It was sometime within the first 10 minutes of callbacks for BrickaBrack that I knew: this group is something special. I have never had so much fun in an audition environment before. We stretched, we played, we moved, we improvised, we wrote, we CREATED - all within an extremely supportive group environment. I didn't know any of these people. But I felt that they were kindred spirits. Members of the creative community. Fellow artists at heart. We all marveled at this together when the 3 hours of callbacks were over. If nothing else came of this, we were at least grateful to have had this experience, and to know that such a supportive ensemble existed. But that was just the beginning. To my great joy, I was asked to be a part of BrickaBrack as an Ensemble Member by its director, Gabriel Grilli (or GG, as we affectionately call him). Once the ensemble was established, we were all invited to meet up at a bar in midtown, and get to know each other a little better. The air that night was electric. Everyone had huge grins on their faces, we were so happy to be there. It was the feeling that we all had our hands on something fresh, smart, vibrant, and alive. And now, every Monday night, I look forward to stepping into a studio that is full of collaborators, ready to play. We share ideas, methodologies, and exercises from each of our walks of life, and see what emerges. It is an evening full of creation. I have come to look forward to these nights, where I know that I can contribute my unique assets as a performer, and that I will simultaneously be inspired by those who are creating with me. Being a part of BrickaBrack is also an opportunity for me to develop ALL of my creative outlets as an artist, not just acting. As someone who considers myself a mover, but who does not fit into the box of most classically trained dancers, BrickaBrack has been an invaluable playground for me to express myself physically, without the bothersome pressure of trying to “look good.” The same goes for the opportunity to write poetry, which I rarely share with others. But I know that whatever outpouring of my brain I am putting into the room is going to be supported by those whom I trust and respect. It’s amazing how comfortable we have become with each other in such a short period of time. We have said this before to each other, that it feels like we’ve all been working together for much longer than a few months. And that says so much about who is in this creative community of people. One of my favorite Monday “Jams” (as we’ve begun to call these meetings) was just a few weeks ago, when GG asked us each to create a tableau based on a few words that he gave us, as a springboard. For example, we were to create an image with our bodies inspired by the phrases, “Russian Revolution,” “In the drawing room, waiting for my lover,” and “At the theatre.” After we created these frozen images with our bodies, we were then asked to speak from the point-of-view of the people we were depicting. One at a time - while frozen in tableau - we asked each other questions about each character’s life story, which the actor had to invent on-the-spot. Every story was so full of imagination and detail - some humorous, some sad, some full of intrigue. We knew the stories weren’t true, but we became invested in them anyway. And that is so much of what BrickaBrack is doing; we are focusing on how we can tell compelling stories. This means that we are constantly questioning what use of images, sounds, movements, and words can come together to create a story that is not only engaging, but also full of humor, compassion, and truth. A story that is told from an angle that maybe you would not normally expect, but that tugs at your heartstrings and inspires you to look at the world from a new perspective.
Please continue to keep your ears peeled for our upcoming projects - we’re going to make some great art together, and can’t wait to share it with you.
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We are fresh from our first NY showing, an open studio production called On the Flip Side. This piece was based on group explorations inspired by postcards. More on the show here! Some insight into the making of this project: This fall, we were working with objects for a while (which was SO fun and yielded some crazy shit) - and we then moved to using postcards as inspiration. The interesting contrast was that objects are super wide open to interpretation - like, if someone had a rock that they brought in, everyone present would create a totally different story about that rock. But postcards, because of their specificity of image/text/context, have a different filter for interpretation. At some point we took a vote on which things to use as inspiration for a showing, and postcards narrowly won... On the Flip Side was developed in about 6 weeks by three BrickaBrack subgroups: Rock, Paper, and Scissors. Some of the pieces were inspired from the cards' images, some from what was on the back of them, or our personal experience around receiving the card / who sent it. We played with movement/text/ theatrical structure/imaginative leaps inspired by the images on the cards, or the writing, or the artist behind the card's creation. One of my favorite collaborations was with a self portrait museum card by an artist named Darren Booth. For ten minutes we sat and wrote poems about the artist based on the image alone and no other instruction. The resulting piece, "I am Darren Booth!" was hysterical and amazing. Here's a pic of some of the cards we were playing with: Amy & I created these programs below, which mirrored the design of a card we based a piece on (you can see it in the top right of the pic above, actually) - one that I had received from a "Postcard Machine" in 2007 - a vending machine an artist had developed, that delivered postcards at $1 a pop. Its actually a pouch that we inserted a postcard in, then during a particular piece in the show, the audience was instructed to remove the postcard and fill out the back with their dream life - and we'd mail it to whomever they wanted to send it to! Some audience commentary about the show:
I'm not sure if we'll continue working in this postcard-inspired format, but it was a really fun way to introduce our work to NYC audiences. Thank you for reading! ~ GG Last night was a momentous one for us, and for me personally - our first BrickaBrack NY Ensemble rehearsal. It was so wonderful to be in the room with this group of artists. We did a lot of "get to know each other exercises," warmed up with the ceremonial BrickaBrack "Zoom-Bang-Pow" energy game, and talked about the artists and productions that have inspired us / blown us away.
Here are a few things that stood out to me: the intelligence, sensitivity, good nature, and articulateness of these people. The fact that many found theatre as a place where they could fit in and express themselves when the rest of the world didn't make sense or seem to have a place for them. Although we're from all over the U.S. with a few foreign-born members, most of us are from small families and our parents are still married. I'm the only one who grew up in a house where we didn't lock the front door. Almost everyone has a plant and uses a mac. We have wine and cocktail drinkers, but very few who prefer beer. We have a few lefties and a few ambis. No one identifies as a conservative. We're a group of travelers rather than homebodies. We have a lot of directing/choreographing/writing skills. We teach. There are zombie people and vampire people, but no werewolf people. We prefer Gene Kelly to Fred Astaire, and Scorsese to Spielberg... Interesting! Puppetry has been a big inspiration to the group, including Manual Cinema's recent piece Ada/Ava and Shockheaded Peter. Artists like Kneehigh, Complicite, Robert Lepage, and immersive performances like Sleep No More and Ivo Van Hove's Scenes from a Marriage were also cited as brilliant inspirations where the audience is very involved in deciding how they experience a stage piece. I can't wait to see what we make together! ~ GG BrickaBrack is thrilled to announce the appointment of sixteen new Ensemble Members to the company. These new Ensemble Members will form the core of the company's artistic machine for the next year, developing new rehearsal methods, projects, and growing the company through long-term collaborative practices. This diverse group of artists hails from all over the U.S., Canada, South America, and South Africa. The sixteen new Ensemble Members are:
Alanna Blair, Amy Nielson, Angela Nahigian, Anika Solveig, Annie-Sage Whitehurst, Brian Knoebel, DeLance Minefee, Esther van Zyl, Garrett Gray, Jillian Jetton, Matt Renskers, Natalia Mendes, Nicole Cardoni, Rachel Aylward, Rachel Ritacco, and Rita McCann. Read about these artists at www.brickabrack.org/about. Artistic Director Gabriel Grilli says, "The talent, intelligence, diversity, range of training disciplines, and vibrant spirit of this group is just phenomenal. Bringing these artists on board as Ensemble Members is an amazing step in the development of BrickaBrack, and represents a major shift in the structuring of the company. It's also an experiment - We're three years old, and have never had a core group of this size! Personally, it's the fulfillment of a dream I've had to be part of a consistent collaborative like this. Where we work together in the studio every week, dreaming, scheming, experimenting with processes, and generating new projects. I’m so excited to welcome these wonderful people to the BrickaBrack family, and to begin creating with them on an ongoing basis.” Over the past month, we conducted audition workshops with an amazing group of artists from around the world... Including movement exercises, space explorations, collaborative theatre pieces generated from images, character monologue writing/performance, improvisations, and more! Led by Artistic Director Gabriel Grilli and Ensemble Member Amy Nielson. Photos by Joana Cardozo.
Dear Friends, We're excited to enter our next phase of activity in NY with the announcement that we are actively seeking NY-based ensemble members to develop projects in the fall & beyond. If you or someone you know might be interested in working with us, please send us a headshot and resume as outlined below -- And thank you so much for your continued support! Best, Gabriel Artistic Director Recently re-located to NY from SF, our three year old, award-winning company develops new work through long-term ensemble collaboration, improvisation, and workshops. If you're into physical theatre, dance theatre, Lecoq, viewpoints; or studied at ETW, Dell'Arte, or similar training programs, perhaps you'll find an artistic home with us! Our influences include Lepage, Pina, Big Dance Theatre, Complicite, Julie Taymor, Mary Zimmerman, and Kneehigh, to name a few. Especially seeking performers who have skills in multiple areas: singers, dancers, writers, musicians, puppeteers, etc. Desire to be a part of an ensemble company is essential. All ages and types sought, especially men.
See our website www.BrickaBrack.org for more info, and contact us with any questions. Stipends paid on a project basis. ** Interested Performers, Union or Non-Union ** Please send a note to BrickaBrack.Theatre@gmail.com with your photo/resume explaining your interest in working with us and your experience with ensemble theatre! Dear Friends,
Happy 2015! We hope you're feeling productive and joyous in the New Year. Here at BrickaBrack, we're about to embark on a new adventure. I'm excited to announce that the company will move operations to New York City in the Spring of 2015! This has been a long-considered decision, given our launch here and the relationships we've formed over the course of three years and five productions in the Bay Area. Ultimately, it's a change I'm hungry for, and one that I believe will benefit the company through exposure to a larger audience and artist network, immersion in a thriving 'downtown' scene, and the chance to continue working with Actors' Equity members under existing NY codes. On behalf of the company, I want to thank YOU - All of our Bay Area artists, audiences, volunteers and supporters who have been integral to our first three years. Thank you for consistently attending our productions and events, for contributing to our fundraising campaigns, and for your energy and positivity. We could never have done it without you! It's been a wonderful three years developing here, and your backing has enabled us to take this next step. I hope you will continue to support the company as we enter this next exciting chapter of BrickaBrack, follow our work in NY, and recommend us to anyone who might see our future productions, wherever they may be staged! Thanks again from the bottom of my heart, and I hope to see you in NY! Yours sincerely, Gabriel Founding Artistic Director Dear Friends, 2014 was an amazing year for us at BrickaBrack, and we hope it was for you too!
Come see Daffodil! Its fun, poignant, and only 75 minutes long! We've been receiving great reviews from people who've seen us at the Fringe:
Daffodil: A play on Happiness by BrickaBrack.
Inspired by Wes Anderson, Amelie, & Beckett. A movement theatre narrative with moments of soulful sincerity, songs, audience interaction, and puppetry. |
BB BlogMusings by the BrickaBrack Ensemble Archives
June 2020
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