DANCE THEATER WORKSHOP
DANCE THEATER WORKSHOP PRESENTS
PASCAL RAMBERT/SIDE ONE POSTHUME THEATRE (DEC. 7–10);
CADEN MANSON/BIG ART GROUP (DEC. 14–22) Theater, as in Dance
Theater Workshop, takes center stage this month –– but,
in typical DTW fashion, expect the atypical. Interrupted storylines,
filmed chase scenes, fractured time sequences and nonverbal conversations
are the norm. The hyper-imaginative artists, both making their DTW
debuts, are Pascal Rambert/side one posthume theatre (December 7–10)
and Caden Manson/Big Art Group (December 14–22). Both performances
were curated by Mark Russell.
PASCAL RAMBERT/SIDE ONE POSTHUME
THEATRE (DECEMBER 7–10) While creating “PARADIS
(unfolding time),” a U.S. premiere, Paris-based director Pascal
Rambert focused on man’s expulsion from paradise, using Dante,
Darwin, Copernicus and Freud’s philosophical upset of man’s
centrality as inspiration. Connecting form and content, Rambert
scoops out the center from both the three-way storyline and the
physical stage, confining his ten naked performers to the outer
edges of a large, colorful carpet. Microphones are placed above
the dancers, on the ground and on their bodies to seamlessly unite
text and movement. One of Rambert’s concerns is that man’s
scientific curiosity is taking him further and further from the
natural world. One day, he worries, we will look back at even these
troubled times as a kind of paradise. Alexandre Meyer will accompany
live on stage with his electric guitar score.
Curtain time for Pascal Rambert/side
one posthume theater is 7:30pm. Tickets are $25, or $15 with member,
student and senior discounts.
NEWSFLASH: An extra show has been added for Friday, December 9 at
10pm. This free performance will feature Rambert’s “Le
Début de l’A,” an autobiographical love story
for two performers.
CADEN MANSON/BIG ART GROUP
(DECEMBER 14–22) Narrative breaks apart. Contradictions
abound. Characters cannot be trusted. In Big Art Group’s “House
of No More,” directed by Caden Manson, and featuring text
and sound by Jemma Nelson, reality and fiction collide. The storyline––beginning
with a woman in frantic search of her daughter––quickly
cracks, as hysteria and madness overwhelm. Like the characters chasing
after one another, the audience finds itself breathless, mentally
chasing after the work’s constantly changing meanings. Manson
uses three screens, three cameras and numerous props to create a
“real-time film,” in which performers and objects are
physically superimposed on top of one another. The result is a multi-layered,
wildly frenetic film, which is assembled before the spectators’
eyes.
Curtain time for Caden Manson/Big Art Group is 7:30pm. On December
17, the company will also perform at 10pm. Tickets are $25, or $15
with member, student and senior discounts.
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Pascal Rambert, the Paris-based artistic
director of side one posthume theater, was born in Nice, France
in 1962. Rambert’s early directing work included “Arlequin
poli par l’amour” by Marivaux, “La Marcolfa”
by Dario Fo and “Léonce et Léna” by Georg
Buchner, which was performed at Théâtre de la Bastille
in Paris. He has also directed works by Shakespeare, Jan Fabre and
Jean Audureau. In 1984, Rambert began directing his own scripts,
including “Désir, Les Lits,” the award-winning
“Météorologies,” “Allez Hop,”
“Le Réveil,” “Les Parisiens,” “John
& Mary” and “Race.” In 1998, he began working
on “Epic of Gilgamesh,” which premiered at the Festival
d’Avignon in 2000 in a 25-acre sunflower field and later toured
throughout France. “Asservissement Sexuel Volontaire,”
which Rambert created in 2001, was presented at the Théâtre
National de la Colline in Paris. Recent projects include writing
and directing “Quand Nous Étions Punk,” a film
produced with France 2 that was presented at the Festival de Locarno
in Italy; directing “Philomela,” an opera by composer
James Dillon; directing the screenplay “Car Wash;” and
presenting “Pan,” an opera by Marc Monet, at the Festival
Musica, Opera National de Strasbourg. Rambert’s work in the
United States has included mounting “Burying Molière”
by John Strand at the Experimental Theater Wing at New York University
in 1990 and “Race” at Cal State and Los Angeles Poverty
Department Theater Group in 1999. During the development of “PARADIS
(unfolding time),” Jean Christian Riff shot the documentary
film “S'eloigner du theatre,” about Rambert and the
creation of his newest work.
side one posthume theater, based in Paris, France,
was created in 1984 by Pascal Rambert, and has since toured throughout
France, as well as abroad. This year, the company began a three-year
residency at the Bonlieu, Scene Nationale d’Annecy. It recently
toured Japan with “Le Début de l’A” and
is planning tours of “AFTER/BEFORE” and “Mon Fantôme”
in France.
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Caden Manson, artistic director and founder of
Big Art Group, grew up outside Corpus Christi, TX, and studied theater
at the University of Texas at Austin. A 2002 Pew Fellow, Manson
also received a 2001 grant from The Foundation For Contemporary
Performance Art for his work with Big Art Group. With his company,
he created “CLEARCUT, catastrophe!” (1999), “The
Balladeer” (2000), “Shelf Life” (2001), “Flicker”
(2002) and “House of No More (2004).”
Big Art Group was founded by Caden Manson in 1999,
and incorporated as a non-profit in 2001. With its core group of
members and additional collaborators, each work is first developed
and presented in New York before touring nationally and internationally.
The company has performed at venues in Berlin, Paris, Rome, Zurich,
Glasgow, Dublin, Brussels and many others. Big Art Group also runs
three education and community-based programs: The Internship/Apprentice
Program; the Out There In Here Program, which gives free tickets
to New York based non-profits serving under-represented and disadvantaged
populations; and Back Talk, which organizes post performance discussions
led by leaders in experimental theater.
All Dance Theater Workshop tickets, including 4 for 40%
Club discounts, may be purchased at the box office, by calling 212-924-0077
or online at www.dtw.org. Dance Theater Workshop is located at 219
West 19th Street, between 7th and 8th Aves.
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Française
d’Action Artistique and Étant donnés: The French-American
Fund for the Performing Arts, a program of FACE. “PARADIS
(unfolding time)” is part of ACT French: A Season of New Theater
from France.
This presentation of “House of No More” was made possible
in association with KING’S FOUNTAIN, Barbara Watson Pillsbury
and Henry Pillsbury of the David R. White Producers Circle, Rockefeller
MAP Fund, The Greenwall Foundation, The DNA Project, a program of
Arts International, made possible through the generous support of
the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Co-production: Festival d’Automne,
Théâtré Gâronne, Maison de la Culture
de Crétiel, Hebbel am Ufer, Teatro di Roma - Vie dei Festival.
Co-commission: The Wexner Center For The Arts, National Performance
Network, Performance Space 122.
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