Date: Fri 07-Nov-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: JUDYC

Quick Words:

theatre-Yale-Rep-Geography

Full Text:

(rev "Geography" @Yale Rep)

A Creative Season First At Yale Rep

By June April

NEW HAVEN - Were Geography renamed Explorations , it would be a more

descriptive title.

Opening the 1997-98 season at Yale's Repertory Theatre, this provocative

presentation stretches the line in defining theatre. Because of the amount of

space the production demands, Geography is being staged at Yale's larger

theatre, at 222 York Street, through November 8.

The dictionary claims theatre as the place where performances occur and a

performance as "a presentation, as of a dance or theatrical work, before an

audience." Performance encompasses numerous creative possibilities. It is that

pursuit of cultural and personal exploration that defines Geography .

Jointly commissioned and financially supported by almost a dozen different

organizations, including Yale Rep, choreographer Ralph Lemon uses dance

movements smattered with poetry to examine "perceptions of racial and cultural

identities."

The seed for this work was planted eight years ago in Australia, when Lemon

observed two Aboriginal dancers sharing their dance heritage and was struck by

seeing their bodies "transformed." It began a personal quest to explore his

African heritage and the cultural and emotional differences for Afro-American

males.

For Mr Lemon, Geography is literally an anthropological investigation and a

personal odyssey. Working with nine dancers/actors and percussionists from the

Ivory Coast, Guinea and the United States, Mr Lemon injects social and

political issues into dance and stimulates the audience to consider more than

movement.

The set is one of the most striking and exciting aspects of the production.

Created by installation artist Nari Ward, the audience is challenged to think

- and respond - on different levels. Three "curtains" of metal mattresses and

box springs suggest strongly the repetitive nature of what is to come, and

that it will be innovative.

Philosophically oriented to using found materials in his installations, Ward's

experience of seeing mattress springs in the ruins of a burnt-down Parisian

hotel was the inspiration for this production, explained Yale Rep's technical

director, Richard Gold. With the cooperation of Dial-A-Mattress, the theatre

company was able to acquire nearly 80 old mattresses and box springs, and

stripped them. The varying density of the springs and different conformations

are visually fascinating. The weight of the metal-curtains is about

three-quarters of a ton.

Curtains of bottles are used in Geography later in the production. With the

cooperation of area restaurants, approximately 1500 bottles were obtained,

washed and hung together with cable ties and black steel cables.

Using fabric between the rows of bottles (as protection, before they are

raised), Mr Gold said it takes about 45 minutes to lower and prepare the

bottle-curtain after each performance. The fabric readily falls away so the

unique "curtain" can be easily raised.

Rocks are used in the production, primarily for rhythmic purposes, but also

thrown as part of some sequences. Mr Gold said they drew upon the expertise of

Yale Rep's associate artistic director Mark Bly for advice on which kind of

rocks would be best to use. Mr Bly, coincidentally, is a hobby geologist.

Carlos Funn was approached by Ralph Lemon to become part of the Geography

journey because he had studied African dance, and also because of his training

and experience with Brazilian and American dancing. For Mr Funn, the imagery

Ralph Lemon is transcribing to movement is a collage of black culture. The

production fuses elements of West African dancing, which is more grounded,

literally; Capoeira, which is from Brazil and has strong martial arts

connections rooted in the Angolan dance heritage; and house, which is more

about the dancer and the music.

The "layering" of the set is mirrored in the layering of the dances Mr Funn

acknowledged. He also pointed out that the dances and the words used

repetition as subtle variants of expression.

For those interested in a provocative experience, and willing to allow

themselves to explore, then Geography is a must see. The contrasts of actions,

jolting sounds and words that punctuate movements is fascinating.

(Running through November 8 only, performances of Geography are Friday and

Saturday at 8 pm. Tickets are $25-$32; call the Yale Rep box office at

432-1234.)