In the end, home is the story you tell yourself
In the end, you must let go of what got you there
to be where you are.
This is how we build the new story
This is what love is:
Letting go of the heady illusion of hope,
to allow the new story your life tells you every day.
In the end, maybe you can love what is unknown--
maybe even more because it is unknown.
In the end you will love what you have chosen
--or you won’t--
but either way, in the end, you will have to let the story go.
In this new place, your body’s roots are exposed. You ripped them from home, and have yet to find suitable soil at first, on arrival.
It is the strangest place, arrival,
when the two places you have been coming toward overlay one another:
The place that you’ve been headed toward, which is not at all the place you’ve arrived.
And the place that is --which you entered-- but don’t yet understand.
It’s disorienting, this layering of expectation and reality: the place you hoped you’d find, and the place you actually arrived. You have to walk through one to find the other, which is not the one you want.
Your body is still adrift, in two places and also in no place. But you walk through the gate.
Because you are there.
This is the most difficult border to pass through.
Excerpt from EXODUS -- Libretto, below,
by Ursula Andkjaer Olsen, translated by Barbara J. Haveland, 2016
“Walk through the gateway of iron-- built into the breast…
You simply walked through me, you, I walked from the gateway in the breast, both ways…”
How do you keep yourself a “me” when those who are telling your story would have you a “they?” Or worse, not have you at all? Tell nothing, see nothing. Turn you invisible with their “they.”
How do you keep yourself a “me” when you are in a wave of “they?” You long for the arrogance of those who retain their “me,” who get to tell the story of you. It is tempting to turn the others around you to “others,” if only to try to find your “me” within the throng of “them,” forgetting you are both “me” and “them.”
Do you find yourself through separation or connection?
Do you find yourself at all?
Excerpt from EXODUS -- Libretto, below,
by Ursula Andkjaer Olsen, translated by Barbara J. Haveland, 2016
“Let the one who is unclean
wash him- or herself no let the
one who is unclean be bound
hand and foot far from
the wash-basin.
* * *
Someone picks all the hands
off the arms stretched out
toward them. And display them
in vases in their living rooms.
The shadows stand almost completely
still on the bare wall.
Someone picks all the apples
and chases us out of the cores.
Let the one who is unclean
wash him- or herself.”
At a certain point what is behind you has all burned.
In the middle
--always--
There is a payment you didn’t bargain for
--or--
you did.
You asked for exactly this
you promised
but didn’t realize
what it would really cost you
Dreams pry yourself from yourself. They are not wings; they are a sharpened bar.
When hope is fully ablaze, all you can see is a wild and brilliant future.
When you step out of your old story, you lose your established rhythm.
In much the same way that dreams are a vivid scattering of intense images,
these early stories feel so real.
The future has no pattern.
Dreams are wings to lift yourself from your life.
Excerpt from EXODUS -- Libretto, below,
by Ursula Andkjaer Olsen, translated by Barbara J. Haveland, 2016
“The sun smells of sun, the sky smells of sky, the sea smells of sea, the birds smell of bird, the fish smell of fish, and then you meet a person who is clad in silk, it might be blue silk, grey silk, white silk, yellow silk, red silk, violet silk, green, ALL colours, combining with ALL fruits and the palatial air of this place, and then the division of labour, the division of labour is paramount, they ALL earn the same amount of money, there is money, it is an analytical economy, but they ALL build stairways for one another, they ALL dress one another in blue satin, delight one another, and now we come to the sky-silk canopied spot used partly to catch the sun’s rays and extract its power AND to create a patch of silky soft shade for ALL, so no one will be troubled by unpleasant sweating.”
Reasons to Leave:
Here is unbearable
There is better
Here will no longer have you
You’re taken there
Whatever the reason for leaving, in some way, you will be broken.
Excerpt from EXODUS -- Libretto, below,
by Ursula Andkjaer Olsen, translated by Barbara J. Haveland, 2016
“The good life begins with a good home
A room for crying a room for laughing.
A room for loving a room for hating.
A room for war a room for peace.
A room for tearing apart a room for sewing together.
A room for wailing a room for jumping for joy.
A room for duties a room for rights.
A room for giving birth a room for dying.
A room for mourning a room for dancing.
A room for killing a room for healing.
A room for losing a room for retrieving.
A room for discarding a room for saving.
A room for sowing a room for reaping.
A room for speaking a room for staying silent.
In all: 26 rooms, 1,000 square metres
The good life means
Having enough room
For yourself
(And all of your meticulous
illusions.)”
1. The First Morning
In the beginning, home is a story you tell yourself
Home is the story which-- in some variation-- you repeat to yourself every day.
When you have a story, you have a home.
Your story is also the story that your home tells you.
What then is hope?
Hope is the spark you touch to the center of your home
that sets the story alight.
NOW-ID's Amie Tulius is offering a series of insights into the arcs / chapters / songs of the performance EXODUS. This post is the first of 7.
Holly Addi
Holly Addi (°1973, SLC, Utah, United States) makes paintings and mixed media artworks. By rejecting an objective truth and global cultural narratives, Addi creates with daily, recognizable elements, an unprecedented situation in which the viewer is confronted with the conditioning of his own perception and has to reconsider his biased position.
She created and runs the boutique and art gallery Arte Haus Collectif in Salt Lake City together with product designer Heidi Jube. On July 29th NOW-ID together with Arte Haus will be hosting a "meet the Artists" dinner at this incredible store in Salt Lake City - come check out the amazing art and merchandise that is on display there. This is truly a jewel in Salt lake City. Learn more about Holly and Art Haus below.
Enjoy!
Charlotte Boye-Christensen
Tell us a little bit about your background?
Since childhood I have had an affinity for all things creative. I was very into writing, poetry, theatre, acting, design, costumes, and fashion. When it came to the artsy side of life I always had an opinion, I think my parents kept wondering just where I had come from. As a child I remember waiting for the Sunday paper to be delivered so I could devour the 'arts' section. I couldn't wait to see the next art news, play auditions, or exhibit. I studied psychology because I think it is fascinating. Psychology is the backbone to the artist's mind. What artist do you know that truly isn't a little bit crazy? It's kind of a necessity in this field. Shortly after I graduated from the University of Utah at the age of 22 I opened a high end floral studio and boutique named 'Artichokes & Co.' which focused on the art & composition of arranging florals and gift design, and painted as well on weekends. Artichokes was a huge success, open for 15 years. I then took my designs national when I started a catalog company and offered these designs to the entire US. However, the idea of big business and pumping out fast paced concepts as the creative director, but all based around "money", I felt like my soul was being stolen. It was at that point I decided to get back to my roots and paint full time. For me, it was a wake up call. I think it is really important as an artist to nurture your talent and not let anyone turn that light off. Art takes digging deep. I see so many talented individuals who are bought and sold, and don't let their talents truly emerge.
Have you always been interested in art and design or did something/someone ignite that interest in you?
I have always painted, and I'm captivated by good design and love working with color. I began painting when I was in high school. In my twenties I started painting more but it wasn't until my late twenties that I sold my first piece.
How did your store Arte Haus Collectif come about? Tell us a little bit about your collaboration with co-owner Heidi Jube, choosing location and shaping the design and concept of the store?
Arte Haus Collectif was a merge of my love for design and great things, and a place to flagship my art. I teamed up with Heidi Jube who has a candle line, Monokle Collection, and decided to venture in the dwell shop together and it would be a beautiful curated collection of art and objects of desire for your home to make it beautiful. Heidi sells her candles exclusively in Salt Lake at Arte Haus. Our goal is to continue curating and grow the gallery organically. There really isn't anywhere like Arte Haus in Salt Lake City.
How do you choose the designers/artists who you are interested in presenting and do you guys always agree?
We choose designers and artists that have the same philosophy as we do- clean aesthetic, great color compositions and formations, and full of soul. We feel that art should be refined, but not complicated and mindful in it's direction, but not neurotic and methodical. Letting natural talent exude in an imperfect way is showing it's true beauty. We are also very price conscious. We don't want Arte Haus to feel as though you can't afford it. Art and design should be for 'all.' People need beauty; it enhances a way of living.
There is such a unique flavor to the store – how do you walk that line of both wanting to present local work but also work from elsewhere?
We love the integration of local, domestic, and international. Being able to bring it all together and curate a space that feels right is perfection. And staying true to the philosophy is imperative to us.
I love your art – there is a real minimalist sophistication to your work – can you talk about your creative process?
My works are based on life’s imperfections and how it all relates back to beauty. Truly, life is so imperfect but there is that magical wonder how it all comes together. The good, the bad, the evil, the weeds, the flowers, all of it. My art style is 'composition of perfectionism' and how to embrace the wonder, rather than question it. And at the end, you look at it, and see beauty through it all.
Who are some of your favorite designers and artists, who you look to for inspiration?
Linda Rodin is definitely an Inspiration and role model - she is elegant and graceful. She defines herself, her style, and her philosophy. That’s my model.
What city outside of SLC inspires you?
There are so many! New York obviously but I love the way of life and aesthetic of the true Scandinavian style and smaller towns in Europe. I just love the aesthetic, my ancestors are from a little town in Italy nestled up by the Swiss Alps; maybe it's just inherent. In fact, we wanted Arte Haus to feel as though you had stepped inside a small quaint gallery and shop in Copenhagen, Paris, or Berlin.
What are some exciting things that are coming up for Arte Haus or yourself that you want to share? Heidi and I both have another passion - philanthropy. We are going to be teaming up with different foundations for 2017 and letting the art shine through these organizations and giving back. We will be hosting evenings and parties for these foundations with great hope to actually make a difference by donating a portion of the art sales!
What do you see yourself as doing and where do you want to be in 25 years?
Wow, that brings me to the ripe old age of 68! I hope to say I will have successfully raised my daughters to each become something greater than I ever was, and I will definitely not act as though I am 68. I think one thing that defines me as an artist is that I have a very child like approach to what I do. As many times as I keep falling down, I seem to always get back up.
See interview here.
Nana Bugge Rasmussen, one of the opera singers in our upcoming production EXODUS is educated at the Universität der Künste, Berlin, and at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen.
She says the following:
"I’m very exited about Exodus, mainly because I think cross-over performances can be so interesting when the different elements work together in new ways, and specifically because the theme of Exodus, which is people moving across borders, is so present in the world today, and yet so often viewed only from a political or economic perspective. In Exodus we intend to look at it from a human perspective. It will be challenging and rewarding."
Gary Vlasic is an accomplished performer, artist, event-planner, designer and much much more! He brings an extraordinarily diverse background of mediums together to create unforgettable visual experiences. These encompass large scale events, interior design, art direction, performance, site specific design, and image making. For 12 years Gary performed with and was co-director of "A Company of Four" – C04. For the past 20 years Gary has worked extensively in the event and production design arena. His current project, V Project brings to life a studio experience with a diverse team of collaborators and talents to explore the boundaries of art, design, and architecture.
Gary Vlasic is a collaborator and Board member of NOW-ID. I have personally known Gary for 16 years - I met him in connection with one of my first projects in Salt Lake City in 2000. He is forever curious and pushing boundaries - his input and output is extraordinary and I adore having him as a friend and as a creative confidant.
Gary is at the moment working on an art installation with fellow artist Colour Maisch titled "ALBEDO/NIGREDO. It opens at Finch Lane in Salt Lake City on June 17th, 2016 and runs through August 5th, 2016.
Enjoy!
Charlotte Boye-Christensen
Please tell us a little bit about your background? You trained originally as a dancer - how do you think that early training helped shape what you are currently pursuing as an artist and as an event planner?
My dance training was from the University of Utah's Modern Dance Department. I had started with ballet training quite late and studied in a small studio on Floral Street from a teacher from Russia: Professor Ratimer Antik. Russian Ballet training for two years led me to the University of Utah. I started dancing at 21 years old and had little time to catch up and find my place in the dance world. I knew I wanted to do my own work and I partnered with my two friends Mark Lowdermilk and Susie McGee in a company we called CO4 / Company of Four. We had that dance company for 12 years. Our work became strictly Site specific work over the 12 years of exploration together. As I look at my art life and my work as an event designer and producer, I realize that my dance company experience and choreographic experience was the core of my business and art making. In the dance world I was able to wear so many hats, Choreography, Stage Design / Set Design, Lighting, Costuming. Architectural considerations regarding Site specific work allowed me to consider how that site influenced and informed the dance theater performances I created. I found a natural transition to Event production and design as these tools were exactly the foundation to my business and my art projects and art production.
Tell us a little bit about your creative process as an event planner, a designer, and as an artist? Are those three processes distinctly different or do you see similarities?
I have found that my design mind and design process works hand in hand with my art process. Creating from a design eye first actually helps me to frame my work and inform it in a way, where it has a strong structure. That said, I also believe that the art process is a completely different influence and has it’s own process and voice. I try to link these two worlds together. Sometimes it isn’t successful. For me, it all comes down to good theater that provokes and hopefully leaves us with an impression and moves people to tears.
I get the impression that music is important to you - can you talk about why? Who are two of your favorite composers/musicians?
I always begin with music and sound scores to all art and theater productions. It seems that a score or piece of music can inform the whole structure and core of a work. I find that soundscapes are my greatest influence and I look to composers, who create strong environments with sound. I am currently Influenced by Hans Peter Kuhn and Jonathan Belper. I am influenced by all classical music as well as pop. The tension and juxtaposition can be powerful.
What fashion designer do you look to for inspiration? What architect? What product designer? What artist? And why?
Fashion designers: Rick Owens, Sruli Recht, Craig Green and of course Alexander McQueen. Architect Inspirations: Rem Koolhaus, Diller Scofidio + Renfro and anything Brutalist. Product designers : Rick Owens Couture design in Furniture and Faye Toogood/Toogood design. Artists: Cy Twombly (his paintings make me cry) Neo Rauch (His paintings make me want to create theater around them), Anselm Kiefer (His work and scale inspire me to think big), Banks Violette (His work provokes and his materiality speaks to me).
I find that most of my artwork and process is informed by a dark edge. The dark exploration combined with emotional content can shake down and provoke us to dig deeper. It is our jobs as artists and theater makers to make people see things and feel things that an edge from a darker reference can move us and transform us to do. It is important to feel uncomfortable and restless in these visions. Within all darkness lies a thread of light and lightness.
If you weren't living in SLC, what would be your city of choice and why? What city currently do you think generates the most interesting art and design?
I am fortunate to have a dual life that allows me to be in NYC and home based in SLC. Of course, NYC offers me a huge luxury to see and experience the world of art and theater and allows me to do my constant homework. I seek inspiration all the time. I am blown away with the realization that so much good artwork and design is coming from great cities all over the world. I don’t see that one city or part of the world is any more inspired. We have the ability to connect to the world and experience all these good influences from our screens and that is very exciting.
I know that 'alone time" is important to you, what is it that you generate from being alone and do you feel that it is an important component in your creative process?
I find that my art process and internal process needs to find refuge in being alone. I admit that I feel more sensitive as I grow older and with that sensitivity is a need to protect myself and my process. I am less available and more economical about who and what I give my energy to these days. I am most true to myself and my process when allowed the luxury of time and space to create and to gather myself. I find that my work has clarity and meaning through process and time alone.
I love that your mind seems to be continuously creatively alert, how do you retain that curiosity in the world and act on your instincts? There seems to be very little fear in the choices that you make...
I appreciate your comment Charlotte. I do feel that I am always looking for the inspired moments and creative surge. It is all around us. I have always had a restless desire for looking and searching. It is my homework. I think it shows in peoples' work, when they don’t do their homework and see what is happening in the world and in their art forms. It is our job as artists to seek and question. It is a process of constantly unlearning what we know. Also, we must remind ourselves to be gracious to everyone in that process.
What is your favorite quote?
Artist : Teresita Fernandez :"Being an artist is not just about what happens when you are in the studio. The way you live, the people you choose to love and the way you love them, the way you vote, the words that come out of your mouth, the size of the world you make for yourselves, your ability to influence the things you believe in, your obsessions, your failures — all of these components will also become the raw material for the art you make."
If you could only bring 5 things with you to a remote island, what would they be?
1- Fire making, 2- Music, 3- Unlimited pencils and paper, 4- A companion, 5- A boat (haha).
Where do you see yourself as being and doing in 25 years?
I see myself surrounded with beautiful artwork, creating art and experiences and being sustained from this art life that I have been seeking and expressing. Sharing it with deep generosity. My life as a museum.
Alexandra Harbold is a director/actor/dramaturge living and working in Salt lake City. She founded "Flying Bobcat Theatrical Laboratory" together with actor Robert Scott Smith in 2013. "Flying Bobcat" produces and creates performance based works. Additionally Alexandra has worked with local companies: Salt Lake Acting Company, Plan-B and Pioneer Theater. Alexandra and Flying Bobcat Theatrical Laboratory collaborated with NOW-ID back in 2014 on our dance-theater piece FEAST out at the Great Saltair.
I had the privilege of working choreographically with Andra on FEAST and she has such powerful internal strength, vulnerability, fearlessness and integrity in the choices she makes in the creative process. On top of that she has an intuitive musicality, sensuality and intellect that she readily accesses and a natural affinity for movement. She is indeed a force to be reckoned with!
Enjoy!
Charlotte Boye-Christensen
Tell us a little bit about your background - I know that you studied at Goldsmith's College in London amongst other places, why did you choose their program? And did you originally train as an actor?
I did originally train as an actor. I went to the University of London Goldsmiths College after working with director Nesta Jones my senior year at Middlebury College, where I earned my undergraduate degree in Theatre. I wanted to continue training with Nesta and to have the opportunity to study in London.
What do you enjoy the most: acting or directing and why?
I truly love both, but directing is more intuitive for me. What I imagine creating is often beyond what I can do as an actor or as an individual artist. What Tamilla wrote about the actor’s art also resonates very strongly for me – and as an actor, I don’t think I’ve ever achieved the presence, risk, and alignment with the work that she articulates so beautifully – I do keep hunting and striving for it, and I am thankful for directors who challenge me to go further. I recognize it in other actors.
Tell us a little bit about your creative process as an actor and as a director- are there similarities?
My creative processes as an actor and as a director overlap. Whether it’s an existing play or a devised project, once I’ve read the play, I start digging and hoarding research, images, and music which feel connected to the text - feeling around for my own instincts about the play, its core question. It helps me recognize the play-world of the production we’re creating, its idiosyncratic beauty and rules. As a director and actor, it feels like the process is to align your own curiosity and appetites to the living questions in the text. When I first started acting and directing, it felt like there was a mysterious and elusive “right” way to approach a text – a target that you either hit or didn’t (I often felt like I couldn’t see the target, full stop.) Now I’m hunting for the unique alignment of that text and that company of artists – recognizing the possibilities that are only present because of that gathering of creative minds. Rehearsal is a process of drafting, layers, and constellations.
Why did you decide to create the company "Flying Bobcat" with actor Robert Scott Smith, what void did you feel that it was filling and can you talk a little bit about the philosophy behind the company? How do the two of you compliment each other?
Scott and I started collaborating together when he returned from NYC to serve as the Creative Director for the Leonardo Museum. He had developed a program called POPUP@Leo to create devised work and invited me to play on the inaugural project. Our first project, SENSES 5, led to our collaborating on two other devised POPUP works in the same year, LOVE and MIND OVER MATTER. When we began, we started from the ground with only raw ideas about a point of departure or how we would develop the work; in a very short time, we’d forged a working method and shared language that we continue to use and expand upon now. We both respond very strongly to mythos, design, movement, and music. We were also hungry for the kind of work and experimentation that we saw in London and New York.
I think we complement each other because our imaginations are both kindred but distinct, and we call out each other’s strengths and push each other. A strength I believe we share is recognizing collaborators who create the visual and aural worlds we dream about – we couldn’t do the work we want to do without them.
Our latest project with Salt Lake Acting Company and Dallas Graham’s Red Fred Project, Climbing with Tigers, is a perfect example. Scott asked our Feast collaborator, Playwright Troy Deutsch,to adapt Nathan Glad and Dallas’ book for the stage. He then asked SLAC if they could give the project a home. Scott’s asks and Troy and SLAC’s generous yeses led to the opportunity to assemble a creative force of artists.
There is a strong visual, almost cinematic component to the work that you are doing with "Flying Bobcat" - is that important to you in creating new work? It doesn't strike me as being naturalistic theater that you are cultivating; instead it feels fiercely experimental, which is exciting - was that also why you called it a Laboratory?
Both Scott and I are drawn to the immersive, shape-shifting play-world possibilities that working with film and projections creates. And yes, thank you! I love “fiercely experimental.” That’s exactly why we included Laboratory to our name. We wanted experimentation to be at the very core of our creative identity and company mission.
What excites you about being based in Salt Lake City as an artist and what do you miss from being based in a bigger city? Do you feel that there are limitations/restrictions in working here and also what are the benefits/sources of inspiration?
I find Salt Lake City exciting because there is an appetite for experimentation and the work that coexists with a strong sense of home and community. A bigger city would allow for greater cross-pollination of creative ideas. I think more exposure to artists from around the world would galvanize our own work and encourage us to take bigger imaginative risks.
What city in the world do you see as having the most exciting theater scene and why?
I find London a thrilling and vital theatre city (Complicite, Frantic Assembly, the Court, the National, et al) – not only for the work created there, but for it as a crossroads for international theatre. It also feels like home to me. NDT and Ivo Van Hove’s Toneelgroep Amsterdam tempt me to visit Amsterdam.
Tell us a little bit about the highlights of your career so far? Climbing with Tigers is certainly a highlight. Working with Animator & Graphic Artist Jarom Neumann as he created the visual world of the projections was a particular joy. Tribes (Salt Lake Acting Company) and Picnic (The Grand) this year were also landmarks for me as a director. As an actor/performer, working with you, Scott, Jesper Egelund (composer/musician), Troy, Jo, Yumelia, Jenn (dancers) and Nathan on NOW-ID’s Feast.
Who are some of the people who have inspired you in your work and why?
I am inspired by Director Mary Robinson every time I get to be in the room to witness her work. Her attention and questions stir up something electric in the work – nothing is incidental. Anne Bogart and Tina Landau (The Viewpoints Book) have transformed the way I see space and staging – and they’ve taught me to embrace “exquisite pressure".
Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett’s The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre – their generosity with sharing their secrets so we can all experiment.
What is your favorite quote?
Two came to mind. “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Samuel Beckett "Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question” e.e. cummings.
I asked this question of Director Tamilla Woodard and I want to ask the same of you because I think it is an important one: Have you experienced sexism in your work as a Director and if so, how have you dealt with it? Do you see more female directors working in theater today compared to when you started?
It is important. I’ve encountered sexism as an actor and director - some inadvertent - some more intentional - rationalized and self-justified, which feels more corrosive in a process. Directing offers creative agency and a defining voice in the process. It also affords the opportunity and responsibility to imagine and to facilitate a different conversation in the room and in the work. I have had the opportunity to work with and witness the process of many incredible women directors: Mary Robinson, Karen Azenberg, Robin Wilks-Dunn, Adrianne Moore, Shana Gold, Julie Kramer, Anne Bogart, Cheryl Faraone, and others. As a director and teacher, I work to support and mentor other female directors and actors.
As an actor - what director have you always wanted to work with (Dead or Alive)? As a Director - what actor have you always wanted to work with (Dead or Alive)?
There are so many. As an actor and director, I would love to have the opportunity to work with Complicite founder Simon McBurney. As a director, I would love to work with actor Helen McCrory.
Tell us a little bit about some of the projects that are coming up for you and that you are excited about?
There are two projects that I am excited to collaborate on that will go into production early in the fall. I am dramaturging Pioneer Theatre Company’s The Last Ship, with music and lyrics by Sting and book by John Logan and Brian Yorkey, directed by Karen Azenberg. I am directing the University of Utah Studio 115 production of Carson Kreitzer’s Self Defense, or Death of Some Salesmen, based on the story of Aileen Wuornos.
Looking towards the future where do you want to be and what do you want to be doing in 25 years?
Having adventures with (my husband) Joe and creating work with friends who challenge and inspire me.
Rolf Heim, Director
Born in Switzerland Rolf Heim trained as an actor at the Institute for Stageart in Sweden 1984-1986 and later as a director at The School of Stage Arts, Theatre Cantabile, 1989-92. With actor and playwriter Claus Beck-Nielsen under the name 20th Century Ghost he directed the plays: Andy Warhol, Rupies and Balls and Theatre Butcher. Rolf Heim is artistic director of the Boat Theater in Copenhagen, where he has staged numerous productions. Aside from this appointment there he has also staged Miss. Julie at the Kaleidoscope Theater for which he received the significant Danish theater acknowledgement: The Reumert Prize, and later the Nick Cave Theatre concert at Aarhus Theatre in Denmark.
Rolf is part of the collaborative team for NOW-ID's next big production EXODUS - we are excited to see his incredibly creative and original mind set in motion. Please see our most recent NE PLUS ULTRA interview here.
Enjoy!
Charlotte Boye-Christensen
Tell us a little bit about your background; you originally trained in dance, why did you make the change to theater or was it more of an organic evolution as opposed to an intentional decision?
I only worked for a short period of time with dance and as I am not a trained dancer, physical theater was always my main focus. Already as a child I expressed my emotions physically, when I was happy I had to run or dance and when I was sad, I went for long walks.
How do you think your background in movement has influenced your work in theater?
It clearly gave my work a very physical and visual expression. For me it was never enough as a director to have actors who only felt something on stage, I wanted to see that emotion in action, expressed through the body. My work on stage is seldom traditional or naturalistic - it always has a physical expression.
Your work strikes me as having a really strong stylistic point of view - interpreting a text through movement language seems important to you - can you talk about why? Also, on that note I loved hearing about your puppet theater piece "Jernring" (Iron ring) - what can Puppet Theater add to your form that you wouldn't have been able to achieve through human performance?
Theater is a "live" event, things are happening right now on stage for the audience. So energy is important. I want to see and feel the actors at the same time. To only pretend is not enough.
Puppets are magical as they only come to life through animation. An animated puppet is still not a living human being, but it gets life, or becomes alive through the imagination of the audience. It is in the mind of the audience, that the puppet gets feelings and movement. On stage you see the actors, how they move a puppet, but as a spectator you choose to believe that the puppet is alive. We become like children again playing with a toy, giving life to it only by imagination.
So engaging the public, without them being aware of it provides them with a more powerful experience. And a puppet is never embarrassing or too sentimental, etc., something, you can't always say about real actors.
Do you consider your work to be more performance art than Theater and in reality do these kinds of terms and distinctions even matter anymore in talking about performances?
My work is very much influenced by Performance Theater. Meaning - there is no hierarchy between text, light, set, actions, actors, and so on, everything or any effect can be used in order to resolve a scene or tell at story. Normally in theater, the actor and his/her text is the most important thing, the rest is just decoration.
Do you see a difference in the direction that theater/performance is heading in Europe compared to the States and can you talk about what those difference are? Also, what city in your opinion has the most exciting contemporary theater?
I do not really know so much about the theater in US. But in Europe, it differs from country to country. Avant-garde and Performance Theater are both very strong in Germany, The Netherlands, and in Belgium. All of their city theaters are working with directors, who think about art and not only about the entertainment value. Theater is seen as an art form in those countries, it is well funded and has a public, which appreciates innovative theater.
Baadteateret
Tell us a little bit about "Baadteateret" in Copenhagen? It is quite unique because of size and placement - how do these features play into the shaping of your repertoire?
It is a unique and intimate stage with only 80 seats on a boat situated in the middle of historical Copenhagen. Perfect for Puppet Theater! We can afford to be experimental, because we are so small. Ticket sales don’t really influence our budget, as there are so few seats. So we focus on developing puppetry, doing research and having a laboratory attitude towards our work. Ironically, that has made us very popular and we often sell out our shows.
Tell us a little bit about the highlights of your career so far?
I think those shows where I worked very uncompromised, not thinking about success or how the critics would receive the work. Instead just following my intuition and taste. Those have become huge successes, which feels in a weird way very cool.
A show about Andy Warhol in the beginning of my career had that effect, and opened a lot of doors to the more established theaters for me. Then The Nick Cave Theater concerts became a huge thing some years later, and lately I would say “Jernring” (Iron ring), puppetry show on Baadteateret. So highlights for me are the ones where my innovative, artistic work reaches our audiences and critics.
What is your creative process like - is collaboration important to you and if so why?
More people have more ideas than one person. So I listen very much to my actors, sound, set, lighting designers. I always tell them that 80% of my ideas don’t work and that counts for every body. So throw in ideas, but do not insist on them.
I always know one moment at a time what we are heading for, but not where we end. Having a team, which works under those circumstances, demands that you as a director really motivate and lead...
Who are some of the people who have inspired you the most in your work and why?
"The Wooster Group" (a New York City-based experimental theater company known for creating numerous original dramatic works) because of the way they rehearse - they keep on trying things out, until it works. They also taught me, what musicality is in a dramaturgy, and the basic rules of Performance Theater.
Robert Lepage (A Canadian Theater artist) in his early years, showing magic realism on stage.
Peter Brook (A British Film and Theater director), because the research of an artist never ends.
La La La Human Steps (A Canadian contemporary Dance Company under the direction of Edouard Lock, which has unfortunately closed down in 2015) because they produced shows which can’t be further away from what you normally see on stage, but it knocks you out...
Where do you look to for inspiration? Do you watch a lot of theater in your spare time or are there other mediums that interest you more? There seems to be a real cinematic quality to what you do, hence my question.
Film yes, visual art in general, museums of any kind, kids playing, watching every day life and of course theater - mainly abroad.
What is your favorite quote?
"This little finger, still doesn’t obey me". Pablo Casals, a world known cello player, who has won every award you can win in classical music, and played all over the world. The quote was his answer to a journalist, who asked him when he turned 80-years old. 'You have reached everything a musician can dream of, what is left?
This became or is my main motivation in work, 'keep on developing, never stop...."
Who is the actor that you have always wanted to work with and what is the project that you have always wanted to do?
Actors - none. Projects - lots.
But my experience tells my, that when you after years of waiting finally are allowed to make your dream project, it becomes a disappointment. Dreams are here to be pursued but not to be fulfilled. So I turn it around and say, the project I work on right know, is the only one I want to do. And that works!!!
Looking towards the future – where do you want to be and what do you want to be doing in 25 years?
I will be 70-years old, and the answer is quite conservative: looking at my children and being happy about who they have become.
And besides that: painting, writing, taking a walk with my dog, ... and maybe doing a show once in a while.
A co-production with Copenhagen based music ensemble Figura, EXODUS will be developed in Salt Lake City and premiere here on July 28, 29, and 30th. We will then tour this SLC-created work to the prestigious Copenhagen Opera Festival in August.
EXODUS will bring together 15 local and international artists, original choreography, opera, music, design, and dance in a stunning site specific venue. The work will explore the implications of mass movement, both individually and collectively.
All funds raised this year through Love Utah Give Utah will go towards the EXODUS project and we need your help!
Our goal is to raise $4321 in 24 hours. Ambitious – yes, impossible – no.
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