OPERA in Los Angeles & OTOA in Santa Barbara
The last six weeks have been a whirlwind. After rehearsals in Queens in September Beth Morrison Projects transported the entire cast, design and production team, to LA Opera’s REDCAT Theater, in Los Angeles, CA. for of the remount of the multi-media, experimental opera, Song From the Uproar, composed by Missy Mazzoli.
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| LA Opera House, LA, CA. Designed by Frank Gehry |
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| REDCAT Theater, LA - Part of the Frank Gehry building, See photos above.
With a chance to remount SFTU, came the rare opportunity to further enrich it. We were able to refine areas of the music, libretto and choreography/staging, that we had simply not had time to do the first go round at The Kitchen in NYC, in 2012, and also to use the 20/20 vision that comes with hindsight to make alterations, incorporate feedback and strengthen first choices.
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| Song From the Uproar Tech Rehearsal |
Over all, the entire
SFTU team worked to the brink of collapse (crew, designers, performers,
producers, and myself included). Although we may all have been
sleep-deprived by the time we opened, the pay off was BIG, big,
beautiful, magical and transporting.
On opening night, while many went out to a chic steam punk nightclub to celebrate, and while others went to a local karaoke bar until the wee hours, I could NOT have been any happier than I was to crawl into my hotel bed and lay my heavy head on that pillow!!!
On opening night, while many went out to a chic steam punk nightclub to celebrate, and while others went to a local karaoke bar until the wee hours, I could NOT have been any happier than I was to crawl into my hotel bed and lay my heavy head on that pillow!!!
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| The marquee at night outside REDCAT |
We received some standing ovations and heartfelt words of appreciation from the audiences, and some very nice words of praise from LA critics:
"Spellbinding... a joy to experience"
- Opera Today
[Read the full review Here]
[Read the full review Here]
"A treat... I can imagine no better way to be introduced to the LA Opera than by this show..."
"The choreography [by Gia Forakis] was stunning..."
"I cannot rave about this opera enough."
"The choreography [by Gia Forakis] was stunning..."
"I cannot rave about this opera enough."
- New Classic LA
[Read the full review Here]
[Read the full review Here]
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| Song From the Uproar Costume & Makeup |
SUPREME JOY
It is my sincere impression that the majority of our audience, whether they were opera-going regulars, or frequent theater goers, experimental music lovers, modern dance or experimental theater patrons (audiences who did not have much experience with opera in general), loved our production.
I myself was touched and transported by the production—particularly the last two performances. This is a real "gift" for it is so very rare for me to experience that type of the freedom as a director where during a run I am able to sit back and allow myself to give over to the journey I had directed, (staged, choreographed).
Because it is only during a run, in real time, that we get to really see the thing we have carried in our heads for so long as an idea, come together as a cohesive whole, usually, my director's eye is still at work during performances, unable to rest, taking notes, refining and revising the production as all the parts get glued together.
But because we were remounting SFTU, and not inventing this production from scratch (like in 2012), part of the pay off was, not only the satisfaction of getting to watch each performance, but the supreme joy of getting to experience the production.
I commend the excellence of the performers, NOW Ensemble musicians, Maestro Steve Osgood, as well as the expertise of the run crew, stage management, tech assistants, and of course the entire artistic team --not to mention, the extraordinary team of Beth Morrison Projects, Beth herself, librettist Royce Vaverk, the genius of composer, Missy Mazzoli.
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| Rehearsals at REDCAT Theater |
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| Interlude Four: Song From The Uproar |
SFTU & OTOA
SFTU was a rare opportunity to apply my technique, One-Thought-One-Action (OTOA) to generate choreography. Because the thoughts/lyrics are a psychological and emotional response to the interior world of the lead character (rather than text that described or promoted a more quotidian series of actions and objectives) I was able to use OTOA in a choreographic manner that made it closer to interpretive dance, rather than to pedestrian activities.
The libretto of SFTU is written more as repetitive metaphorical phrases and poetry, so when physicalizing the increments of thought/text it organically led to repeated series of physical actions that were form-based: interpretive content-driven gesture sequences built upon the sung, poetic lines of text, and set to the music of the score.
The result was that the choreography was a full embodiment of the music, the singing and the libretto. In this way, the audience is seeing as well as hearing the entire opera: making it a fully immersive experience —not in the way the current trend of “immersive” theater has come to mean placing the audience in the middle of the stage action, but rather as a holistic experience of the senses.
SFTU was a fully collaborative effort where a group of highly talented artists, musicians, crafts people, technical experts and crew created a journey that, at its core, is about finding a kind of peace and collective resonance for the end of life.
Although you know from the start that the lead is going to die, her journey (the music’s journey) leaves you uplifted by the experience of surrender: surrender to the flood that took her young life and coming to terms with surrendering to our own destinies.
As I often say when speaking about the principles of OTOA, things of value take time, and this production was indeed a product of time. Our first chamber version of SFTU was in 2008, the full opera premiere 2012, and then this remount 3 years later. Like fine wine, it matured over time– and so did we all : )
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| Song From the Uproar Talk Back (Left to right: Royce Vaverk, Librettist, Steve Osgood, Maestro/Music Director, Gia Forakis/me, Director/Choreographer, Missy Mazzoli, Composer, Beth Morrison, Producer, Christopher Koelsch, President & Chief Exec. Officer La Opera) |
A MEMORABLE COMPLIMENT came via renowned international Director, and professor John Blondell (Chair of the Theater Department at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA) who, during the talk back following our closing performance, said: “The production had accomplished what Peter Brook talks about in his quest for the Holy Theater.”**
At such high praise, I audibly, and involuntarily, gasped, and Missy, not sure if I had gasped in horror or delight, whispered to me: “Is that a good thing?” and I whispered back, “Oh, yes! The best!”
** Blondell likening the work to Brooks also struck me like the words of "providence" because I had been rereading Brooks Open Space over the summer and just a month and a half earlier, during the Vermont OTOA Intensive in August, we had focused on his essay The Holy Theater!
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Westmont College, Nestled in the
mountains above Santa Barbara, CA
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To conclude my SO CAL adventure, after SFTU closed, I traveled north by Amtrak (riding alongside the Pacific ocean) to Santa Barbara, where I had been invited by Professor Blondell to lead two OTOA Master Classes, plus one Seminar luncheon, at the impressive and inviting Westmont College.
I had met John Blondell and his wife Vicki, in 2013, when I was invited as a Guest Artist to lead an OTOA workshop at the Bitola International Shakespeare Festival, in the charming city of Bitola, Macedonia (former Yugoslavia). John, and his Santa Barbra based theater company, Lit Moon, had been invited to the festival to present their production of The Tempest.
After I had seen his Tempest, and he had sat in on my OTOA Workshop, we had discussed the possibility of bringing me to Westmont to lead an OTOA Workshop there. So, when I knew that I'd be coming to LA for SFTU, we realized it was the perfect time to bring me and OTOA to Santa Barbara for the workshop we had discussed over lunch in Bitloa, two years earlier.
And that, my friends, is what makes the community of theater so strong: engaging in an exchange of ideas, philosophy, and dialogue, sharing a vision of the human experience through our work, and doing what you can for your colleagues (for it was thanks to Actor and GF&CO Member, Tony Naumovski, that I was invited to Macedonia at all! Thank you Tony! )
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| Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA |
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| Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA |
The first
class I led were a group of theater majors who took to the OTOA exercises
quickly and courageously--diving right in and offering well articulated
observations as they learned to articulate what they were SEEING &
HEARING through the principles of OTOA and identifying increments of thought as physical action.
The
second group, were non-theater majors (with a large percentage of
computer-science majors). I found this to be an exciting opportunity
for re-framing OTOA as a tool for personal growth rather than as an
acting/directing technique.
I focused our exercises on building
an awareness of WATCHING & LISTENING as a tool for strengthening
communication, focus and observation.
Maybe because they were a
smart and observant group of young adults, or because Westmont is a
Christian school and attracts students who have a strong spiritual practice to begin with, I found them open, willing
and receptive to the class and the ideas of observing and listening more
attentively to one another through the principles of increments of
thought and physical actions.
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| The Harbor, Santa Barbara |
I left Westmont feeling nourished. The students seemed guileless, trusting and eager to learn. The fresh air, the beautiful surroundings of Westmont campus and the town of Santa Barbara, the generosity of spirit, and the warm reception I received from everyone, left me humbled and blessed. Ending my trip in Santa Barbara was like adding the (dairy free) frosting to a (gluten free) slice of California cake.
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| The Beach, with the mountains in the background, Santa Barbara, CA |
With Joy & Inspiration
Gia
OTOA Founder & Master Teacher
(www.OneThoughtOneAction.com)
Freelance Theater Director/Choreographer
(www.GiaForakis.com)
