meg o’connor

For the past week, I have been working with Cutting Ball Theater, helping them put up their latest show, Avant GardARAMA. Everytime I am around the people who run this company, I am reminded why I want to work in theater all over again. They are normal, talented, honest people who genuinely love the work they produce, and it shows in each performance.

This show fits them to a T. It is a night of three short, experimental one acts, each so different from the next, and each so interesting. The first short is by Gertrude Stein, entitled Accents in Alsace, featuring all three of the actors involved in the production. It is a ten minute, three person poem. Very structured like most of Stein’s work, and I reacted to it like I do with most of Stein’s verse. I read it once, think what the hell? and let it stew for a while. The wonderful thing about this piece is that it is performed, and intentions, and explanations, and a story, all come out through the actors movements and facial expressions. Though it is my least favorite piece of the evening, it is probably now my favorite Stein piece.

The next short is a wonderful one act by Suzan-Lori Parks: Betting on the Dust Commander. Another equally puzzling, but very entertaining short play. It examines a man and a woman living together, both fascinated by a horse that brought them together, Dust Commander. The woman even adopts horse-like behavior, and the man jockey-like behavior, putting another twist on the observations of relationships. It is funny and quick paced, though I’m sure more than a few audience members wondered if the actors had gotten lost and started over- the play repeats itself. When it seems like the the play is wrapping up, they circle right back to the beginning, and go through it all again. That silly Parks.

The final piece, a world premiere by Eugenie Chan, is really something to see. It is called Bone to Pick, and it is loosely based on the myth of Ariadne and Theseus. The show centers around Ria, a waitress in a diner at the end of the world. There are some gorgeous lines, and some really moving moments, and they are performed exquisitely by Paige Rogers, who also happens to be the Associate Artistic Director of Cutting Ball. Though I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing it on the stage (I have been working backstage, so I’ve heard it plenty of times) I will see it in the next few weeks, and I hope others do too.

Even if experimental theater is not your cup o’ tea, or if you want to see some fine acting, or you just want to support a wonderful theater company, come on down to Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor st. (In the ‘loin)

Favorite Line from the Show: “Dust is little bits of dirt, Mare. Little bits. Separate dirties…that fuzzicate themsleves together.” From Betting on the Dust Commander

I am off to do the dishes!

I sing with San Francisco Renaissance Voices (SFRV). It is a small choir that focuses on early music. I’ve been singing with them for almost a year, now, and have had the privilege to sing a lot of beautiful music. I bring it up, because I am currently in rehearsal for our biggest project to date- Ordo Virtutum by Hildegard von Bingen. Ordo Virtutum or ‘Ritual of the Virtues’, is a chant opera, and arguable the earliest opera ever written. It centers around a struggling soul, trying to decide whether to embrace the pleasures of the flesh, or deny them and walk with the virtues, guaranteeing her entrance into heaven. The Virtues try to give their best sales pitch, but the villain of the opera, The Devil, lures her away from the Virtues. They continue their ritual, of singing their praises to each other, and do they win the soul back? Does she deny The Devil and her body? Well, you’ll just have to come see one of the five performances we’re putting on.

The rehearsal process is a bit strained. We meet only once a week, continuing our standard choir rehearsal schedule. The problem is, typically we have our music for our concerts, but this is a performance, and we are expected to memorize it. So, a three hour rehearsal becomes half memorization time and half choreography time (that is right, there will be dancing.) We have sung quite difficult music before, and this music is all chant, so it isn’t too tough- but this is definitely the biggest project we have ever taken on.  And we are sweating.

But here is the up-side. We’re really good, and no matter what, the performance will be beautiful. We are wearing Indian saris, and learning Indian dancing. Though it is 70 minutes of chant, it is really beautiful, and we hopefully will make it as fun to watch as it is to listen to.

And a note to the few who read this: my website is not done, yet. It is a work in progress. Just…you know…throwing that out there.