Sunday, April 21, 2013
Anatomy of a Number: 'Kinky Boots'
www.nytimes.com: Jerry Mitchell talks about directing and choreographing the song "Everybody Say Yeah" from the new Broadway musical by Harvey Fierstein (book) and Cyndi Lauper (music and lyrics).
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4 comments:
I want to go see this musical, partly because Kevin worked on it, and partly because it looks really fun. As for this particular clip, the director definitely hist on several points about actor safety that we experience a lot in theatre. The incorporation of safety rails was very interesting, because had he not been talking about them in the clip, I would have assumed they were there from the beginning. I also think the actor's controlling the treadmills was probably a little risky, but I can see how it would be much safer than if they were automated, or even if a person offstage were controlling them.
I'm really glad to hear the commentary from the director. It's good to hear how the process of making these treadmills work. I find this idea to be very OKGO-esque which is interesting. I'm also glad that the director worked on the treadmills and realized the problems along with the actors to see what needed to be added to make the dance more safe. And what's great about that is that the director found more ways to work with the machines. It's also great that the treadmills are controlled by the actors in case there is a problem. And thinking of the malfunctioning was a great idea on the directors part because you never really know what will happen during the run.
I first watched this clip with my computer on mute, and all I thought was man, those railings look safe but if it was me up on that thing, I would feel so much more comfortable if I could control the speed. And sure enough the director had those same ideas. We often talk about 'actor-proofing' our scenery but it seems like the actors might be smarter than we give them credit for and all it takes is to adjust the interface of the scenery to accommodate and facilitate the busy work an actor has on stage.
Didn't that band, OK GO, already do a dance number on treadmills? I guess these are conveyor belts, so it's a little different, but I know that's what I was immediately reminded of. Personally I'm not a fan of the idea. It seems like all too often musicals will just throw in a a piece of machinery for the dancers to dance on just to spice up a number when all it really does is distract. Too much technology, that's what I say! Shakespeare had it right: plays should be staged as minimally as possible.
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