In the Boudoir

"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 27^th. 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!