» Continued from pg 4 IN PRACTICE: HOLDING WAIT WITH JO KREITER
music dance theater Performances Cal U N I V E R S I T Y O F C A L I F O R N I A , B E R K E L E Y
2018/19
JK: So the question for me always is how to make physical a concept, an idea, a desire for action. For me this piece lends itself well. In terms of aerial dance and this topic, there is a vision of the walls coming down, a vision of flying above the walls, and that was very easy for me to take on with this particular set. To visit a prison is to participate in a ritual, and ritual and dance are very connected. You have to wake up really early in the morning. It’s always cold because you’re waiting out- side in a parking lot. It’s always dependent on orders from the corrections officers that change every time you go. There are certain things you can and can’t wear. I was turned away because my pants didn’t have a zipper and a snap. That was not allowed.
visitors. Imagine how they add up for the people who are there 24/7.
S E A S O N
SB: What kind of questions did you ask?
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Robert Battle, artistic director Masazumi Chaya, associate artistic director
JK: Gina Clayton wrote an article called “The Question that Silences Women,” 2 and the question she names is, “What did he do?” If you ask women that question it shuts us down. There’s an unspoken code in the reen- try and abolition communities that you never ask that because that’s not the main issue. But for me the question that silences is, “Why do you stay?” I think that every woman has a question that silences her. I asked the women we interviewed, “How is your story a love story?” Because I think it’s really important to see that as we are loving our incarcerated loved ones, we’re also deep in the fight. It’s not a passive love. You have this “stand by your man” ideal, this assump- tion of passivity, and that’s really not the case in my experience. You can’t be passive and make it through this. SB: You’ve been making work for a long time. What tools from prior projects are still in play and are there new ones based on this project? JK: Well, in terms of tried and true tools, and collaborators 3 : I’ve worked with Riley for fifteen years, and Pamela Z and I first started working together in 1996. I loop back to working with her every few years. Because she works with text as sound she’s an awesome collaborator when I’m trying to tell a story that has a political point. I present her with all the politically pointed things that someone has said. I comb through the interview tapes and I say, “From second 16 to minute 3.6, that’s the point.”And then she’ll take three words because she’s listening for something differ- ent, she’s listening with a formal ear. And she certainly understands the politics. And so we challenge each other that way because I give her the opportunity to work on political point and she gives me the opportunity to expand my formalism. It’s a lovely collaboration. New for me is designing a stand-alone set that does not use a wall or a ceiling, that’s not dependent on a specific piece of archi- tecture. I think one of the things that excites me about this project is bringing in the prison abolition community because I think there’s really great performing arts happen- ing around this issue but I don’t think there’s a lot of public art happening that is free and accessible and located in proximity to the Federal Building, UN plaza, and the buildings that represent the prison industrial complex. I really wanted to tour this piece because mass incarceration is a national crisis and I wanted the opportunity to perform in proximity to courthouses and prisons all over the country. We’ve made that a little bit of a reality in that we’re doing the piece here [in SF] and we’re doing it next to the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts in Richmond [May 16-17], inside the “Iron Triangle,” where there’s a high rate of violence, a very high rate of incarceration. I’m excited for that proximity to the problem. And then in September we’re performing it literally right next to the walls of Sing Sing prison [in Ossining, NY]. So my dream is coming true a little bit.
60th Birthday Celebration! FEATURING THREE BAY AREA PREMIERES: Lazarus by hip hop pioneer Rennie Harris , inspired by Ailey’s life and legacy Ronald K. Brown ’s The Call , which blends Bach, jazz, and Malian music Jessica Lang ’s vivid, celebratory work, EN ALSO FEATURING Timeless Ailey , a retrospective program of Ailey’s choreography
SB: And there was no explanation.
JK: No. That’s just the rule. And my son was turned away for the same reason. He was seven at the time. So a lot of people are turned away. Some facilities have a clothing bank where you can go and choose something else. That wasn’t true in federal.
SB: How do you see the political and the formal coming together in this piece?
April 9–14 ZELLERBACH HALL
JK: Because I’m on a very different kind of set I feel like I’m in new territory with this ques- tion of abstraction, metaphor, and representa- tion. The set is slightly space-aged looking.
Song of the Goat Theatre Songs of Lear Directed by Grzegorz Bral Music by Jean-Claude Acquaviva and Maciej Rychly
SB: It reminds me of Elizabeth Streb.
JK: And the piece is nothing like that. Moments might be…
SB: …well you have to pass through what she’s passing through because you’re both dealing with physics... JK: ...and a stand-alone, something that could be taken apart. I remember talking to Elizabeth and asking, “You built this stand alone set; what do you have to say about it?” And she said don’t ever do it. And here I’ve done it. 1. Gina Clayton, Endria Richardson, Lily Mandlin, and Brittany Farr, PhD (2018) Because She’s Powerful: The Political Isolation and Resistance of Women with Incarcerated Loved Ones . Los Angeles and Oakland, CA: Essie Justice Group. Find out more about Essie Justice Group at essiejusticegroup.org. 2. Brittany Farr (2016) “The Question that Silences Women: An Interview with Gina Clayton, Founder and Executive Director of the Essie Justice Group,” Souls , 18: 2-4, 459-462. 3. The Wait Room features dancers Bianca Cabrera, Clarissa Dyas, Laura Elaine Ellis, Sonsherée Giles, MaryStarr Hope, and Megan Lowe; lighting design by Jack Beuttler; and costume design by Jamielyn Duggan. SIMA BELMAR, PH.D. , is a Lecturer in the Depart- ment of Theater, Dance, & Performance Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Her writing has appeared in The Brooklyn Rail , San Francisco Bay Guardian , The Oakland Tribune , Dance Magazine , TDR , Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices , Perfor- mance Matters , Contemporary Theatre Review , and The Oxford Handbook of Screendance Studies . Her writing on living in Naples can be found at under- theneapolitanson.blogspot.com. To keep up with Sima’s writing please subscribe to tinyletter.com/ simabelmar.
This award-winning production retells the tragic king’s story as a dramatic oratorio blending Corsican folk music and Gregorian chant—a production the New York Times called “viscerally awe inspiring.”
May 11 & 12 ZELLERBACH PLAYHOUSE
Eifman Ballet The Pygmalion Effect US Premiere!
For 40 years, the defiantly controversial choreographer Boris Eifman has created productions punctuated by sumptuous costumes, exquisite dancing, and riveting drama. Here, the company presents the United States premiere of his brand new ballet, set to a score by Johann Strauss Jr. “This Russian dancemaker and his dancers are among the most fascinating artists before the public today.” — San Francisco Chronicle
SB: What about dance? How does it serve this political issue, these stories?
May 31–Jun 2 ZELLERBACH HALL
Flyaway Productions presents The Wait Room : Apr 19-27, at 1125 Market St, SF, FREE. flyawayproductions.com
BY POPULAR DEMAND! Added performance – Saturday, June 1, 2pm
calperformances.org/tickets
Season Sponsor:
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in dance APR 2019
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