'Early Shaker Spirituals' - A Twirling Twisting Review

1976 Vinyl Album

The Wooster Group’s ‘Early Shaker Spirituals’ is a combination of rawness and sweat, which isn’t usually associated with the religious group, the Shakers. ‘Early Shaker Spirituals’ is the Wooster Group’s latest performance at the Performing Garage in SoHo. This recent performance isn’t the typical Wooster Group aesthetic of technology engaging with canonical plays and popular culture. Instead this record album interpretation of the Shaker's songs and interviews is low-tech by Wooster standards.

Kate Valk takes directorial role, a first in Wooster Group history and Liz LeCompte joins the stage with Oscar-winning actress Frances McDormand, Suzzy Roche and Cynthia Hedstrom. The four actors sit calmly and sing the 1976 recording of hymns and interviews of the Shaker women, mimicking the album’s inflections and pauses. 

Elizabeth Lecompte, Suzzy Roche, Frances McDormand and Cynthia Hedstrom in a scene from "Early Shaker Spirituals."                   Photo by Andrew Schneider from New York Post

The women are dressed in Shakersque clothing while wearing audio equipment in which they can hear the record through their earpieces. As the vinyl is played on the side of the stage the audience can hear a faint under-layer of the original sound. It creates a ghost like effect throughout the space in which the actors enter a possessed trance as they become the voices of the past. The stage is still and open creating a raw tensity throughout the audience as the actors and their mistakes have nowhere to hide.

At the climax of the show four young men join the women in a dance. Particular Shaker songs are repeated and this time the men and women twirl and twist like a record around the stage. The simple movements work up a sweat among the young men who pull out handkerchiefs and check in with each other before continuing onto the next dance. A precise detail of positioning and calculation is seen through each movement allowing the essence of the Shaker society to emerge within the Performing Garage. It’s strict yet simple way of life is brought forward among a technology-driven audience.

Photo by Richard Termine from The New York Times

For the entire performance you are drawn to its simplicity. Simple set, simple costumes, simple dances and yet it is entirely mesmerising. The show may not have the typical cluster of multiple televisions, sound effects and architectonic set but it is still contains that Woosterestic atmosphere. As the company approaches its fifth decade, the performers join together as if it was a Wooster reunion. (McDormand, Roche, LeCompte and Valk haven’t all worked together as a group since 2002 in 'To You, The Birdie! (Phèdre)'). These women might be slightly older with their grey hairs now showing, however, it is this rustic bareness that women bring to the performance that allows the voices of Shakers to be brought to life. 

Arrivederci 

Wooster Benefit

In my fourth week I volunteered to help out at the Wooster Group’s Spring Benefit at 632 on Hudson (check out their photos). Buck Henry was the star guest, along with Steve Buscemi, Frances McDormand, Lorne Michaels, Mike Nichols and Maura Tierney. If you wanted to attend the night of cocktails, entertainment and dinner, this party would cost $1,500 for a ticket! During cocktails AndrewAndrew deejayed and the Wooster performers did a little skit. See the following tweet photos from the Wooster Group: Maura Tierney and Steve Buscemi.

My task at the benefit was to check in the guest coats as they arrived. The coat room was downstairs near the kitchen which meant I was running up and down all night. The amount of times I almost fell down the stairs and sprained my ankle was totally worth it as I got to meet Steve Buscemi and Scott Shepherd while checking in their coats.

After the guests had cocktails those who were staying for dinner went to the dinning room. My next task was to help people to their seats and watch the waiters do some fancy serving. 

The male waiters at the venue were amazingly beautiful and almost identical. They were all the same height and had the same check bone structure. I found out later that the venue actually holds auditions and most of the waiters are part time models. As I’m standing there batting my eyelids (trying not to faint) these waiters line up beside me and then swoop into the room placing the next meal on the table. It was quite funny watching these boys serve dinner, performing a choreography, with each waiter having one hand behind their back and placing the plate down on the table at the exact same time.

When the dinner finished things got really exciting. Kate Valk and Ari Flaikos (Wooster performers) said thank you to those who organised the night. This included Kate thanking the interns and pointing towards me and another intern at the back of the room. When people came to collected their coats they would ask me if I enjoyed being an intern for the Wooster Group. I’d humbly say yes and then started a conversation about their evening.

I was talking to one lady and she said, “Oh are you from Australia? Buck come and meet this lovely Australian girl!” Buck Henry walks up to me and shakes my hand! He was so lovely and went on to tell me this story of how he had met an Australian years ago who had the strongest accent he had ever heard. I then attempted my best bogan accent but Buck said my accent isn’t very strong!

                                                          Steve and Buck

As people were starting to say good bye a bunch of Wooster Group workers and interns were chatting. Ari Flaikos came over and started to say goodbye. He went around the group giving everyone a kiss on the cheek. Then he gets to me.... I've only introduced myself to Ari once, and that was about two weeks ago.... Ari had this look on his face like he was thinking I know you, but I don’t really know you, and I should give you a kiss on the cheek because I have for everyone else and I don’t want to seem rude. His hesitation only lasted for less than a second. We kind of both awkwardly leaned in. After we said goodbye, Ari still had the same look on his face. Wait how do I know you?

I might not have eaten the fancy food and sipped on cocktails all night but it was totally worth volunteering my time to go to a $1,500 event.

Arrivederci.

Unusual Mail

On my third day as an Intern (which is actually my third week since starting) the Development Manager received a hand written letter. Bewildered by such an item (apparently people still physically write letters) she opened the letter and began to read it out loud. From memory it went something like this:

Dear Wooster Group,

I am an innocent man who has been sentenced to death. I wish to work with your company in producing a theatre piece about my story.

The remainder of the letter outlined other theatre works that the prisoner had produced and how he wanted to sell his story in the hopes that the company would devise a theatre piece based on his life.

After reading the letter the Development Manager was a bit shocked and unsure what to do, especially with three young interns gawking at her, she quickly realised that it probably wasn't the best idea to have read the letter out loud and went into her office to hide.

Nothing happened after that, everyone went back to staring at their computer screens and I was sent out to go to the post office. I guess the Wooster Group have decided not to pursue this story as I haven’t heard anything else about it. What a random letter though!

Task of the Day: Coffee

I was given the exciting task of getting coffee for the performers and production team for their rehearsal break. The whole day I questioned the other General Intern, Jane, about how to get this important coffee.

When should I get the coffee? Where should I get the coffee? How many people usually get coffee? Do they use their own money or does the company pay for it? How do I carry the coffee? I only have two hands and what if ten people order coffee? What time should I bring the coffee? How long will it take for the coffee people to make the coffee so that I will be on time for the coffee break?

Jane had no idea as she also hadn't done a coffee order. Dam you Jane and your unknowledgeable coffee ways!

All day I planned my coffee quest. I would go down stairs just before the rehearsals started. I would ask if anyone wanted coffee and write down their order. THEN, I would go outside and get the coffee. Finally I would bring the coffee BACK and be the best coffee deliverer EVER!

It was time. I grabbed my pen and note pad. Heart pounding, I slowly went down the stairs. I opened the door and entered the rehearsal space. Everyone was sitting around a table chatting amongst themselves. People started to look up at me with puzzled faces thinking, “Who the hell is she?”

“Does anyone want a coffee?” I squeakily asked.

“No I think wear fine. Ask Ari. Ari do you want any coffee?”  

“Nope. I’m fine.” Said Ari Fliakos.

OMG! It’s Ari Fliakos, one of the main Wooster Group actors.” I thought, almost fainting.

“Yeah, I don’t think we will need any coffee because we are doing such a short rehearsal on Mondays and we don’t really take a break.”Said Emily, the Production Manager.

“Ok, I’m Georgina by the way.” I blurted and then quickly exited the room.

........Coffee mission completed.......

Wooster Fresher

My Role:

My main job is the challenging task of answering the phone. An intern must always be guarding the phone! Other important jobs include buzzing people in the door and collecting the mail from the post office. In the afternoon I observe the rehearsals which I have been thrilled about. Each time I've witnessed the master minds at work I haven't been able to stop smiling (I probably look like a goofball but its the WOOSTER GROUP!). Apart from that, I basically sit around waiting for someone, anyone to give me a task that they don’t actually want to do themselves. I call them pass-off-tasks as they are usually passed off from one person to the next until it falls into my interning lap.

Pass-off-tasks include:

•         Hand-delivering flyers for upcoming shows across New York City.
•     Getting coffee for  the Wooster Group.
•        Updating excel documents.
•        Printing something.

(There are more to come but I have yet to discover them!)

Concluding thoughts:

The tasks might be mundane but I still get to be apart of the Wooster Group process. Hopefully I'll end up being in the right place at the right time and more opportunities will open up for me. I’m only here once a week so I've got to build up my relationships with the company members so they remember who I am! So far I have been re-introducing myself every Monday. Hopefully "Georgina the Australian" will start to sink in soon.

Arrivederci.

Interning with the Wooster Group

After being in New York for 3 weeks I was lucky enough to get an interview with my favourite theatre company the Wooster Group. I had written my honours thesis on the company and studied them intently throughout 2013. During my studies I swooned at the thought of meeting the Wooster Group's director and Co-founder Liz LeCompte as well as Kate Valk, Scott Shepherd and Ari Fliakos who have been performing in the company's productions for many years.

I arrived 10 minutes early to the Performing Garage, where the Wooster Group rehearse and perform their shows. At the end of my interview I was asked if I would like to be a General Intern and come in once a week on Mondays. I humbly said yes, but upon leaving the Performing Garage I was ecstatic.

This blog is to record my Monday interning days and I hope to encourage others to check out the Wooster Group's work either by following this blog, looking at their website or if you are in New York to go and see their work.

Arrivederci.