Looping 2.0

Looping was a beautiful dance. I loved it and was thrilled with the way it turned out. But it wasn't quite fully developed. We had an abridged rehearsal process, not nearly enough tech time, and at the single performance there was a technical mishap and the stage went to blackout briefly. All in all, not ideal. So I wanted to revisit, make some tweaks, and show it again. That opportunity came up with the NY JAZZ CHOREOGRAPHY PROJECT.

I'd known one of the artistic directors, Merete Meunter, through events at the SDC and she invited me to apply.  I sent off the video of the original and it was immediately accepted into the fall showing.  Unfortunately, many of my dancers were unavailable.  Booking little things like national tours and, oh, BROADWAY.  I got to explore the movement with a new crew who brought their own flair to it.  And they were gorgeous.  Here are some pictures from the dress rehearsal we had courtesy of Travis Kelley Photography (he who got such brilliant pictures of the original).  Obsessed with his composition and some moments he captured.  Looping 2.0 will always hold a special place in my heart as the first piece I ever remounted.  I'm starting to develop repertoire!  Awesome development in my dance path!

Sidney Erik Wright...Director

     It's February 1st.  How did that happen?

     This summer I took a giant step forward.  I directed my first play.  No singing, no dancing, no choreography of any kind.  I was accepted into the Insomniac's 24-hour Play Festival produced by the Grex Group Theatre.  At 6pm on July 19th, I made my way into a room full of strangers...

     A woman from the Grex Group opened a mystery folder and I was given 3 names and a prompt.  I was assigned author Mila Golubov, actors Matthew Wise and Mary Fuller, and a twisted line about a man who wanted to keep a girl's tooth to 'remember her by.'  Bizarro.  Then, we four had a pow-wow.

    I put on my director hat.  I told our author to be bold.  I got to know my actors, what their strengths and special skills were.  We set a time to reconvene.  I went home.  Read a draft.  Sent back some dramaturgical notes.  Got another draft.  Sent back more notes.  Booked rehearsal space.  Did table work at Starbucks early in the morning.  Got in the studio and blocked the play.  Bought props.  Found costumes.  Made sound cues.  And, lo and behold, 24 hours later we premiered Good Men.  Bad Men.  Very Bad Men.  as part of the festival at the historic Player's Club Theater in the West Village.  For our 10-minute-play, a woman goes to a speed dating event.  Mary Fuller played the lead going on a series of truly spectacular bad dates with a range of insanely inappropriate suitors.  Matthew Wise played 10 different men courting her.  It was hilarious, disturbing, and incredibly fun.  Loved breaking out of my 'musical theater' box and tackling a new challenge!  Fun step forward for this dancer dude!  

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Double-duty on "Pharmaceutical: The Musical"

     Theatrical drinking games.  Apparently this is a thing.  And I'm a fan.  After my SDC Observership on Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, I had a brunch recap with a few other director/choreographer people who had done the observership program.  And I met the amazingly talented Katie Lupica, the SDC Observer to Daniel Goldstein on Broadway's Godspell.   She was putting together a ten-minute musical for TinyRhino.  We wanted to work together.  And we made a little magic.

     TinyRhino is a monthly festival of ten-minute plays/musicals at the Brooklyn Lyceum under the umbrella of UglyRhino.  With the festival, authors are given 5 prompts at which the audience is instructed to drink from their beverage of choice.  Those prompts are then incorporated into brand-spankin'-new plays and mounted as a theatrical free-for-all evening of drinking and art.  For the July edition of the show, the audience had to drink whenever 1) someone analyzed a dream 2) someone had a pratfall 3) someone impersonated a celebrity 4) someone flipped off the audience or 5) someone mentions the temperature of the room.  Katie shepherded the blending of these prompts into the total awesomeness that was Pharmaceutical: The Musical.

     In the show, I played Mr. Worthington, a suburban drone unhappy with his life.  I was being psychoanalyzed by a therapist, but instead of treatment I got a prescription.  Returning home, I  was confronted by my unhappy housewife and, upon taking my medication, we entered a trippy fantasy finale with a kickline of dancing pills.  It was out there.  It was fabulous.  And it was so much fun being both the lead role actor guy and the dance-making choreographer guy.  The show was a hit and a new collaboration was a total success!

Broadway Bares: Happy Endings

     I won't lie.  I had something to prove with Broadway Bares this year.  I've been doing my thing as a choreographer for a while now, but for some reason people haven't been thinking of me as a performer recently.  I'd go to auditions, deliver on the floor, but just haven't been getting gigs in that capacity.  So I challenged myself to throw down and show that I still 'got it.'  Mission accomplished.

     

     I performed in the "Pied Piper" number choreographed by the incomparable Peter Gregus.  In it, Marty Lawson played the piper who beckoned all his punk-rock, kilt-wearing mates to join him in a throw down testosterone-laden aggressive 'jig.'  We DESTROYED the number.  There were kilts, there was stripping, there were men dancing down.  I have never danced harder or been more naked at Broadway Bares, and I loved every minute of it.  And I'm so grateful for these incredible shots captured by Kevin Thomas Garcia and Matthew Murphy, returning photographer gods that every year document the insanity that is the evening.  

     In addition to my performing duties, I once more assisted mega-talent Michael Lee Scott.  After our collaboration on "Broadway Bares: Beach Burlesque", it was pure joy to get in the studio with him and help out with his number.  For "Happy Endings", he created the "Goldilocks" strip.  Andy Mills played the hapless twink who stumbled into the den of the bears.  And WHAT bears!  Finally, a Broadway Bares tribute to hairy men.  It was a blast welcoming a new crowd into the community!  Pictures of the "Goldilocks" strip below.  Woof!

Official recap of Broadway Bares: Happy Endings HERE.
Talented Photographers KEVIN THOMAS GARCIA and MATTHEW MURPHY.

"Looping" dress rehearsal

     In Atlanta, I had an incredible experience sitting back and observing another person's process, but as soon as I got back to NY I needed to be my own artist again.  Stop watching, start doing.  So I began creating a new dance.  "Looping" was originally presented as a part of the 2012 Choreographer's Canvas at MMAC.  While I was rehearsing it, I realized that I wanted to extend my network of collaborators and meet new artists.  I opened my dress rehearsal to photographers who were potentially interested in dance photography.  I had a room full of incredibly talented dancers and had them choreographed to make some incredibly beautiful pictures.  So why not invite more people into that world, just to play and see what develops?  The photographers would have a chance to explore dance photography, the dancers would get some shots they may be able to use for self-promotion, and I'd get to meet some new talent.  Winning all around.  Travis Kelley ended up taking me up on that offer, and as a result I can't praise www.traviskelleyphotography.com enough.  He does stunning work and I'm so lucky that he came to document our rehearsal.  Here's some moments that he captured at our working dress rehearsal.

Are You There, Ann-Margret? It's Me! Photos

Just a li'l taste of the show.  Loved working with this talented and uber-fabulous cast!

Photos by Francis Fanini