Two innovative Park Slope producers have
created a "Spring Fever" that may prove to be contagious
among fiscally challenged arts groups.
The difficulty of raising money to create and produce new work
in the arts is legendary. Undaunted by the hurdles they faced,
Tomi Tsunoda and Sharon Eisman, two New York University graduates,
formed their own production company in September 2000.
This company, breedingground productions, uses a "time share"
concept that allows artists to obtain the resources they need
at minimal cost.
"Over the years and after many frustrations, we decided
to create a company where poor, smart, passionate artists could
do the things they wanted to. We set up an office in our [Park
Slope] apartment and founded a company which allows collaborators
to trade time for each others’ productions," Eisman told
GO Brooklyn.
This means, for example, that if a director works the box office
in one show, he may collect enough time to get someone else to
do the lights on his next show. Their upcoming multimedia arts
festival, "Spring Fever" at the Brooklyn Lyceum, is
a perfect example of how this system works.
"We wanted to produce our clown show, ’Blue: A Comedy About
Death and Loss,’ which we had workshopped at the Westbeth Theatre
Center several times," Eisman explained. "We rented
the Lyceum theater space for three weeks, and instead of letting
it sit dark for those times when we weren’t running our show,
we decided to give other collaborators a chance to work on and
produce projects they’d wanted to do for some time but couldn’t
due to financial limitations. We would provide the space, lights,
publicity and staff. They would provide their brilliance, hard
work and dreams."
The project now has 120 collaborators and the financial assistance
or donated materials from the Brooklyn Academy of Music, off-off-Broadway’s
Chashama Theatre and DUMBO theater company One Arm Red.
"Spring Fever" opens May 21 with an evening of free
drinks, free food and a free performance of choreographer Josh
Walden’s "All Is Full of Love" and continues until
June 7 with two free art installations, five theatrical performances,
three dance pieces and two film events – all ongoing throughout
the festival – as well as two live music events.
Walden has based "All Is Full of Love" on the musical
"On the Town." Only instead of using the music of Leonard
Bernstein, Walden choreographed to Icelandic pop singer Bjork.
"The music is electronic with lots of instruments,"
he says. "It’s usually optimistic. It has a driving beat.
It inspired me to want to choreograph this ballet based on the
music."
Walden, who is currently dancing on Broadway in "42nd Street,"
uses the term "ballet" loosely.
"It’s really a Gene Kelly, MGM ballet," he said.
Walden has also changed the story considerably. "All Is
Full of Love" is not about three sailors on a one-day leave
trying to find love in New York City before going off to war,
but rather about three women who come to the Big Apple looking
for fun but find something very different.
"The dance, an hour-long piece, three minutes of which premiered
at the Palace Theatre in the Gypsy of the Year competition, which
raises money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, deals with
difficult themes: infidelity, abuse and rape," said Walden.
"Blue: A Comedy About Death and Loss," written by Eisman
and directed by Tsunoda is a mime comedy that follows an epic
battle between the Grim Reaper and a cowgirl named Charlotte
as they journey through five absurd fables about death. It is
set to a soundtrack of music performed by an ensemble of actors
and musicians who combine the styles of vaudeville, cartoon and
silent film.
Among the music-makers of particular note is The Delphina Orchestra,
a 16-piece ensemble under the direction of bandleader and composer
Justin Mullens. The music morphs styles that range from the jazz
of Ellington and Monk to the groundbreaking orchestration of
Stravinsky to the atonal sounds of Schoenberg to the indefinable
Frank Zappa.
Between shows, the audience can walk into a trolley on the Lyceum
grounds and view the works of art commissioned for every window.
Or they can walk into Cadmium County, the home of Noah Peepkin,
a 2-inch-tall character created by Jeremy Bullins. The installation,
3,000 square feet of space on the lower level of the Lyceum,
is called "Noah Knew He Liked Cadmium County for a Reason,"
and Bullis said it represents "a typical southern or Midwestern
hill town from times past – with no TV or computers."
Two walls will be covered with hills, trees, flowers and buildings.
All of the clay characters are 2 inches tall and the town, constructed
of paper and matte board, is made to scale.
"Noah Peepkin is the main character in a series of sculptures
I’ve done in the last year or so," said Bullis. "He’s
represented as a chicken-like character. He’s kind of an outsider
in the community he lives in, which is filled with larger-than-life
eccentric characters. He’s plain-looking and quiet. But he shares
similar interests with the others, although he does a lot more
observing than participating."
Peepkin is based on thumbprint drawings Bullis started doing
when he was 7. These characters appeared in greeting cards and
last year figured in a sculpture he gave his father for his 60th
birthday.
Those who would like to get a preview of Cadmium County can visit
www.jeremybullis.com.
Eisman said she chose the Lyceum to be the home of "Spring
Fever" because it is in Park Slope where there are "so
many artists traveling outside of their own community to produce
and see work."
"Building and creating with one’s community is essential
to both the artist and the community’s development," said
Eisman. "We involve the community and let everyone see art,
music, dance and theater."
Breedingground Productions’ "Spring
Fever" arts festival runs May 21-June 7 at the Brooklyn
Lyceum, 227 Fourth Ave., between Union and President streets.
Doors open 6 pm to midnight, Tuesday through Friday, and noon
to midnight, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $12 per show, $18
evening pass (3 shows), and $25 weekend pass (6 shows plus lunch).
Student discounts and group discounts are available. Ticket schedules
and show descriptions available at www.breedingground.com
or (347) 683-7698.
