The jury is still out on whether plotless postmodern dance and social commentary can convincingly occupy the same performance space at the same time, but the case doesn’t look too promising, to judge from Karen Sherman’s Tiny Town, one half of the double-bill that comprises the opening installment of ODC Theater ’s second mini-festival in residence at Project Artaud Theater.
Sherman’s program mate is Philadelphia’s Kate Watson-Wallace whose House pumps considerable energy into that postmodern standby, the site-specific dance essay. Both companies (Sherman resides in Minneapolis) are participants in the SCUBA touring program, which has brought some interesting fare to San Francisco on earlier occasions and may do so again in the future. The current program opened Thursday (June 26), runs through Saturday and arrives under the somewhat misleading title, “Local Heroes/Big Picture,” misleading because neither effort under review fits into either of those categories.
But Tiny Town (2006) sure tries to offer us a big picture of suburban existence. The tone is mocking but the saber is blunted. The piece begins well, with a witty design scheme by Sherman and Kristin Abhalter that surrounds the performance space with a picket fence, a pallet stacked with reasonable facsimiles of oversized flapjacks, and an approximation of a hill at the rear. Later, the five women of the company trot out an old-fashioned mailbox stuffed with flowers and a beach chair. Meanwhile, one of the women, perched on a cherry picker, plucks a paper cloud from the ether, shreds it and blows into a mike to simulate the sound of thunder.
After this terrific set-up, Tiny Town, which was commissioned by the Southern Theater and Minneapolis’ prestigious Walker Art Center runs downhill for the next 40 minutes. The costumes change to spangled affairs and we get what I presume are meant to be suggestions of small town marching bands. Yet, we never ascertain what it is about small town life that so irks Sherman and her collaborators. Instead, the women erupt in unisons, isolations, leaps and floor rolls that abstract the material, rather than concretizing it. Fences are moved around the place and the music (from multiple sources) bears no overt relationship to the choreography.
The dancers occasionally squeal in delight, which seems like a putdown of middle-class existence. Yet, Sherman doesn’t bother to communicate the source of her contempt. Maybe, Tiny Town went over big in Minneapolis, but it travels poorly. The dancers, who also included Joanna Furnans, Megan Mayer, Morgan Thorson and Kristin Van Loon, moved with a high degree of professionalism. They might be worth seeing again with superior material.
Karen Sherman Performance in Sherman's Tiny Town. Photo by Sean Smuda.
Watson-Wallace and her company, Anonymous Bodies (how self-deprecating can you get?), don’t strike out into new territory, yet House, which is performed first in the loading dock area and then moves into the Artaud lobby, impresses with its intimate exploration of people trapped in intimate environments. In the opening segment, the six dancers converge at a dinner table, slumping in their seats, barely acknowledging each other’s presence.
Soon, these mild-mannered folk evolve into acrobats, chairs serve as platforms and dancer John Luna is scaling a wall like a human fly or balancing on Watson-Wallace. In the second section, Megan Mazarick confronts a living-room turned on its side with sofa, lamp table and throw rug jutting from the wall. This is one tough and fierce performer and it’s a thrill to watch her traverse this topsy-turvy world. If you’ve seen Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling in Royal Wedding, you get the idea, but there’s no celluloid legerdemain involved here.
Then, in the third episode, Luna and Watson-Wallace tussle in their double-bed, positioned vertically. Then, he climbs the girders of the building. The exchange bubbles with affection, although, given the closeness of the audience, the live video projection of the couple adds nothing but distraction. Call House minor, gymnastics as much as dance, yet, for all that, immensely likeable.
House is performed at 7:30 and repeats at 9 p.m. Tiny Town happens once, at 8:15 p.m. You can see both works in either order. The bill runs through Saturday. 415.863.9834; www.odctheater.org
