FLASHBACK # 5 MAKING THE WORK - From Stupormarket to Exit Disclaimer Philip Elson
In my second season with The Seldoms we created Death of a Prada Salesman, which premiered at the Other Dance Festival in 2009 and was included as part of Stupormarket in 2011. I was asked to read Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman to prepare for building this work. I had read it back in my early school days; reading again now I discovered new insights that I couldn’t have understood at a younger age. A simple, proud man trying to make an honest living for himself and his family and wishing to have others feel pride in his accomplishments, but instead he found himself defeated and stripped of self worth. This resonated with me as we discussed the economic crisis; I had heard my own friends and family members question their economic stability and future, and with it, their very status and purpose. Playing the part of the Prada Salesman was not too far of a stretch from my personality, aside from the fact that I hate shopping and can't come close to affording Prada. But I love shiny expensive things (my Apple products, of course). I have a desire to be seen a certain way by other people I talk to (please don't reject me). And my natural flamboyancy added that extra touch to complete the character. Very quickly this work became personal. It was the first Seldoms work I had made where my role wasn't an abstraction or physical representation of an idea. I was expressive, I was singing, I was seeking guidance from a bear rug (still my favorite Seldoms moment captured in a photo), and I felt the emotional highs and lows prevalent in Arthur Miller's great play. Building and performing this work was an emotional journey. As we moved into the larger creation of Stupormarket, the same principles that we saw in the short dance, Death of a Prada Salesman, were there but from different perspectives. We established market values of new products by "inventing" new dance moves, we broke down opposing economic theories and showed the stable and unstable forces around those theories, and we became bubbled in competitive virtual house building that ultimately collapsed in frenzy. I know, it sounds like a whole lot to get done. But what was important about how this happened was how we talked about it. Each section built was informed by discussion about what we or people we knew were experiencing in relationship to these very real situations happening outside of our studio. The creation of these works showed me the importance of making issue-based dance theater. It's all about the roles people play in causing, interacting with, and attempting to resolve those issues. It may not always be obvious, but if you look close enough you may see yourself in one of the roles portrayed. I experience that again in our development of Exit Disclaimer: Science and Fiction Ahead, The Seldoms' new dance theater work surrounding the debate on climate change. There is a lot of strife in some of this subject material, but also ridiculously funny and unbelievable stuff as well. Have I mentioned that I get to play with a pretend eco-friendly Barbie dream house? It's actually a real thing, look it up. The more we delve into our works the more I learn about myself and my relationship to society. This is why I feel so rewarded working The Seldoms. We are not afraid to go to difficult places and confront our audiences with the aim that they'll at least think about it - and hopefully enjoy it. - Philip Elson