SITI perspective comes to USU
A world premiere of an original production by two internationally renowned performing groups is nothing to sneer at.
But when that premiere takes place in Logan, Utah instead of New York City the premiere becomes a little more personal.
Sept. 16-18, the Morgan Theatre in the Chase Fine Arts center will see the birth of “Systems/Layers”, a collaborative work which involves an avant-garde musical sextet named Rachel’s and the New York based Saratoga International Theatre Institute (SITI Company).
Originally dreamed up by the group, Rachel’s, and then extended to include the SITI Company, “Systems/Layers” is billed on the SITI Company website, www.siti.org, as “a multi-disciplinary dance/theater piece that follows eight characters through one day of their life in a city.”
“We wanted to represent an individual’s experience in a city, but in the context that millions of individuals are having the same experience in cities all over the world, at the same time,” said Rachel’s viola player, Christian Fredrickson. “We wanted it to be recognizable, but not tangible.”
Written without a vocal script, “Systems/Layers” will use movement, music and “an aural soundscape,” to “tell the stories of these urban dwellers through the poetry of their bodies.”
In addition to this premier, both Rachel’s and the SITI Company will be in residence at USU for two weeks of workshops with USU students, beginning Monday, Sept. 6 at 5 p.m.
“Any student that has an interest is more than welcome [to come] and will benefit from it,” said director Kevin Doyle, adding that “dancers will get a great deal of help out of it.”
Described by the New York Times as “mature enough to disregard trends and do what they like,” the Louisville-based band, Rachel’s, said on their website, www.southern. com/southern/band/RACHL, that they are “a collective of friends playing in an instrumental band that share the desire to explore ideas together without manifestos or genre biases.”
The SITI Company, established in 1992 by Anne Bogart and Tadashi Suzuki, is dedicated to “redefining and revitalizing contemporary theater in the United States through an emphasis on international cultural exchange and collaboration.”
Winning numerous awards for their efforts, the SITI company focuses on teaching actors the Suzuki method which is a very eastern style of acting.
“Suzuki’s method of actor training is a method of body strengthening that enhances vocal production and physicality so that you have a real, true presence on the stage,” Doyle said.
Doyle saidd he hopes that the workshops will really help students to overcome one of the biggest problems found in theatre departments across the country -getting students to bring physical life to their characters.
“[Students] do a lot of book work and they learn their lines of course, but one of the directors biggest challenges is to get and instill some action,” he said. “Theatre has got to be based on action. It can’t just be this heady talk.”
Doyle has seen many students improve tremendously after other visits by the SITI company.
“I’ve seen students after this workshop become more centered, more focused, more creative, and more able to work off each other in a way that they help each other and enhance the total collaborative production,” Doyle said.
Made possible by a grant from the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation, both the workshops and the premiere are unique to USU.
“[The SITI Company] does visit other universities, but usually only one or two company members and for very short amounts of time,” Doyle said. “We’re the only one in the country that does this.”
More information on this and other upcoming events can be found at the Utah State Theatre website, www.usu.edu/theatre/www.ust.org.
-mattgo@cc.usu.ed