1/29/06: "Chaste White and Blush Red"
David Novak's "Chaste White and Blush Red"
Thursday, Jan. 26 at North Carolina Stage Company (part of Catalyst Series)
I'm ashamed to admit that this is the first time I've seen David Novak perform one on his pieces (saw him in NC Stage's "Twelfth Night" and have listened to a couple of his cd's). His show was what I expected: polished, well-performed, movement and text absolutely set, clever. I was most impressed with his absolutely calm, centered, focused acting presence. Very reassuring. Very friendly and off-the-cuff (seemingly) welcome to the audience moving smoothly into a well-composed piece. He's a pro (which I knew).
Visual: Stage painted black, black backdrop; stage strewn with red and white rose petels except for clear center area; small table with "still life"--red and golden delicious apples in a bowl, red rose in a stem vase (I think). Subtle lighting changes, very simple.
I liked the piece. At times I really liked it (Orpheus, Atalanta, dirty limricks). At times I got a little bored (Cinderella). Once I felt uncomfortable, when he seemed to be telling us about the fact of his divorce (?) but in such a "performed" manner that it felt wrong, to me. In fact--and I'm quibbling here with a talented performer and writer--at several time during the performance I found his performance style or the quality of the writing getting in the way of my connection to the moment, a kind of self-satisfaction that I was either reading into or was there. During the Pygmalion sections, I wanted to ask him if the myth wasn't also about the danger of an artist being moved by his own work--which is what I thought at times might be happening. But how do you avoid that problem? I was reminded a bit of my initial reaction to a Laurie Anderson performance, where her vocal style seemed to be saying, "This is art and I am a serious artist"--until I got past that and began to enjoy her style tremendously.
I like the way he took a chance with juggling apples as part of the Atalanta story. Worked well, not gratuitous. If I were doing it I would have dropped one for sure, which, given the style of the performance and the importance of the moment, would have been awful. I caught a moment where he almost dropped, then stopped. Very well done.
One image (or association) from David's show has stuck with me: The underworld, the realm of the dead, as he described it in the Orpheus/Eurydice story. Suddenly the idea of our walking on a thin shell over the realm of all the dead seemed absolutely RIGHT to me, a perfect image for the tenuousness of living. Scary, too.
I was particularly interested in seeing David perform because I've been concerned with this idea of theatre as telling a story (or not) and I knew he was a good storyteller. Yes, sitting back and letting someone tell me a story is a pure pleasure. Did that fact get in the way of his performance becoming "live" or "volitile"? Yes, particular since it was so "performed" (too much about the performer and not about the present moment?). Would a different, rougher way of storytelling be more alive? I don't know.
Thursday, Jan. 26 at North Carolina Stage Company (part of Catalyst Series)
I'm ashamed to admit that this is the first time I've seen David Novak perform one on his pieces (saw him in NC Stage's "Twelfth Night" and have listened to a couple of his cd's). His show was what I expected: polished, well-performed, movement and text absolutely set, clever. I was most impressed with his absolutely calm, centered, focused acting presence. Very reassuring. Very friendly and off-the-cuff (seemingly) welcome to the audience moving smoothly into a well-composed piece. He's a pro (which I knew).
Visual: Stage painted black, black backdrop; stage strewn with red and white rose petels except for clear center area; small table with "still life"--red and golden delicious apples in a bowl, red rose in a stem vase (I think). Subtle lighting changes, very simple.
I liked the piece. At times I really liked it (Orpheus, Atalanta, dirty limricks). At times I got a little bored (Cinderella). Once I felt uncomfortable, when he seemed to be telling us about the fact of his divorce (?) but in such a "performed" manner that it felt wrong, to me. In fact--and I'm quibbling here with a talented performer and writer--at several time during the performance I found his performance style or the quality of the writing getting in the way of my connection to the moment, a kind of self-satisfaction that I was either reading into or was there. During the Pygmalion sections, I wanted to ask him if the myth wasn't also about the danger of an artist being moved by his own work--which is what I thought at times might be happening. But how do you avoid that problem? I was reminded a bit of my initial reaction to a Laurie Anderson performance, where her vocal style seemed to be saying, "This is art and I am a serious artist"--until I got past that and began to enjoy her style tremendously.
I like the way he took a chance with juggling apples as part of the Atalanta story. Worked well, not gratuitous. If I were doing it I would have dropped one for sure, which, given the style of the performance and the importance of the moment, would have been awful. I caught a moment where he almost dropped, then stopped. Very well done.
One image (or association) from David's show has stuck with me: The underworld, the realm of the dead, as he described it in the Orpheus/Eurydice story. Suddenly the idea of our walking on a thin shell over the realm of all the dead seemed absolutely RIGHT to me, a perfect image for the tenuousness of living. Scary, too.
I was particularly interested in seeing David perform because I've been concerned with this idea of theatre as telling a story (or not) and I knew he was a good storyteller. Yes, sitting back and letting someone tell me a story is a pure pleasure. Did that fact get in the way of his performance becoming "live" or "volitile"? Yes, particular since it was so "performed" (too much about the performer and not about the present moment?). Would a different, rougher way of storytelling be more alive? I don't know.
posted by Graham at 4:14 PM
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