Assistant Directed Broadway Bares: Beach Burlesque!

     I love BCEFA.  I'm just going to say it.  It is an incredible cause that is close to my heart, and in true Broadway fashion they know how to put on one damn good show.  Last summer I assistant directed BROADWAY BARES: MASTERPIECE for Josh Rhodes and Lee Wilkins.  And the show was utterly fabulous.  Imagine my surprise when I got an email out of the blue asking me to assist again!  This time, though, I got to be much more hands-on.

     BROADWAY BARES: BEACH BURLESQUE was a 'touring' company.  Instead of the mainstage show at Roseland with a cast of over 200, this version was intimate.  26 dancers.  Fire Island.  Fun in the sun.  MICHAEL LEE SCOTT directed and I assisted.  The beauty of BEACH BURLESQUE is that all the performers got to be in multiple numbers.  And because it was a smaller show with a smaller staff, I got to have more responsibility and really show what I could do!  I assisted Michael in creating choreography for the opening number "Burlesque is Back", the Elvis strip "A Little Less Conversation", a beachy strip with naked bathing beauties to Madonna's "Rain", and a cowboy fantasia "A Big Man."  I also got to lead my own rehearsal in restaging the iconic "Humpty" number originally choreographed by the badass DENIS JONES.  Oh, and transitions.  All the little bits and pieces that kept the show flowing along.

     The entire experience was incredible.  The cast were amazing performers and awesome human beings.  The production team and BCEFA liasons were phenomenal.  It was my first experience of Fire Island and it was just magic.  Oh, and in addition to assisting, I strapped on my performer shoes and strutted my stuff with all the rest.  What a dream team!

     You can check out the official recap HERE with a synopsis and photos from the show.

     Oh yeah, and this happened.  Still got it.

"Looping" at the Choreographer's Canvas

     My second time presenting a piece for the Choreographer's Canvas, and my choreo is growing by leaps and bounds!  The first year, I debuted "The Lady in the Street."  It was my first true narrative and my longest piece.  A man seduces a woman and brings her back to his place, but once he gets her in bed she flips the tables and becomes the aggressor (aided by her vengeful fury henchwomen).  About 5 minutes with a cast of 4.  "Looping" is a different beast.

     9 dancers.  Over 5 minutes long.  4 individual vignettes that combine to illustrate an overaching theme.  It was an ambitious dance.  I loved creating it with some fabulous performers and I love the story it tells.  It's emblematic of the work that I enjoy doing.  About human connection.  Contemporary. Romantic.  Real.  I got a fantastic response from this one and I'm so proud to share it with the world.
Without further ado...

"Looping"

"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.

Ghost Brothers of Darkland County

     This February/March, I left the big apple for a Georgia peach.  After three years of applying, I finally landed an SDC Observership.  The director/choreographer union has a program that allows an emerging artist to shadow a master director or choreographer on a production, from the first rehearsal through opening night.  I've come close before, getting the chance to interview on projects with such luminaries as Casey Nicholaw, JoAnn Hunter, and Kathleen Marshall.   And this spring, I was honored to be 'in the room' with Susan V. Booth, artistic director of the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.

     The project was Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a world premiere gothic blues musical with a book by Stephen King, music by John Mellencamp, and T-Bone Burnett as music director.  A dream team.  I fell in love with this show for a variety of reasons.  I aspire to do original musicals.  Revivals and regional productions are great and I would never disparage them, but there's something special about finding the best way to tell a story for the first time.  Additionally, I love stories set in the contemporary world.  The music is incredible.  And the show pulls no punches.  Blood and guts and real gritty storytelling without a musical theater 'sheen.'  Authentic.  The kind of work I aspire to create.

     Watching Susan at work, I realized just how lucky I was.  It was a gift to see her shepherding this show to it's first production.  And I learned that I'm capable of being a director.  My background is in dance, but it's also heavily based in storytelling.  I've worked as an actor.  I've studied script analysis.  And through the course of the observership, I got the opportunity to put my hand in here and there.  Working on an acting beat, rehearsing choreography, emailing thoughts.  And I realized that I know more than I thought I did.  And that's the biggest gift of all.  Confidence.

     In a major step forward, after completing the observership I became an associate member of the SDC.  I am now 'in the loop' with all that the director/choreographer union has going on.  I can ask for help with contracts, get in the door for networking, and meet up with other former observers to exchange information and potentially collaborate.  I also received an incredible compliment from the director of the observer program.  After reading my recap of my experience, she responded that while looking at my response she had never been more sure that an observer would go on to become an artistic director.  Pretty inspiring compliment.

     Right now, Ghost Brothers is in NYC doing a developmental reading.  I have my fingers crossed for them.  It is truly a special show and completely unlike anything currently out there.  And it was a joy to see it come to life for the first time.  Also a joy?  To watch, to learn, and then to stop watching and start doing.  Loving being my own artist again!  Off to the studio right now to do some pre-pro.  Hi ho, the glamorous life!