyMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDU2ODg0N30.IfXspMad2WeiIyC5GGBk8nWopt8t9fUNR1ANpq3dO5A/img.jpg?width=980" id="19c8f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f844fdee6042d6b8fba3287493cb506b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Kapitnova wears a blue peasant dress and pointe shoes with her hair own. Her arms are thrown up, and she has a crazed look on her face. Other company dancers stand behind her with concerned faces." data-width="2990" data-height="2310" />
Viktorina Kapitonova in Boston Ballet's Giselle
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor, Courtesy Boston Ballet
Trust the Rehearsal Process
<p>You've spent weeks, or even months, developing your character. Now's the time to let it go and trust that you've done enough. On the day of a performance, getting in and out of character for Gray is "almost like an on-and-off switch," she says. "On set, I'm not trying to get to a place. My character's so developed in my head that that's where I automatically go." </p><p>During Kapitonova's preshow routine, she puts this trust into practice by intentionally leaving her character behind for the time it takes to warm up. "I need to get my body ready as a machine without thoughts about her," she says. "She would not go through the exercises I need to prevent injury." </p><div style="padding: 20px 0 40px;">
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Let the Transformation Begin
<p>Find mental cues that will trigger your sense memory to get into your character's mindset. Marcell's transformation, for instance, begins when she puts on her character's wig. "For Moulin Rouge! it's a 1900s hairstyle, and seeing yourself in the mirror, it reminds you of the journey you're going to go on," she says. The feel of each character's shoes also shifts her mindset. "When I put those cancan boots on, my body knows that it's time to go to war," she says. In some shows, she might even reinforce sense memory by giving her character a signature scent.</p><p>Kapitonova develops small phrases or gestures that she can use in a pinch to help her jump into character quickly, "like a visualization shortcut," she says. For Giselle, she'll mentally go to the initial meeting with Albrecht, specifically feeling the moment with her eyes and smile. Or to cue her in to the moment of meeting Bathilde and admiring her dress on the floor, she'll feel a fabric against her face. </p><p>As she waits to go onstage, Kapitonova homes in on her character's starting point—without thinking about the rest of the story. "It's really important to start where it all starts and to live in the moment," she says.</p><div id="4b4c4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e4b6e20df3ec440b089999c738c6c56f"><blockquote class="instagram-media"
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Tailor the Prep to Your Character
<p>Marcell customizes her warm-up to each role, noting the way a specific character uses her body or holds tension. </p><p>For some, getting into character might affect preshow interactions with cast and crew. If Gray's shooting an emotionally difficult scene, for instance, she'll limit interactions on set. When Kapitonova is dancing Giselle, she'll refrain from spending time with Albrecht backstage so that they can "meet" for the first time onstage. When dancing Sugar Plum, "I try to have fun with the Nutcracker prince and all the characters as if I am the kind queen of Sugarland," she says. "Some laughing, jokes, hugs and 'toi, toi, toi's to really try to get into the emotion."</p><div style="padding: 20px 0 40px;">
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Embrace Your Breaks
<p>Whether it's intermission or a lunch break in a long day of shooting, a quick reprieve from the emotional intensity can ultimately help you embody the character. "If you're constantly emoting and giving a great performance, you need to take a step away and really gather your thoughts," says Gray. </p><p>And, when it's time, the character will still be there. "As soon as you hear 'Quiet on set,' " says Gray, "everything else disappears."</p>
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