Sunday, March 28, 2010
Baryshnikov Talks to Elizabeth LeCompte of Wooster Group
NYTimes.com: "SINCE its opening in 2005 the Baryshnikov Arts Center has been resolutely multidisciplinary in its programming. Still, the building is named after a man who is synonymous with dance, and it was something of a surprise to learn three years ago that Mikhail Baryshnikov had asked the Wooster Group, the venerable experimental theater collective, to take up residence in a newly acquired and still-to-be-renovated theater in the building in Midtown Manhattan."
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2 comments:
WHA!I had no idea the Wooster Group had moved over there. I also dont think I would have thought that Baryshnikov would have been the type of dance to bridge this divide. I hope this draws more audiences to their performances who are more focused in one or the other art form. Im not sure if there are that many people who have a stong interest in both however. Then again its not like they are combing both disciplines. This really does act more in their favor publicity wise than in actual performance.
This article makes an interesting statement about how a space defines the work that goes into it, even if the work is not an space-specific "installation piece" or performance art. The architecture and physical volume of the theater that a show takes place in will define both the technical aspects of design and staging and the broader questions such as story and how to tell it. You work very differently in a small proscenium space than you do in a small 3/4 thrust or a large arena. The article also makes a good point about how experimental theater does not have to be done exclusively in an abandoned warehouse. The work can be done in a legitimate theater space and still be considered experimental. What will be interesting to see is how the group will use this new space that they have found to work in and how they will adapt and modify it to suit their own purposes from production to production.
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