Constant Preparation

Though it appears quiet at the studios this week with the company on a much-deserved vacation, there’s actually a constant undercurrent of preparation for Liz Lerman’s new piece, The Matter of Origins. Behind the scenes, it takes a lot of people to make the vision of a dance into reality: people to design the set, the lighting, the video, the costumes, the sound; someone to help with historical facts and help shape the piece; people to actually build the set and make the costumes; various managers to keep rehearsals, performances and schedules running smoothly; and a crew to operate everything in each theatre we visit.

All these people have lots of meetings and need to talk to each other constantly about how the final piece should look, sound, and feel. Over time, and through many phone calls and emails, bits and pieces emerge. Each time we rehearse we come away with more – music or text that we really like, stunning video sequences, choreography we know involves eight stools and two chairs that will need to be designed and built... The whole process is truly a collaborative effort.

This week has provided a good opportunity to organize DVDs of rehearsal footage and paint the cubes that are part of the set. We're grateful to have the time to do these things now, because come the middle of July, The Matter of Origins is going to kick into high gear and barrel along at warp speed until we reach the premiere at the University of Maryland on September 10 and 12.