"Freedom and Control": an Interview with Choreographer Jon Cooper by Kathia

Kathia!

I recently watched Classic Stage Company's production of The Tempest. It was very entertaining, magical and very natural.  Despite being a person who often feels confused and burdened by Shakespeare's plays, seeing the performance at CSC actually made The Tempest come to life for me and gave me a better understanding of the story and conflict as a whole. 

Actually seeing the behind the scenes effort and molding that the other members of CSC's production of The Tempest crew inputted into producing the play made me value the performance and the final product much more. When I saw the finished product, one early Monday afternoon, I was completely awed and filled with admiration for all of the people and the production itself. At that moment I realized the fulfillment that long periods of hard work results in, I could only imagine how proud and accomplished the entire crew felt after the end of the final scene on the last day of their production of The Tempest. 

Jon Cooper, choreographer of THE TEMPEST.

   
One person that caught my eye during my rehearsal observations at Classic Stage Company was the choreographer, Jon Cooper, who did a brilliant job of choreographing many parts of the play.  I observed him choreographing the part of the play where the Ariel Spirits are dancing and the head Ariel spirit is singing. 

During our interview, I inquired about the challenges of directing the spirits, due to the different types of harnesses they wore and the lights attached to those harnesses.  To this he replied that working with the harnesses is not as challenging as it seems because of the way that they are set up, they do not really constrict movement. The most constricting harness was Caliban, but it was manageable.  I also asked Jon about his vision or his visual ideas when choreographing the movement of the Ariel spirits.  To this he replied that he wanted that whole segment to flow and look effortless and natural.  He wanted the spirits to look very fragile and mystical as if they are being pulled by a string, he wanted it to be visually appealing.

Caliban and the Ariel Spirits

During our interview, I actually learned the difference between a choreographer and a director.  During my rehearsal observations, I noticed that the roles of the director and the choreographer are actually quite similar, and sort of interlock.  For example, both are concerned with the placement and movement of the actors and the props.  However, Jon informed me that the difference between the director and the choreographer is that that director is not only focused with the position of actors and props but is also concerned with the acting and the emotions that the actors need to convey.

I also asked Jon about his background with dancing and why he loves it.  Jon grew up in Rhode Island, and from an early age he began dancing.  He started off with tap and later branched out to different forms of dance and movement.  He has danced for competitions, recitals and even plays, but he is also learned in choreography and likes to take that position as well.  When I asked Jon which he enjoys more, actually dancing in a performance or choreographing a performance, he replied that he enjoys both because they are very different.  Dancing allows him to do something he loves and be recognized for his talent, which took hard work to acquire. Choreography, on the other hand, gives him more freedom and control to try different things and allows him to display more of his creative thinking, visions and input. 

TEEN TAKEOVER of THE HEIR APPARENT

NextGen members Carla and Dyandra lead a talkback
 with the actors after the Teen Takeover
 performance of THE HEIR APPARENT.

Our second Teen Takeover was a huge success! CSC's main stage show of THE HEIR APPARENT was hosted by NextGen members, who worked as box office assistants, passing out tickets; ushers and greeters, welcoming and helping to seat ticket holders; and discussion leaders, planning and facilitating a post-show talkback with the artists for the teens in attendance. 

Members had a blast and their guests enjoyed the performance and talkback, where they were joined by actors Amelia Pedlow (Isabelle), Carson Elrod (Crispin), Dave Quay (Eraste), and Claire Karpen (Lisette).

Playing improv games with Max
to flex our farcical muscles!

The weekend before they saw the show, NextGen had the opportunity to meet with two of the cast members: Amelia and David. They also worked with one of CSC's teaching artists, Max Davis, who helped them understand more about what type of comedy this play is (a farce) and about how the playwright, David Ives, works with rhyming verse.  

Amelia and David didn't want to give away all the fun plot twists of THE HEIR APPARENT, so Max brought an example of Ives' text from another of his plays, called THE LIAR. Members worked on the opening monologue, playing around with different ways to say each line. Check out the video below to see our final collaborative version!  

The fun's just starting...

Fortunately for student audiences, the fun doesn't end at the curtain call of THE TEMPEST. Schools traveling to CSC have the option of staying for a post-show workshop led by the cast. Below are some pictures from those workshops.

Ito Aghayere and Jeena Yi field questions from the students.

The post-show workshop begins with a Q&A with the cast. Students have the opportunity to ask questions specific to the play, to acting, and to the technical aspects of the production. Many students ask questions to actors about their characters.

The students are then pitted against each other in a battle of Shakespearean proportions.  Each student picks three insults to hurl at their opponent.

Ito and Jeena help the students pick
the best and most heinous insults.

The students, armed with their new-found
Shakespearen language, are ready to do battle!

Sometimes the cast throws in a bonus activity! Check out this clip of Sheyenne Javonne Brown and the rest of the company leading the audience through a vocal warm-up they call "Zoo Whoa Shaw." Believe it or not, it uses every vowel and consonant sound in the English language!