ASU 2005-2006 performing arts schedule reflects strength of backstage efforts
By Melissa Crytzer Fry

For decades, ASU has cultivated the growing metro Phoenix area’s appreciation for arts and cultural entertainment, expanding community performances and attracting some of the world’s most celebrated musicians, artists and performers to its faculty.

ASU’s reputation for fine arts education is also strong. Whether it’s learning how to translate ideas into the whirling language of dance, educating listeners with new musical compositions, or training students to present a musical that’s executed as flawlessly behind the stage as it is in front of the audience, learning how to create successfully is as important to the faculty and staff who teach performing arts as the performance itself.

We take you behind the scenes of several outstanding programs hosted by ASU’s nationally ranked Herberger College of Fine Arts and the university’s Public Events department. We also present some key events you’ll want to put on your calendar now, so you don’t miss out!

Celebration of dance reunites alumni and professor

Although Daniel Nagrin didn’t teach anatomy during his 10 years as an ASU fine arts faculty member, the physically demanding yet fluid movements he demonstrated through dance suggest that he knows a thing or two about the human body.

Alumni who studied under Nagrin, as well as community members and artists nationwide, have the opportunity to participate in the “Daniel Nagrin Celebration,” Sept. 14-18, an event designed to recognize Nagrin’s contributions to the world of dance, and a simultaneous celebration of ASU’s 75th season of dance.

“ This event will provide a variety of opportunities for alumni — not only to interact with Daniel Nagrin, but also among themselves at an alumni reception,” says dance department Chairwoman Bonnie Eckard. Alumni also will have the opportunity to perform their own work, attend workshops, and enjoy both Nagrin and alumni exhibits.

A highlight of the five-day event is the performance of three signature Nagrin pieces by guest dancer Shane O’Hara. Nagrin, 88, has taught, coached and choreographed for six decades and is known for his dancing in Broadway musicals, choreography for feature films and establishing the Tamiris-Nagrin Dance Company. He has always viewed dance as theatrical in nature, using human movement and projection of character as a vehicle for self-expression and social commentary.

“ Daniel said something profound to me that has stuck with me,” explains dance teacher Margie Wolf ’79, who first interacted with Nagrin when he taught a master class at ASU, and later when she earned her M.A. degree in education/dance in 1989.

“ He said, ‘Your face isn’t just from your forehead to your chin. It’s from your forehead to the end of your sternum, and you need to project from there.’ That was a turning point for me — a different way of approaching performance that I now teach my students.”

Considered “The Great Loner” of dance because of his solo performances — routines so physically taxing they required technical skills that few dancers could perform — Nagrin brought his New York City performance experience to ASU students. He will again present a class to alumni during the weekend’s events, which also include screenings of a documentary about Nagrin produced by Sheilah Britton, who is on the staff of ASU’s Institute For Studies in the Arts and a board member of the Nagrin Foundation.

For a complete list of celebration events, visit http://dance.asu.edu/. To register for alumni events, contact Mary Robert (mary.robert@asu.edu), (480) 965-1208.

Community vision improved through music

Daniel Bernard Roumain, ASU Public Events’ artist-in-residence, likes creating a spectacle.

In fact, the accomplished Harlem-born violinist and composer has done it twice for audiences at ASU’s Gammage Auditorium, orchestrating two unforgettable concerts that blended classical, hip-hop and jazz music with the spoken word, video, film, dance and electric violin.

“ The point of me being here is to create spectacles,” says Roumain, who has conducted a series of workshops and lectures with various school and community groups throughout Maricopa County since September 2003. “Spectacles — glasses that help you see things and bring them into focus — are a perfect way of describing my concerts. They are festivals for the eye.”

In addition to wowing audiences with his versatile range of skills — composing, singing, playing violin and piano — Roumain is equally committed to connecting communities of all ages, experiences and backgrounds.

As artist-in-residence for three years, he has worked with students in the ASU School of Music and community artists ranging from storytellers and dancers to church members and high school students. Phoenix at-risk youth also have benefited from interaction with Roumain. At the culmination of each academic year, he stages a performance that integrates his local workshop students into the show.

“ Daniel helped us to grow as performers,” says ASU Symphony Orchestra violinist, Britanie Hall, who rehearsed with Roumain for the April 2 performance of “Seen and Heard.” Orchestra members, she says, were forced out of their comfort zones, performing under colored lighting and singing at different times throughout the performance. “It made me see that sometimes performance isn’t just about playing the instrument, and that it’s not always about you — that you have to put your own fears aside and do what’s good for the whole group.”

Throughout the Roumain composition, the orchestra played simultaneously as community members spoke about freedom and their responses to the events of Sept. 11. Roumain’s string quartet, The Mission SQ Unit, and internationally recognized composer/musician Philip Glass also performed during the event.

" It was a moving performance, but in a different way than most orchestral performances, because of the involvement of the speakers and lighting,” says Hall.

Roumain, who holds a doctoral degree and master of music degree from the University of Michigan, will cap his ASU residency in the spring of 2006 with a final performance. “The details are a secret,” says Roumain, “but it will be a big surprise to everyone.”

Behind the Musical’s Curtain

If you’re thinking about attending one of those blockbuster musicals slated to hit Gammage this year, such as “Cats” or “Evita,” but haven’t spent much time around the world of theater, you may wonder: How do ordinary people and some props turn a blank stage into an urban feline habitat, or the milieu of an Argentinean legend?

“The goal of theater is to give that total experience to the audience — to allow them to be transported,” says JoAnn Yeoman Tongret, ASU lecturer who served as choreographer for the university’s Lyric Opera Theatre’s performances of Broadway standards such as “A Chorus Line.” “That means all the behind-the-scenes planning and technical aspects have to be concealed.”

Despite the need for transparency, backstage planning often takes on a life of its own — for large-scale productions like “A Chorus Line” as well as for smaller cast performances like the “Anything Goes” musical, which have both been performed in recent seasons by Lyric Opera Theatre students.

Before performers even stepped on stage for “A Chorus Line” rehearsals, for instance, Tongret spent 11 hours auditioning more than 100 people for 19 major roles, evaluating dancing, singing and monologue performances.

Call-backs the next day took an additional three hours, which, according to Tongret, represents just the beginning of the preparation required to create a compelling show in just five weeks.

While the cast rehearses six days a week, for three-and-a-half hours each day, an entourage of supporting characters juggle details behind the curtains that are essential to creating a seamless production. Costume, lighting and set designers meet months in advance with the stage manager, before casting, to answer basic questions: Who will dance in what clothes? What types of shoes will different characters wear? How will the set impact lighting choices? How will lighting affect costume colors? How will set design influence choreography? What special effects will be needed? Should any of the music be cut?

Choreographers, directors and designers also hold weekly meetings designed to address arising issues. “It’s not uncommon to hear comments ranging from ‘I can’t find these props’ and ‘Look at this dress — it’s not going to work’ to ‘We’ve almost reached our budget — what can we cut?’” says Tongret, previously a New York City performer and choreographer, who now teaches acting, dance and vocal performance.

“ An audience isn’t going to think about these things, and that’s good,” she adds. “But if it’s wrong, they’ll notice it, even if they can’t exactly put their finger on what isn’t right.”

A key to ensuring that the audience doesn’t notice any production hiccups is the director’s meeting in which actors see scale models of the set, view costume designs and learn about the director’s concept for the show. “At this time, we are sharing our vision of the piece and indicating how we would like the performers to join us in developing the production,” says Tongret, adding that the meeting requires hours of preparation by designers, directors and the choreographer.

To provide the cast with additional preparation for A Chorus Line, Tongret orchestrated an intensive 12-week workshop for student performers, complete with master classes by Tony Award-winning dancing and singing star Donna McKechnie, and a visit from Pamela Blair, who played the original Val in the 1975 production. “Although it requires a lot of planning and preparation, the workshop gives performers time to get the big dance numbers in their muscle memory and frees up evening rehearsals for things like staging, blocking, scenes and songs,” says Tongret.

According to Tongret, timing is everything — from the less-than-a-minute costume changes in “A Chorus Line” to the fog horn sound effects in “Anything Goes” that, if miscued, could drown out a romantic duet. “We make it all look easy,” she laughs, “but it is an incredible amount of work.”

Melissa Crytzer Fry is a Phoenix-based freelance writer.

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Daniel Nagrin

Daniel Bernard Roumain