‘Thrilling’ production returns
Zombies crawl through the aisles of the Kent Concert Hall, greeting crowds with dead stares and bringing new meaning to a “live” audience. Yet as the lights lower, the stage is what comes alive with the familiar tune of “Thriller” along with moon-walking corpses – a natural combination for Halloween night.
The Odyssey Dance Theater’s performance of “Thriller” is a returning performace at Utah State University, for which tickets sold out last year.
In order to meet demand, this year the company has extended their performances in Logan to include both Oct. 30 and 31, a rare opportunity since Odyssey also performs the popular Halloween show in St. George, Ogden and Salt Lake.
This widespread popularity of “Thriller” is the result of a risk taken by Derryl Yeager, founder and artistic director.
When the company first began the production, they booked three performances at Kingsbury Hall, but soon were informed that meager ticket sales might mean canceling the show. With a lot invested in the production, Yeager opted to perform the routine anyway.
“I knew we had something special from our work in the studio and I decided that if we were going to tank, we were going to go down in flames,” he said in an e-mail.
Fortunately for Yeager, the show caught on like wildfire instead. Since then, 20 cast members have used their diverse background in dance styles such as jazz, ballet, tap and hip hop to create what students at USU consider a Halloween tradition in the making.
Maria Borge, a sophomore at USU, described the performance, saying, “It’s Thriller without Michael Jackson, what could be better?”
Minus Michael Jackson, the famous “spooks” in the program include zombies, mummies and chain-saw massacre-ists dancing and acting in “Thriller,” “Curse of the Mummy,” “Frankenstein,” “Dem Bones,” “Jason Jam” and “Salem’s Mass.” Yeager says that returning audiences can expect tradition to be kept alive and enjoy the addition of a few surprises along the way.
What cast member most enjoy, however, is the creative platform that a Halloween show provides. While working on other productions, cast members will come up with new concepts and realize that something would fit into the show. Most of these ideas come from a combination of past experience and trying to develop something never seen before.
As Yeager states, “It’s like a painter, each has the same pallet of colors to start with, but each individual finds different ways of combining those colors to create something unique.”
“Unique” is one way of describing the show’s mixture of extreme costumes, makeup, music and dance styles.
“They entertain while showing they dance extremely well,” said Jessica Feller, a junior at USU, who has made an annual tradition of attending “Thriller.”
According to Yeager, the company spends a great deal of time helping the dancers become “artists” by developing their acting skills.
“Otherwise, they are just a drill team doing steps. We’re trying to create theatrical moments that tell a story that engage and move an audience,” Yeager said.
These elements are what the cast hopes displays their broad range of capabilities from dancer to actor and performer, a high goal to achieve within the two weeks it take to put this show together. But what the dancers look forward to most is the experience of performing for a live audience and the adrenalin that is supplied by that moment of “addicting” energy, as Yeager explained.
“I always remind them about how amazing live theater is and what a sacred trust it is when people come to see you perform. We should never betray that trust and always give them 110 percent on stage,” Yeager said.
With this final piece of advice in mind, the cast members attempt to shock, spook and entertain the audience with the complete experience of “Thriller” at 7 p.m. in the Kent Concert Hall.
Tickets purchased with a student ID card are $5 and can be bought at the USU Ticket Office.
-cynthiadiane@cc.usu.edu