Stage Whisper
Whisper in the Wings Episode 559
(upbeat music) - Hello everyone and welcome back into a fantastic new Whisper in the Wings from Stade Whisper. We are so excited to be welcoming back our guest today. Joining us, we have the creator and choreographer, Amanda Selwyn, who is joining us to talk about Amanda Selwyn Dance's presentation of Green Afternoon 11. It's happening Saturday, July 13th at 5 p.m. in East Hampton, New York. And you can get your tickets and more information by visiting amandicellwyndance.org. We had the wonderful, wonderful honor of talking to Amanda recently about a recent show of theirs entitled "Pabbit Formed." And we're so excited to have her back. We're so excited to be talking about this piece. Trust me, based on the little bit that I read already, you're gonna love this site-specific piece. So let's go ahead and welcome back on our guest. Amanda, welcome back to Whisper in the Wings from Stade Whisper. - Thanks so much for having me. - I'm so happy you're back. I'm so glad you're bringing us this new, I shouldn't say no. I mean, it seems like you've done this before, but this production this year of Green Afternoon 11, the pictures, the description that was passed on to me, I was like, this sounds like a great summer evening event. So why don't we start by having you tell us a little bit about what Green Afternoon 11 is and is about? - Absolutely. And yes, it is Green Afternoon 11. This is actually the 11th time we've done this event, hence the number 11. This is a really special site-specific performance in East Hampton, New York. It's at the house of Marsha Pravity and Peter Gumpel who are two retired architects. They built their house from the ground up and custom designed the entire property with all this amazing landscaping. Marsha Pravity creates what are called outdoor sitting rooms throughout the property with all different flora and different amazing flowers that bloom throughout the summer. We've done this event at different times in the summer. So depending on what time of the summer, there's different backdrop for us every time we're there. So what Green Afternoon consists of is two different pieces. At five p.m., the audience will arrive and begin to wander these really gorgeous grounds of the home of Marsha Pravity and Peter Gumpel. They can wander all the way around. There's little wooded areas, there's back gardens. And throughout the gardens, the dancers will be kind of embedded in these areas, doing what I call movement installations. So they're kind of these structured improvisations that loop and the audience can really choose their own adventure. So kind of like any other interactive performance, immersive performance like "Sleep No More", what you decide is what you're gonna see. So you can chase a dancer around the property. You can park yourself on a beautiful chair. You can enjoy a glass of wine and wander around. So we have hors d'oeuvres and wine. And this will go on for about 45 minutes and we'll have different dancers kind of moving through this. It happens in three different movements. So for the first 15 or 20 minutes, one kind of reiteration of the installation happens and then it resets and there's another iteration. So throughout that time period, the audience can get to see lots of different material. The movement installations are very much inspired by the surroundings. So we take some moving motifs of the larger performance work, which I'll get into in a second, which is an excerpt of our recent premiere "Have It Formed" and then we kind of reposition them in a 360 degree way. So thinking about what it's like to do the material when the audience is coming from all different directions. When we're climbing up a tree, when we're moving around a fountain, when we are going up and down a wooded path. So we take some of those fundamental movement ideas and then really open them up to really be able to respond to the space and the light and the shadows and the grass and all of it. So that's what happens during the movement installations. Then on the property, they have what I call the great lawn. It's this beautiful lawn area that is very well manicured for dance. It's a perfect flat green grassy area with entrances on the back and on the sides. It literally looks like it was created as a theater. We even have like a backdrop. The dancers can hide behind and we do a whole 40 minute seated performance. So we'll have chairs and people after they're wandering around the property, we'll invite them to take a seat on the grass and we'll do a 40 minute extract of habit form. So habit form, as you mentioned, I was on the podcast talking about it in the late winter, early spring. We premiered the piece at Tribeca Performing Arts Center in March and it's a piece that really explores our relationship to habitual behaviors. Those that we cultivate by design and those that entrap us. So looking at kind of the freedom and the constriction of habits. So how showing up in your habits can help you grow as a person and develop more of a sense of who you wanna be. But they can also, if not focused on mindfully, can get in the way of who we wanna be. So that's kind of the theme of the piece. And we're gonna select about 40 minutes of the full 90 minute work to present outside. And yeah, and then after the performance, there'll be an opportunity to mingle with the dancers and to get to know some of our staff and artists. And we'll serve more work freshmen and get to wander the property. One additional thing I should mention is in addition to being a landscape designer, Marsha Pravity also does some sculpture and there's sculpture all over the property. She calls them folk Woolies. So it's like a wink and a nudge to Shaquoli. They're these found object sculptures that really respond to the gardens. So the dance, the sculpture, the gardens, it's all kind of a layered experience. We're outside in the end of the day. So hopefully it's a little cooler by 5 p.m., not the heat of the day, but there are also some shaded areas to get out of the sun. It's in the springs part of East Hampton. So it's a little bit cooler than the other side of East Hampton. - That sounds fantastic. That's not like the perfect escape from the city, right? That is just wonderful. So now you mentioned this is the 11th iteration of the show. I'm curious to know what inspired you to create this work. - So we've done it differently every time. I basically created this structure where we do the movement installations and then we do an excerpt of the performance that I've been working on recently. And it's kind of been tried and tested and true 'cause we've done it so many times and it really works in the environment. I was introduced to Marsha and Peter about 13 years ago. They are wonderful supporters of the arts. They love anyway to bring their gardens to life. They love dance. Peter Gumpel is also a watercolor artist. So they do a lot of different art forms. It's really a very artistic space and place. So when I wandered around the property, I really just got ideas based on looking at the property. What would be the most exciting way to showcase it? And every year I go up there a little early and Marsha walks me around and shows me anything new that's developed in the gardens. And then we try to highlight that in our installations as well. So some years she's put out different ladders. There used to be a tree house that we would dance in. Then sometimes she'll have a new sculpture that we'll highlight. So different things like that every year. But I'm very much inspired by their energy really as supporters of the arts. I think that you can't have arts without the people that support the arts. And they really have created this space to enjoy dance in such a 360 degree way in nature, to be able to just enjoy nature in a different kind of way. So yeah, so every year it evolves. And what's been great since we've done it 11 times is I've brought different pieces out there. Last year I actually brought out habit form pre-premier. So we did a preview of the piece. And now that the piece has been fully developed, we're gonna bring different sections to highlight in the seated performance. - That is so awesome. I love it. What a venue too. I wanna see this dance show perform in a tree house. - That would be amazing. - It's a lot of fun. - What has it been like developing this 11th iteration of the show as we are just over a week away from the event? - Well, I'm very, very blessed that I have an amazing community of dancers, many of whom have danced with me for seven, eight, nine, 10 years. So I'm bringing five company dancers with me this season to this event. And four of them have done this event multiple times. So they know the property, they know the grass, the mulch, the different ways of what works well in this part, what works well in that part. So they really, because they've done it so many times, have been able to really expand their creativity. And in a very short period of time, we've put it together. So we go out there the day before, we rehearse all day on Friday, we rehearse all morning on Saturday, and then Saturday evening is the show. So obviously the material's already rehearsed in the studio in New York City, but being able to take it into the site and do it, it's a lot easier because the dancers know the space. Many of them have been there before. But that's really what the process is about. I mean, we try to be really organic, thinking about what's going on. I mean, if it's really hot, we might do more in the shaded areas. If it is, we've had some years, we've had to deal with some wet weather and we got through it, the dancers perform getting sprinkled on one year. The audience, we gave out little clear umbrellas, but it usually doesn't rain. The kind of rain that we have will be just little spits and spurts usually. So that never keeps anyone away. So we just respond to what nature gives us every year, and it really allows us the space to be really creative with this. We also try to bring out different costumes every year. It's a chance to kind of go into our amazing repertoire of costuming. This is, we're going into our 25th anniversary season. So we have a lot of amazing costumes from different works. So it's nice to see what's going to work differently in the grass. So we don't necessarily just bring the costumes for the fully theatrical piece because it's a very different background. We don't have any theatrical lighting. We're dealing with green grass and flowers. So in terms of color palette, it's very different. So we brought out different costumes every year and really just played around with flowy costumes, shorter costumes, longer costumes, and how they respond to the different parts of the environment. - That is so exciting. That is, I mean, also so excited that you're headed into the 25th anniversary season, but I just, I love this. I love all these wonderful things that are at your fingertips and you're bringing it all together to create this wonderful piece. So with this unique experience, I mean, how often do you get to go to a giant garden and experience this wonderful, wonderful performance arts piece? Is there a message or a thought? You hope that audiences who attend take away? - That's a great question. I mean, again, since every year I focus on kind of a different theme piece. This year it's about habit formed. You know, I always like to, my work is really resonant of very human themes like this idea of being in control versus finding freedom in our lives. So I always want to create ways the audience can connect to the dancers and make meaning for themselves. So it's, you know, highly abstract, very physical movement, but it's also very emotionally driven movement. So hopefully, especially in the intimacy of this surrounding, you know, they're not separated by a big proscenium or lots of lights. They're really up in front, right up and close to the dancers. They can see the sweat dripping off their brow. They can connect to kind of just the magic of movement expression and find something, whether it's in a duet between two dancers in a group movement section, in the energy of the way they're interacting with the property, a different way to kind of feel some of the emotions and make meaning for themselves. It's really what I like to say. Like we don't, we give them sign posts. And so the audience can make their own interpretation. Certainly with the movement installation portion of the performance, I'm hoping it can really illuminate the grounds in another way. So everyone can wander around the grounds and get to see different sculptures and different floor, you know, different flowers and trees and branches and bushes. But to see the way the dancers interact with them illuminates them in a different way. So that's kind of what, what I always love is, you know, I love when we have the kind of audience member that really wants to kind of go off and make their own wanderings around, you know, sometimes people come with groups. They want to just like have their drink, have their glass of wine. They don't want to be too bothered to have to run around the entire space. But it's really for everyone. So it's, if you don't, if you want to just wait for the dancers to come to you, that will happen or you can follow the dancers. Both options are very available to you. So I guess, yeah, in general, I always love when people are able to find an emotional connection, make meaning in terms of the theme of the piece habit formed. But ultimately, I mean, this is a joyful Saturday afternoon in the summer. It's a chance to just be outside and feel free and feel inspired by nature and movement and community. And that's really what it's all about. - That is so fantastic. I love the sound of this. I love, like I said, I love a good choose your own adventure. I love beautiful setting. I mean, this sounds like so much fun. So I know that, I mean, as a New Yorker, I mean, it is in the East Hamptons, which sounds like it's far away, but come on, it's an easy train ride. So I'd love to know, who's it you hope have access to this show? - Well, certainly anyone who's in the Hamptons, which are a lot of people. So we would encourage people in the Hamptons or the North Fork or Shelter Island or just Eastern Long Island to come on out. If you want to make a day trip from Manhattan, it's, you know, it is a train ride or a Hampton-Gitney ride. And that's kind of why we do the performance at 5 p.m. So you could come up, spend the day on the beach and then go see the performance and then head back to the city or go out to dinner or what have you. It kind of fits into a summer's, a perfect summer's day. Yeah, if you are able to find a place to stay out there or you know people out there, there's a lot of, I mean, the Hamptons are amazing. Obviously, it's just such a wonderful place to spend some time in the summer. There's so many different things to do in terms of arts and culture. Obviously, there's the beach. There's all sorts of other fun things. So it's a wonderful New York City getaway, but for people that are on Long Island or Queens or Eastern New York, you know, it's a really easy way of getting there for the day as well. East Hampton, it's actually the part of the East Hampton that's close to Amagansett. So it's between Amagansett and East Hampton is really where the, it's on 230 Old Stone Highway is where it's located. So it's very accessible by train or Jitney or all of that. And they have extra trains in the summer and they run express. I mean, it's really quite easy to get out there in the summer time. Yeah. And this is, I mean, if you're looking for an excuse to go to be able to support a dance company and see something really innovative. I mean, I also think, you know, there's a lot of different types of performances. You can see it's, I personally love seeing things in different types of site specific natural settings. I think it's a really unique experience that we don't get to do as often. And to get to go, get to go into a private home that has these expansive gardens, it is a really special experience. I mean, this is why we've done this 11 times 'cause literally every time it's just an exquisite event. I mean, you take a beautiful dancer and a beautiful costume doing really elegant and expressive movement. And then you put them in the middle of these gardens with the sun beating down and it's just, it's exquisite. I mean, I always say it's kind of like a mid-summer night stream. It has that kind of majesty to it when you're wandering around, you know? And the gardens are really different. I mean, there's like different types of things to see. There's different shapes to the gardens. One of them, you know, with these big sculpture objects and small sculptural objects. And there's lots of places to wander and kind of get lost in there. So it's a really special environment. Yeah, I would highly recommend people come check it out and also just to know a little bit more about Amanda Selwyn dance theater. We've been doing this, we've been creating dance theater in New York City and beyond for going on 25 years. And we also have an arts education program called Notes in Motion where we provide dance to the New York City public schools. So this past year, we provided 116 dance programs in all five boroughs of New York City. I have 50 teaching artists, teaching in a whole range of styles and techniques. So if you come out to support our professional performance, you're also supporting a dance company whose mission is all about bringing dance to everyone and that dance should be accessible to all. (upbeat music) - We love the second part of our interview. As you know, we love giving our listeners a chance to get to know our guests a little bit better, pull the curtain back, if you will. And it's so wonderful having you back here and talking about all this amazing, amazing dance stuff. But I would love to know, how is it that you came into the performing arts? - Well, you know, I talk about the fact that my organization has an arts education program. I was very lucky to start studying dance and theater at a very young age. I grew up outside of Boston in Brookline Mass and the public school systems had a wonderful arts program and I had great dance and drama teachers. I also participated in Boston Children's Theater growing up, went to stage door manner theater camp and really got a very rounded dance education, theater education as a young person. I knew from the moment I was very young that I was driven to create and be a part of the performing arts. I always wanted to be on stage. I was always creating shows. It was something that really drove me and then I did my undergrad degree at Northwestern in theater and dance and went on to move to New York and do my master's degree at NYU. And as soon as I moved to New York, I kind of started thinking about what would an organization look like that I started? And what I really wanted to do was create a community where I could have a collaborative environment to develop work. So that was the first start of Amanda Sullivan Dance Theater was a choreographer's workshop that I started in 2000. And it was an opportunity for different choreographers to bring work in its development stages and to workshop ideas together. From this workshop, I really honed my own creative process, which is now what I lead with the dancers, which is very much about using my skills as a theater director as well as my background in dance to really guide the dancers, to invent movement, to the dancers are always teachers in the studio as well. So they'll, I'll give them an image like with this piece habit formed. We'll play with this idea of being engaged in your habits or finding freedom in your habits. We played with different motifs that repetitive habitual behavior that we all can relate to. And from those gestural motifs, we would develop longer movement phrases and share them out between the dancers. So it was this very kind of collaborative way of developing movement, which is something that I got very early in my training in high school. I was involved in this educational theater company where we were developing original performance pieces that were all performer driven. And that's kind of something that's always driven me as an artist. I think that the most exciting work comes when everybody involved can have a skin in the game. So I really have always investigated different ways to foster collaboration. And this is what I do in the studio with my dancers. This is what inspires me to want to create more work and more work because my, I'm always, I come up with the ideas, but then I'm guiding this process. And from that, we're really developing all these exciting ways of imagining how we can express this idea, how we can bring questions to this idea, how we can create dramatic elements to this idea. I also love design elements. As I mentioned, I have a theater and a dance background. I work very closely with my costume, lighting, scenic designers that really drives me as an artist. I'm very involved in that process. We bring those elements into the studio. And then also in our dance education programming, I really try to mirror these same goals and values. So I've developed a methodology that I call the movement exchange method, which is all about empowerment. It's about giving young people the tools in the classroom so they can develop the opportunity to express themselves through movement. So whether it's teaching them different skills of ballet or jazz or modern or African dance, we're also empowering the students to play around with theme and variation, to play with structured improv, to play with partnering, to develop their own movement phrases, to think about the history of that dance form. So this is the same way we structure our dance education programs is what really has always driven me as an artist. So I think this was the way, this has kind of been in my bones since I was very young and I'm very blessed that I had a lot of amazing mentors along the way who really gave me opportunities. - That is such a beautiful tale that I love that. You are literally a testament to the power of arts education right there. So that is incredible. - Now, I know you've been very busy getting the show ready among, I'm sure, other things heading into year 20 for the anniversary season, but have another chance to see any great theater or dance lately that you might be able to recommend to our listeners? - You know, I have a blog list of shows I wanna get to, but I haven't actually seen anything so recently. I saw "Marily We Roll Along" last month, which was great on Broadway, which I know is closing soon or maybe it just closed, I can't remember. That was amazing. There's so many good dance shows going on now. I really, there's, I have a long list of things that I wanna see, but it's been a busy time. So I haven't gotten out to see too much. But I just wanna say that, I mean, yeah, like I love what you're doing with your podcast. And I think that getting out to see performance, whether it's on a big Broadway stage or a concert dance stage or in a small intimate setting, there's just so many ways to support developing artists and emerging artists and established artists. And there's a lot of people doing really exciting things right now. I'm really thrilled that like coming off of the challenges we've dealt with the last few years with COVID, that there's a big resurgence. A lot of people are getting back to creating work. The performance calendars are packed. So there is a lot to see out there. And I, you know, we need to make some time to do it 'cause I really, I love getting inspiration from other artists. - That is amazing. And thank you for those kind words. We really appreciate it. Well, I would love to ask my favorite question to you once again, which is what is another of your favorite theater memories? - Favorite theater memories? God, there's so many. I mean, I love tech. I could think of like, you know, just that feeling when you load in the first day and you start a tech week is always something where I just feel like I've arrived. And I just kind of feel actually, especially with the 25th anniversary of my company, I'm kind of running through a flip book in my head of a lot of our past productions and reflecting back on this season and that season. I'm also for my next season, I'm putting together an evening of repertory. So I've been going back and looking at a lot of different productions that I've done. But I think, you know, it does come down to how we've been able to adapt. I mean, I think the thing that like, things very rarely go exactly as planned. There's always something, whether it's something technical that goes awry or God forbid, there's an, you know, an injury or something that goes on. But you have to, being able to figure out the ways over the years that we've weathered the challenges that have come along the way in different productions. You know, I'm just thinking about whether it's something like a piece of scenery breaks or a lighting instrument doesn't work that suddenly we have to figure out a whole different way of scheduling it. I mean, I think about like some of my favorite memories are how we've overcome those odds, you know? So it's not, it's really just, that's kind of the magic of live theater and the show must go on. And it's something you don't have the editing room to go and fix it until it's perfect and send it out. You have to figure out a way, okay, the show's going on at 7.30 p.m. or 8 p.m. Tickets are sold. What are the things, you know, when humanity, when life happens, what are the things we can do to adapt? And I mean, I think that that's even when you're going to see a show on the Broadway stage. I mean, there was a story I read recently about someone who had like, you know, there's like a health problem in the audience and how that you read articles about how the cast handles it so gracefully. I mean, these are the magical things about like the transmission between audience and performers in live theater and live dance that is so special. And I guess it's just, it's a privilege. And I also just am grateful that I feel like over the years I've developed the confidence in the ability to weather these challenges. So I'm not really answering your question, but I guess my memory is just like, sometimes those moments that seem like, oh my God, it's so awful, it's so hard. End up turning into amazing discoveries that you would never have discovered if you hadn't been presented with that challenge. So that's kind of what I, in reflection, that's what I think about the most. - I think that is a fabulous answer. I love, I cannot share that on enough. It's so wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing that. - My pleasure. - Well, as we wrap things up, I would love to know, do you have any other projects or productions coming on the pipeline? We might be able to plug. I mean, I hear murmurs that it's gonna be a big year with the 25th anniversary season. So tell us more about all of this stuff. - Yeah, so we're excited about Green Afternoon and then following Green Afternoon, I'm planning a whole series of events next year, leading up to another world premiere next May at New York Live Arts, a piece called Awaken, and Awaken will be some new material, playing around with the theme of living in the present moment, and how do we soften away the distractions of all the things that take us out of the present moment? And it's also gonna be a way of looking back at some of the highlights from my 25 years of repertory. Over the, in the next season, I'm looking to do some more process-oriented events and interactive events with audiences, whether it's an open rehearsal, I'm thinking about doing a panel discussion with our designers, where we're gonna do an exhibit of some of their process work over the years, and then have a chance for audiences to interact behind the scenes with our designers. So things like that are on the, in the plans. Also, since I've been so privileged to work with so many different artists over the 25 years of my company, I'm planning to do an alumni event, where I bring back former dancers and former collaborators, former board members, and really just celebrate all the people that have helped us get where we are. 'Cause as a nonprofit dance company, it's definitely a labor of love, working to raise the funds, to keep the work going, to weather the challenges of COVID, to build our education program, to perform on different stages, and to really tell the story of what we've done and what we've accomplished. So I'm looking to do kind of a series of small events, and cater to different types of ways, kind of similar green afternoon, so people can experience a type of event that might be more their speed, whether it's a fully produced evening, something more informal, something where they get to interact, also doing some educational workshops. We're also planning some special events to celebrate some of our school partners, and leaders in the education space that really make it possible for us to continue to bring arts education around the city, celebrating some of our city council members who are supporting the work we do. So we have a big season plan, so I would just say to your listeners, if you don't already follow us on social, please check us out. Amanda Selwyn-DT is our Instagram. You can check out the website AmandaSelwyn.org. Selwyn is spelled S-E-L-W-Y-N, and if you wanna learn more about our education program, Notes in Motion, we also have an Instagram for that, Notes in Motion dance, and a website, Notes in Motion org. The websites are kind of, you can get from one to the other, so they're kind of linked. But yeah, we have a lot of exciting events coming up, and we're just excited about being able to really continue bringing dance. It's really a privilege, so I feel very blessed. - Oh my gosh, that is all so amazing. I'm so excited for the year to come, and I'm so excited about this show that you're doing in just over a week. This is amazing, this is amazing. We are gonna have to bookmark the webpage. We're definitely following an Instagram. We've gotta stay up to date with all of this, so. Amanda, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. Thank you so much for everything you and your company are doing to help promote and cultivate the arts, and most importantly, thank you so much for your time for sharing this great show. I really appreciate it. - Well, I appreciate you bringing me on, and I just, you know, I think you're doing wonderful work, so I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about it, and yeah, and I hope that, you know, we can get lots of your listeners to come check us out in the Hamptons. It's a real special day. - Absolutely, absolutely. My guest today has been the incredible creator and choreographer, Amanda Selwyn, who joined us to talk about Amanda Selwyn Dance's presentation of Green Afternoon 11. It's happening Saturday, July 13 at 5 p.m., out in East Hampton, New York, and you can get your tickets and more information by visiting amandicellwyndance.org. We also have some contact information for our guests, which will be posted in our episode description, as well as on our social media posts, but I'm telling you, you do not want to miss out on anything this dance company does, especially this upcoming performance out in East Hampton. This is incredible, it's like the perfect garden party. You're gonna love it. You get to be outdoors right in the ocean breeze and the beautiful East Hamptons and seeing some incredible work. So get to Amanda Selwyn Dance.org, get your tickets now for Green Afternoon 11, happening Saturday, July 13 at 5 p.m. So until next time, I'm Andrew Cortez, reminding you to turn off your cell phones, unwrap your candies, and keep talking about the theater in a stage whisper. Thank you. (upbeat music) - If you like what you hear, please leave a five star review, like and subscribe. - You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram at stagewhisperpod. - And feel free to reach out to us with your comments and personal stories at stagewhisperpod@gmail.com. - And be sure to check out our website for all things stage whisper and theater. You'll be able to find merchandise, tours, tickets and more. Simply visit stagewhisperpod.com. Our theme song is Maniac by Jazar. Other music on this episode provided by Jazar and Billy Murray. You can also become a patron of our show by logging on to patreon.com/stagewhisperpod. 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