Muhlenberg Theatre & Dance

The official blog of the Muhlenberg Theatre & Dance Department www.muhlenberg.edu/theatre

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Making “Moving Stories” a moving story for audiences

A post from one of our new bloggers, Ashley Veglia, class of 2021!

Moving Stories was my first college Mainstage at Muhlenberg! After performing, I experienced the importance of my performance quality as well as the choreography process.  I thoroughly enjoyed every second on stage exploring different ways to express my emotion through my movement as well as watching the other breathtaking pieces.  Every choreographer told an amazing story and each dancer had their own style of interpreting the choreographer’s piece.  The dancers in each piece had to identify how the story related to them personally, and express their feelings to the audience which added energy and character to each piece.  It was so beautiful to watch each dancer release their emotion, dance from their heart, and witness the story unfold more and more in every performance! Watching every piece perform made the evening more and more entertaining.  Also, the entire Moving Stories show, from the first piece to the last piece, focused solely on the strength and empowerment of women.  The dancers recognized one another’s strengths and unique, distinctive qualities which made the pieces powerful.  Personally, I feel the entire audience loved the showcase of feminism and was moved/inspired by the end of the show.   All of the performances were extremely moving and contained a lot of emotion, hence the name, “Moving Stories.”  I am beyond grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of this extremely rewarding experience and wish we could restart the journey once again!

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Dance performance as a culminating undergraduate experience

Hi all! I’m Melinda, and I am a senior minoring in dance. I also major in psychology and newly minor in women’s and gender studies. As I’m using the spring semester to really focus on psychology in preparation for grad school, Moving Stories was one of the last big dance concerts that I am going to be a part of here at Muhlenberg.

In this concert, I performed in works by faculty member Lisa Busfield and fellow senior Alison Calamoneri. Ali decided to pull inspiration for her piece from her abroad experience in Arezzo, Italy. This was perfect for me because I spent the last spring semester in Florence, Italy and being in this cast really encouraged me to think back on how my experience abroad influenced me. Lisa’s piece was about feelings of repression and how we can connect with others around us to move towards empowerment. Similarly, in Ali’s piece we specifically looked at embracing a balance of individuality and leaning on others for support.

Something that fascinates me is how different the rehearsal process is with different casts and choreographers. Lisa had our cast do a lot of reflective writing on integral topics within the work to relate the concepts to our own lives. Ali went about it a little differently. She wanted us to look at each other as real people in this piece. To accomplish this, we got into our duos and trios to talk to each other about what our real life relationships are with one another and how we can translate that in our dancing. Then, we talked as a group and shared some personal stories, which really bonded us together as a cast. This rehearsal was a breakthrough point in our collective performances because the piece is really carried by the emotive and personal relationships shown through the dancing.

I think that my experience in this concert has been a great culmination of my college experience here at Muhlenberg. Because the works I was in included such reflective rehearsal processes, I was able to really examine myself and my growth as a person in the last few years.

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A look back to a Sunday on La Grande Jatte

Hi Guys! Its Evan Plaza here to bring you another blog post from the Theatre and Dance Department! Last year (as crazy as that sounds), I was fortunate enough to work on the mainstage production of Sunday in the Park with George.  This musical follows George Seurat, an aspiring artist in France creating his well-known piece, A Sunday in the Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Besides myself, my friend Katie Fletcher, and both actors who played George and Dot, the whole show was double cast. This meant for each role, two actors had the opportunity to create and perform the roles they were assigned. One of the greatest things about being in this show was definitely being able to watch other actors interpret their characters.  Since I was not double cast, I was able to see these actors bring their characters to life, each bringing something different than their counterpart.  This added new discoveries to throughout the rehearsal process, and brought a lot of funny moments to the show.  Another great moment is when we moved into the Empie Theatre to start running the show.   Seeing all of the scenery, props, costumes, lighting and hearing the orchestra helped the show flourish.  I remember hearing all of the gasps and seeing all of the dropped jaws as we started our tech rehearsals.  

On another note, something that also made this experience wonderful was the show itself.  Sunday in the Park with George was created by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim.  I found the lyrics in this show to be so precisely placed that they all created such beautiful images when they were performed.  One could truly hear the emotions behind the songs.  Some that come to mind are “Beautiful” and “We Do Not Belong Together” where I found the passion in the lyrics.  Needless to say, I think Sondheim and Lapine knew how to transform their thoughts and ideas into beautiful works of art.  It was a great learning experience and I’m very honored I had the opportunity to be in it.  That’s all for now, see you next time!

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Catching up with… DAN McKENNA ‘16 Dan has been pursuing a Master of Science degree in finance at American University in Washington, D.C. After he graduates this August, he hopes to pursue a career in theatre administration, combining his finance degree with his passion for theatre. Dan spent the summer traveling. “One of my goals is to travel to all 50 states," he says. "So this summer I was able to knock a few more off, including Alaska, Washington, and California.” His travels took him to the Mendenhall Glacier, the Space Needle, the White Pass, and Disneyland, among other places — and brought his total states visited to 40. Dan's advice for current Theatre & Dance students is to take advantage of their opportunities to explore *all* of their interests and passions. Stay tuned for more updates, and send *your* updates to the Theatre & Dance page.

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Be sure to catch Kevin Mitchell '15 guest starring on ABC Television Network's sitcom The Middle tomorrow! Tuesday, April 11 at 8 p.m. Muhlenberg College Theatre & Dance

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Alumni Update

Catching Up With… HELEN LASER '16

Helen is excited to be working and auditioning in New York City and starting her career as an actress. While building her portfolio, Helen was involved in a video shoot for Seventeen Magazine. This shoot was featured in October! She also worked as a costume designer for a short film with a few Muhlenberg Alumni, which also came out last October. She is proud to announce that she will playing the role of Anne Frank through the Anne Frank Center of New York City. Helen most recent credit includes: features in 2 advertisements for Hillary Clinton's campaign by the group Humanity for Hillary, one of which was shared by Gloria Steinem on Facebook, playing the accordion at La Mama for a performance in the Puppet Slam, and her most recent booking for a commercial promo for the Tonight Show, starring Jimmy Fallon. Helen's play, "What It’s Like To Be A Bat" is being put on by LCP at the Producers Club later this November. She also just wrapped the film "Lo" as the lead role of Lo. Stay tuned for more updates, and send *your* updates to the Theatre & Dance page.

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A Well-Deserved Break

Blog post #4, and Happy Thanksgiving! The cast of Salome is currently enjoying a well-deserved break, but after a remarkably productive first weekend of tech. Honestly, I am so amazed at how much more a show comes together at the introduction of a set, lighting, and sound, and our first costume-run is on Sunday. The decadence of the set, and the elaborateness of the scenic design has really stream-lined the whole process, and the transition from the rehearsal room to the stage has been great. The rake of the stage has taken some getting used to, and some reworking of the blocking, but after last Sunday, we’ve found just how much of a show we have on our hands. I believe just recently we surpassed fifty rehearsals, which attests just how much work has gone into this one-act. It’s wild to think that Salome opens in less than a week now, but given that almost all of the tech work is done, we’ve all got our fingers crossed for the best of runs. I know this post is a little shorter than the ones in the past, but anticipate my fifth and final post post-opening. Otherwise, the long hours of tech are going well, productivity is at an all-time high, and Salome is going to be a show with wonderful and relevant subtext, and performed beautifully by an array of fabulously empowered women. Buy your tickets, we open Wednesday, November 30!

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The Process

Here goes my third blog post! As Salome runs about 2 weeks from tech, things are stringing together gradually, but progress is being made. As things are becoming more detailed, things have begun to move slower, but with more attention to ensemble work, and specificity of motion. Beth Schachter has been sitting in on our rehearsals lately, and has been a firm advocate for us to all expand our arms, and take up space, as corresponding to our respective characters. While at first the focus on arms felt awkward and over-the-top, we have all conclusively found that the usage and mobility of our full body expands the status and significance of our motions and characterizations. I do wish we could expedite the process so that the final product would be visible ASAP, but the process is probably the most beneficial aspect of it, however it seems so gruesome right now. The nit-picky repetition is a little hard, but hopefully the end product will be something I am proud to be a part of. As a cast, we do have a habit of distraction, which can be fun, but also a bit taxing at points, because it elongates the fluidity and flow of things, which we’re sort of running out of time to do. Salome as a whole is a very ambitious project, what with the heightened text and usage of an ensemble, but the sense of camaraderie is a really nice aspect of it. However, I do wish currently we were buckling down and paying attention to the text, and were truly present during rehearsals, so as to capitalize on the four hour rehearsals we endure. There is a little bit of frustration joined with this part of the process, which is the real testing point of whether the show is going to come together or not. However, I still think we have a strong show on our hands, we just need to regroup, and really commit to characterization, text, and status/relationships. Progress, albeit hard, is being made.

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Thanks to all

Hi guys, it’s Evan Plaza back at it again with another blog post!  So we have just closed our Mainstage Production of The Pirates of Penzance.  We have put on this show 8 times, from October 28th to November 6th.  I am not gonna lie, it seems weird to now have free time in my schedule again.  I felt like after we had closed the show, I was thinking about the next day when we had to go to call time tomorrow and get ready.  This show was my first Mainstage production, and I felt like I have learned so much from this experience.  I have learned what it is like to rehearse a show in a month and a half’s worth of time, and how valuable that time is to the production.  The rehearsal process is so special to any production because it is where the actors get to play and the show begins to mold itself together like a refined sculpture.  Having this time determines many things about a show: the tone, the flow, and can even define the overall message that the show is trying to portray.  During this process I also learned an essential skill that every actor, better yet, every person, should learn: how to be professional.  This show required an amount of time to put together, the time needed to explore and create art determines the success of the show.  Having said that, it is important to be punctual, and come prepared to create the art.  It is also important to be patient and to come with different ideas to the show; some choices might not fit with the director’s vision, or just don’t correlate with the characters in the show.  I am so grateful I got the opportunity to work on this production alongside a loving and supporting cast.  That’s all for now, I’ll see you next time!

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Make ‘Em Laugh

Ahoy!,

This is Evan Plaza! I’m a sophomore business and theatre double major with concentrations in acting and marketing. I’m making my Mainstage debut in our production of Pirates of Penzance as a Pirate ensemble member. Since I have not been in a Mainstage before, this has been an eye-opening experience for me.  I have come to enjoy being able to perform alongside such talented people, some being my close friends. While being in rehearsals for a Mainstage, I have realized that there needs to be a level of time commitment in order to deliver a thrilling performance.  I always love watching my fellow cast members deliver hilarious yet outstanding numbers at rehearsal.  I’ve always found the process to be the greatest thing about being in a production, because it’s where an actor really gets to experiment with the play.  I think that this show will make people laugh out loud because of the hilarious choices that the actors in this production have made.  Every time we run the show I always find something new to laugh at.  We have been in tech now for a while, and it makes me even more excited to be a part of this show and to open it very soon as well!  We are beginning to run the show with our different sets and our costumes.  I audibly gasped the first time I saw the sets for our show.  Yesterday we began running the show in our costumes, and everybody looks amazing in them!  Today we begin rehearsing with our orchestra, and I can’t wait.  I will be posting about my other great things happening in the show in the near future, so stay tuned and make sure to buy a ticket!

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Climbing Over a Rocky Mountain

Hi! I’m Jonathan, and I’m a freshman with an intended double major in theatre and something else yet to be determined. As a member of the ensemble, I’m one of your correspondents for a look inside life during The Pirates of Penzance.

Since our first rehearsal now 8 weeks ago (it seems like yesterday!), we’ve been singing, dancing and, for all the daughters, “climbing over rocky mountains.” As we lead into tech week, we’ve been getting accustomed to our two larger-than-life sets designed by Curtis, as well as the many mismatched, colorful costumes.

On Tuesday, we will be running the show with the orchestra for the first time. It seems like there isn’t an hour passed where one of us isn’t drinking throat coat, steaming or chewing a vitamin in order to keep our voices strong. Despite its unconventionality, The Pirates of Penzance is still an opera which requires our voices to be at their best — especially since there will be no mics. If anything, the Pirates cast really knows how to fight against the Muhlenberg plague!

Personally, I have had a blast being a part of this show. I greatly anticipate our opening, and hope that each audience feels the comedy and energy of both casts. With a cast of more than fifty people, an orchestra with over twenty pieces, this show promises to be a good one. I’ll be sharing more experiences in later installments, but I can’t wait to see you there!

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Discovering the Power Dynamic

Hello! So, this is my second post about the mainstage Salome, and things are undergoing some pretty significant changes. A week or so ago, we had our first designer run, and decided to redo and revamp some of the scenes. We had Beth Schachter sit in on some of our rehearsals and play status games with us, so that the cast could get acquainted with the idea of power. Since the show plays with such power-heavy scenes, the establishment was necessary. Not to mention the really interesting power dynamics between characters, some as stark as queen to servant. Playing with status is helpful to establish relationships with characters you interact mostly with. The only character in which I have dialogue with is Salome, and exploring the tension between a princess and a prophet is very complicated, because one is important on the earthly realm, which is respected by her subordinates, while the other is a vessel of God, but is not necessarily respected by those around her. Interacting with the different actors on stage while playing such a high status is really intriguing because their reaction is indicative of how high my status is. It affects the way I hold myself, the way I speak, the fluidity of my motion, etc. Exploring these differences attunes you to those around you, which is so incredibly helpful in establishing a character, and its significance. That’s not to say that only those of high status matter in a play. The reality of a production stems from the reactions of all characters with each other, regardless of status. Status merely acts as a guideline so that a servant doesn’t challenge someone of a higher status unjustly, or a high status character is inconsistent in their treatment of those below them. But competing with someone of the same status is where things really get interesting. The time in which you feel out your sense of power is different; it’s slower and more deliberate. You’re more cautious of your actions, and how the other person is receiving them. I still don’t have everything figured out about the status in Salome, but I really look forward to continuing the push-and-pull process.

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Empowering Females

So, I guess I should start off with a sort of introduction. My name is Julia, I’m a sophomore at Muhlenberg College, and I am playing Iokanaan in the upcoming production of Salome by Oscar Wilde, a part of the second set of New Visions festival, Falling. We’ve been in rehearsal for a little over a month now, and honestly, I’m beyond excited about the cast, the process, and working with a student director on a Mainstage production. Since the show is gender-bent, and consists entirely of girls, the dynamic of the rehearsal process is actually very different from any experiences that I’ve had in the past. Personally, given the sexual connotations of the piece, it’s actually been pretty amazing working with a group of extremely empowered, fluid actresses who are very supportive of one another. Since the entire cast is comprised of women, the idea of sexuality isn’t projected as a hindrance, but instead, it’s more used as an empowering reclamation of the female form. Salome is movement-based, and watching my cast mates partake in a powerful, highly sexual dance is actually really remarkable. There’s no real strive to fulfill the male gaze in rehearsal; the work is entirely that of the actresses. It even alleviates some of the stress of appearing “sexy” on stage, because the movement is so freeing and strong, really reiterating the concept that sexuality is not dependent on the perception of men, but instead a means of self-identity and establishment. The movement of the female form is that of grace and poise, not of showcasing its assets. I’ll be submitting posts on a roughly 2 week basis, so stay tuned!

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“Or,” is really Something!

Hi again!  We've just opened a fantastic new show at Hedgerow Theatre called Or, (the comma is part of the title) and I'm going to tell you all about it.  (Brief refresher: I'm Allie, I graduated in '14 and I'm working in Philadelphia as a company member at Hedgerow Theatre)  It's an amazing, complicated, fast and sexy piece.  Summing it up is a bit tricky but here's what you've got.  Aphra Behn, the world's first female playwright, has been a spy for the British Crown.  She's returned home to her beloved London, still ragged with the great fire, to finally achieve her dream of theatrical renown.  However, it's not an easy feat.  Not only is she juggling writing a five act play in one night, she's also got her ex-lover-current-spy William threatening a dastardly plot, her current lover King Charles the Second determined to love, and a potential new lover, the young actress Nell Gwynne who wants to meet Charles.  Throw in a couple cranky crazy ladies and that's at least a start. As soon as I was handed this script I fell in love.  Not only has Or, been fun, it's a play that I feel really gives the artists behind a chance to say something.  Written by Liz Duffy Adams in the late 2000's, this 1660's bedroom farce is surprisingly modern.  Yes everyone wears a ridiculous amount of ruffles, and don't get me started on the wigs, but it could be taking place today.  Aphra fights for her own happiness against all too recent extreme confines of the Puritanical rule of Cromwell.  She fights to make her own path as a woman and earn equal respect as the men around her.  She fights for the right to love how and who she wants. These are all things people today struggle with on a daily basis.  [Insert joke about choosing not to say "quotidian"]  It's a play that is there to entertain you as any other, but it's also there to push and challenge the way people think.  One of the biggest messages is that love is love no matter what.  It's an important message in 1666 and it's an important message today.  That's why I do theatre, to affect change and that's what this crazy play is doing. What have been the biggest challenges for me are the multiple characters I play in the show.  Oh?  Did I not mention?  There's three people in the cast and 7 characters.  I play Nell Gwynne, a brilliantly witty but foul-mouthed actress, a cantankerous servant (Maria) and a very wealthy and quite possibly unhinged patron of the arts (Lady Davenport).   It's tough giving each character a different posture, age, walk, and voice, but that's what also makes it so fun.  One of the highest compliments I get after a show is when an audience member tells me they had no idea that I played all three women.  It means I've done my job well.   Best of all is, you've still got four weekends to come see it.  We've recently been Barrymore Recommended (meaning judges will be coming to the show to nominate the cast and designers for potential awards) which is tremendously exciting.  It's a truly fantastic show that we've all worked hard on.  Also - if you say I sent you tickets are $10. Seriously.  Come see it.  It's sexy and witty and wonderful.  We run through February 28th!  You can reserve tickets atwww.hedgerowtheatre.org as well as read more about the show or call [phone].  For more on what I'm up to check outallisonbloechl.weebly.com. 

See you soon Mules!

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Chicago: Onstage to Tech

OCT. 20: FIRST RUN

The first full run-through of the show was a lot of fun! It feels amazing to be part of an experience where everyone involved is so on top of material they are conquering. It also feels great to know that our rehearsals have gotten to the nit-picky technical stage, so far in advance of tech week; it means the show is in great shape! I actually think this tech week will concentrate less on the movement we do, and more on the technical side of the production. There will be scenes that need to be spaced out and repositioned, but those are expected and easy fixes.

We finished staging one of the numbers, “All I Care About is Love,” just before the first run-through. We have now begun to clean it up and shape it to best fit the group of dynamic actors and dancers. It’s fun to experiment with ways in which this part of the show can be as interesting as possible. I’m sure that, when audiences see the show, this number will be unforgettable. I am excited to continue cleaning tonight, as I will be at rehearsal from 7:45 to 11 pm. Tonight is a basic brush-up of major numbers, and I’m excited to work with choreographer Jeffrey Peterson on some of my favorite parts of the show!

OCT. 23: ON STAGE

We held our first on-stage rehearsal tonight! That means this was the first time we were rehearsing in the actual space where our show is being held. The Empie Theatre looks fantastic, and when my castmates and I got there, we were in absolute awe of how gorgeous the set looks. I vividly remember the set designer, Tim Averill, explaining his concepts and inspiration for the look of the design on the first day of rehearsal. It was incredible to see these visions being executed so brilliantly!

Tech for a show is always a long process. “Spacing out” the dance numbers on the stage can get daunting. This process, though, is one of my favorite times. The ensemble is very active in the first act of the show, so I did not get much down time during our first day of tech. It was difficult yesterday to keep going from 6:45 to 11, meticulously rehearsing numbers, because of the long day I had yesterday. I am an education major, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have early-morning fieldwork, then classes, then rehearsal. It is interesting to move among all these different worlds. I love everything I do, and that is my caffeine for getting through the day. The next week will be difficult, but I know that breathing and taking the time to be appreciative for the opportunities I have will get me through!

Today we have a hair tutorial, as I sit here writing this blog with my hair (ridiculously) in pin curls — more soon!

OCT. 24: TECH REHEARSAL

The first day of extended tech rehearsal happened this morning and afternoon. It’s amazing to see a show that we have been working so hard on for two months starting to come together. We started where we left off yesterday — right before the ending number. The first rehearsal today was short and sweet, lasting only from 10 to 12:30. Then my castmates and I rushed to the dining hall to stock up before our next chunk of rehearsal.

Promptly at 1 we were asked to return to start teching the show – cue-to-cue. This means that we are primarily focusing on lighting. This can be a tedious part of the tech process, as there is a lot of fast-paced action, followed by stopping for long period of time, then going back to run the section “full out” (or with all the lighting cues in place). Sometimes it can take hours to do a section that, in real time can only take five minutes.

During the cue-to-cue, we only got through about a half-hour of the show in real-time, but it took us four hours to cue. I do love this process because it shows me all of the aspects that come together in a magical way to make what I have been working on for months come to life. It feels wonderful to get this production lit in beautiful lighting, finally! Tomorrow is a tech rehearsal from 10 am to 11 pm. Though we do have a significant dinner break, I will be exhausted if I do not get some sleep tonight. I have to put down my lesson plans at some point and get some rest!

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In the “Real World”... Rehearsals and Tech

In many, many ways, Muhlenberg prepared me excellently for life in the rehearsal hall. The theatre I work for, Hedgerow Theatre (see earlier post for more!) is an SPT, meaning that we have an arrangement with Actor’s Equity allowing us to use union actors in some (but not all) of our performances.  This means we run by equity rules, much like Muhlenberg.  Five’s and Ten’s are regular.  Rehearsal is daily (Mondays off). And yes, 10 of 12 (10 hours of rehearsal in a 12-hour period) exists.

What is different from rehearsals at Muhlenberg is that you don’t know who you’re working with or what you’re working on before rehearsals start.  When you walk into an audition you may not know the people on the other side of the table and the direction in which they’re taking the project – also true of the first day of rehearsal.    

Typically, you get three weeks of rehearsal, one week of tech, previews and opening.  At Hedgerow, we have two previews before an opening, whereas other theaters in the area, such as the Arden, have multiple weeks of previews.  Rehearsals are also far less regularly scheduled than the mainstage rehearsals at Berg.  It’s much more like trying to schedule rehearsals in Directing Class and its midterms.  Virtually everyone involved with a show has another job, so you may have an erratic rehearsal schedule.

All this is to say – it gets a little less organized once you venture outside of the Bubble.  To combat this be AS PREPARED AS POSSIBLE.  The best approach to any rehearsal is to be ready to go as much as possible whenever possible.  That means in your shoes and rehearsal jacket before the start of rehearsal with your lines off book and your body warmed up.

Usually, everyone is on the same page and ready to work, which makes rehearsals as rewarding as possible.  In the most recent show I rehearsed, Dracula, our director, the inimitable Dan Hodge, was acting in a production that opened the same week as we did, and so we had three hour morning rehearsals the week we opened.  That’s a small amount of time to get a lot of work done. We had to be on our game and ready as soon as it was time so that we were able to fit a run, notes and fixes in before the end of rehearsal.

Working with such an amazing, professional and dedicated group of artists, as was the case with Dracula, was a real privilege.  Amongst our numbers are ’06 graduate Meghan Winch and ’14 graduate Josh Portera (also a company member at Hedgerow).  We were able to create a fantastic production with a limited rehearsal period due to the tenacity and readiness of everyone involved.

For more info on Hedgerow Theatre or to get tickets for Dracula visit www.HedgerowTheatre.org (Student/Educator tickets $15).  For more info on what I’m up to visit www.allisonbloechl.weebly.com.

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Fall Dance Gallery- First Showing

One showing down, one to go! This past weekend marked the first showing for Fall Dance Gallery and it is crazy to me that we are already at this point in the rehearsal process. It feels like we began so recently, but already, both of the pieces I am in for the concert are well underway. I always love to see what everyone has been working on at the showings and it reminds me how lucky I am to be able to work alongside such creative minds and bodies, specifically Cat Chythlook and Emma Bownes, my choreographers this year. While it is fun to dance in my friends’ pieces, getting to know someone as a choreographer first is a very special experience, which is how it is with the pieces I am in this year. It is very interesting to get to know how someone works creatively and how this creative process is influenced by the nuances of their personality.

Emma’s piece is unlike any dance I have ever been a part of before. One of the very first things she said to us in rehearsal was “This piece is going to be really weird,” but she clarified that, of course, it would be a “good weird”. She has definitely delivered on those promises.

The piece is about waking up in the morning. There are ten dancers in the piece, so she was able to create a really cool Rube Goldberg machine-type chain reaction image; each person’s movements cause another person to “wake up.” Since there are so many of us, there’s always a lot going on, almost chaotically, so the audience will have a lot to look at. Another “good weird” thing about this rehearsal process is that almost every week, Emma throws bizarre positions or ways of travelling at us. She tells us that she’ll just be goofing around in her room and accidently fall into a certain position that somehow really works, which causes her to have a light bulb moment and say “I have to put this in my piece!”  In this way, we incorporated the products of her playing around in her room. This included, but was not limited to, a crazy yoga-like position wherein you put your weight on your hands and face with your legs up in the air, and also a way of moving in a squatted position while shifting on one hand so that your body, in its balled up squat position, scoots through the air. Gotta love her.

Aside from the zany positions she has us contorting our bodies into, it has been a pleasure so far to work with Emma and the nine other dancers in the piece, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the coming weeks regarding Dance Gallery rehearsals!