"In the Boudoir" – Summer Shapiro –
9/16/12
I was a big fan of the last creation
of Summer Shapiro I saw, a wonderful duet with the talented Peter
Musante, called “Legs & All.” That piece had one foot
planted in the world of the clown and the other just as firmly in a
world that felt like “movement theatre.” The result was a moving
and funny piece about relationships and love.
“In the Boudoir,” did not
disappoint. A solo piece about play, fantasy, and love, Ms. Shapiro
showed an even more refined sense of physical and emotional artistry.
It's not quite as abstract as “Legs & All,” the bits being
more familiar Clown setups that increase in scope as the show goes
on. But they are played with a sense of precision & integrity
that captivates.
A good example is the opening sequence,
played to a swinging version of “Puttin' on the Ritz.” Part
dance, part numero, part setup for many of the bits that follow, Ms.
Shapiro moves through the piece with concentration of a wild animal –
singular in purpose but occasionally distractible. And in the
vacillation between those two states we see tremendous vulnerability.
That is a big compliment. She gets the vulnerability just right:
not from apologizing or shyness, but from commitment and desperation
combined with great control. She was so good that, as I watched, I
completely forgot the piece was choreographed to accompanying music.
I could go on about what a pleasure it
is to watch Ms. Shapiro work, but you'll see what I mean if you get
to her show on the 27th. Suffice it to say, she performs
with the precision of a juggler, the athleticism of a dancer, the
sense of play of a young child.
And there is good structural work here,
too. While the bits in the show are more traditionally “Clown,”
they are organized in an arc, starting the show with the exploration
of the self, followed with a developing ownership of the space,
bringing an audience members into the space, and culminating in a
scene where she has gotten a little too comfortable manipulating
people in the space and risks some serious consequences.
I offer two small questions, one
performative and one more about structure.
On the performative side, I wonder if
this clown has yet found its voice. I don't mean in some esoteric
way. I mean her actual voice. Her relationship to the audience, in
terms of winks, grunts, small gestures is so present and so perfectly
fits the world. But those few moments where voice is actually used
to make words, something feels lacking, deflating. Its a small
detail, but worth mentioning because so much of the performance is
spot-on.
A larger question is a structural one,
related to the clown's emotional arc: what change (if any), does
this clown undergo in this piece? I am not arguing for some kind of
trad dramatic ending, or some moral lesson, or anything else as
aesthetically crass. And I'm not arguing for a trad dramatic
structure, like some Arthur Miller play. Comedic structure,
especially clown pieces, are often circular in nature. But that does
not mean that the piece should be flat. Circular structure is about
arriving back at the beginning after going as far up an down as
possible.
In the piece's current iteration, there
is a very strong sense of engagement throughout, but the stakes do
not seem to get particularly higher as we move through it. This
makes the ending a little unsatisfying.
SPOILER ALERT (don't read past this if
you're planning on seeing it!): It's interesting to setup a duel
between two suitors. Even more interesting to have a ricochet
mortally wound you in the process. EVEN MORE interesting to see you
have BOTH kiss you as a final gift to you before dying. But some
little part of me, for a small moment, has to BELIEVE that you
ACTUALLY were shot, and this REALLY is your dying wish. I think all
the structural pieces are there for the arc of this clown to be
rendered visible, but I think the stakes have to get higher, allowing
the emotional range to go both higher and lower, especially as we
reach the ending.
AWESOME SHOW!
