Bull Spears is a unique theatrical experience. Tell us more about it, and how the idea for it came about.
Bull Spears is essentially my attempt to create an American Western for the stage, using silent film as a point of departure. It is actually the fourth in a series of “silent” plays that I’ve written and directed with Fovea Floods. The previous three productions all dealt with the relationship between folklore and the shaping of moral codes in a culture, and it seemed natural to continue exploring those themes in a Western context.
In production, we tried to employ whatever theatrical devices were available to us to create a hyperactive, relentless flow of imagery and narrative. What is probably “unique” about the experience is that it’s very narrative-driven, but contains no dialogue. The story is conveyed through timed action, video projection, song, and subtitles. As is typical with a Fovea Floods’ production- there was an emphasis on velocity, simultaneous action, and visual and aural bombast to convey the essence of the world we were trying to articulate. The rhythmical structure of the staging – with action set to counts and constant scoring – became a line in the sand for the performers in terms of their creative process. Their mission was to be rigorous in exceeding the structure of staging, in sabotaging and breaking through it. I believe in the actor’s need for an oppressive structure – the structure often pushes them to new creative vistas. However, I’m only interested in creating theatre that attempts to transcend its formalist blueprint. The actors need to be the principal creative and interpretive force behind performance. When they’re not, its like trying to button your blouse with snowdrops.
You've directed works by a wide-range of contemporary writers: Mamet, Fassbinder, and Brecht, to name a few. As a director, what are your criteria for choosing a project?
I look for projects that grab me by the nuts, first and foremost. After that, I’ll work on the project if I feel that I have something to say about it. I have great admiration for many plays that I currently wouldn’t be interested in directing. As is often the case, as time goes on, the best writing becomes more relevant, or at least slips in and out of relevance for a given culture. I’ve loved Brecht’s Arturo Ui, since I was a kid, but the timing was never right to direct it- until I was living in NYC post 9/11. Which seemed like the perfect time for that particular production.
Which directors have influenced you? Whose work do you enjoy or admire?
Reza Abdoh, Lee Breuer, Richard Foreman, Brecht, Heiner Mueller, Andrei Tarkovsky, Passolini, Goddard, Fassbinder, Parajanov, Jack Smith, Andy Warhol, Sergio Leone, Buster Keaton, Bob Dylan, Bob Pollard & Guided by Voices. I have huge admiration for Michael Counts and for everything that he created with Gale Gates, et al. In terms of true pioneers in NYC, Radiohole and Collapsable Giraffe exist in a realm of their own. I love the work of playwright Erik Ehn and director Scott Feldsher. I especially like it when they work together. Lewis Khlar – “The reigning King of cut & paste”. Especially his films Pony Glass, and All Downs are Feminine. Elias Mehridge’s film, Begotten, had a huge influence on me, and inspired one of the middle act sequences in Bull Spears. Some of the best work that I’ve seen recently has been in L.A. – Travis Preston’s one-man Macbeth with Stephen Dillane in the title role, and Ken Nintzel’s The Rite of Spring.
You have studied theater at two institutions that each has particular approaches to training: Skidmore and California Institute of the Arts. What were the differences between the two? And, how beneficial was it to get both points of view?
There are actually many similarities between the two institutions. When I was at Skidmore, PAJ publisher Gautam Dasgupta was the Chair of the Theater school, and so the aesthetics of the department were really drifting towards experimental or avant-garde performance. Gautam was responsible for bringing artists like Erik Ehn, Mac Wellman, and Scott Feldsher to Skidmore, as well as being a valuable resource himself for those of us who had an interest in transgressive artists and art forms. Skidmore is also the summer home of Anne Bogart and the SITI Company, as well as the location for the LAByrinth Theater’s Summer Intensive, which generally adds to the appeal of that campus as a theatrical nexus.
With Cal Arts, the main difference is a difference in resources. It is not only the difference between a grad and under-grad program, but also the difference between an arts school and a liberal arts environment. For me, the graduate Directing program at Cal Arts was an opportunity to specialize and focus on my craft and the holes in my education: namely, Shakespeare, Greek drama, and classical opera, with a surplus of resources and with a talented contingent of designers and managers.
The aesthetics of both programs are very similar. I see my education as a logical sequence – Skidmore was where I discovered my interests and skills and Cal Arts was the logical place for me to go to develop them. Coincidentally, former Skidmore faculty Erik Ehn has just been named as the new Dean of the Theater School at Cal Arts.
How has your training influenced the work you do today?
The training that I’ve received has always been about looking for ways to interrupt my creative process- about finding the anarchic core of the work and doing so through artistic crisis. Because of this training, I am much less interested in creating work that is visually or sensually pleasing, and more inclined to pursue choices that are intellectually rigorous as well. I am also becoming less interested in “pointing” at transgressive behavior on stage, and more interested in actually committing a social transgression in my productions.
You're the Co-Artistic Director of Fovea Floods Theater. What is the company's mission?
Fovea Floods Theater is a not-for-profit theater company committed to stretching the vocabulary of contemporary theater. Our mission is to harness a modern theatrical voice through both the creation of new work and revitalized, compelling productions from the classic canon. The company's work employs Brechtian theory, cinematic techniques, and sensory bombardment to produce shows that are acutely visual, explosive and literate. Fovea Floods aims to create a style of theater that can compete with the appeal, excitement and spectacle of sporting events and modern film. Basically, we try to create shows that impact an audience on a physical, emotional, and intellectual level. We try to avoid boredom. We avoid small gestures. We aim to overload the audience with options.
On top of everything else, you are also a musician and a composer. How did music become a part of your life?
I studied classical guitar for about 14 years, which led me to Skidmore on a music scholarship. As soon as I began to make the shift from music to theater, I started composing scores and songs for productions. This practice became an integral part of my direction, and most of the time it’s an important part of my initial conception of a piece. Also, throughout my life, I’ve been involved in pop music in some way or another. In NYC, I’ve played and written with bands like Penthouse, The NARRCS, and Pussystorm Noir.
What are the differences, as well as the similarities, between working on a show as a composer and working on it as a director?
Well, the job of both director and composer is to shape a dramatic moment – so in that sense, they are very similar. I find it hard for me to separate the two, since I compose most of the productions I direct. But, in the case of classical opera, where I’m not composing, I find the main difference is that I have a shitload more time to focus my energies on directing. When I compose for a project that I’m not directing, I have to think like (and with) the director because music is such a potent catalyst to drama.
Is there anything you'd like to do that you haven't done yet?
I’d like to travel more, study Black Magic, put out some records, and make history. Like Jimmy Page.
What's up next for you?
I am currently directing Monteverdi’s Orfeo in L.A. This summer I will collaborate with Fovea Floods on a Brecht adaptation that will be performed this coming October at the Tang Museum in Saratoga Springs, NY.