The Artistic Director Could Use a Sedative
So rehearsals started yesterday
for Maria de Buenos Aires. The night before I didn’t get to bed till 3:00 AM
and in the morning I knew from the second my eyes opened – it was gonna be one
of ‘those’ days. Sigh. It’s this show!
It’s a mammoth show…a beast. Hours
before rehearsal, I was in a foul mood, tense and on edge. Constantly thinking, reevaluting, judging,
calculating, and expecting the worse. I
was snapping left and right and I was sure my best friend and pilar of strength
(Artes de la Rosa Technical Director) Oliver Luke would punch me just to sedate
me. *giggle* The pressures one feels
to produce good work is normal – I mean, who doesn’t want to do their best? But
Maria de Buenos Aires is a show that is both a personal quest and demon for me
and my career. I was supposed to produce this work some years ago when I was an
Artistic Director of an opera company. But the production never materialized
and I was left haunted with a feeling of personal and artistic failure. 10
minutes before rehearsals were set to begin, Oliver handed me a bottle of water
and told me to ‘Calm down, before you give yourself a heart attack.” I chugged
the bottle. Time to work.
I started very honestly with the
team by saying… “Let me get this out
of the way: Maria de Buenos Aires is not an opera. Nor is it a ballet.
Nor is it a Tango Show. Nor is it an operetta or a musical. And now let me get this
out of the way, Maria de Buenos Aires is an opera, is a ballet, is an
operetta and is most definitely a musical! Maria de Buenos Aires is a
unique amalgam of instrumentals, vocals, spoken word, and, in our production,
dance. And you are all the best of the best at what you do. And you’re here to
bring something very special to life.”
Sitting before me, the beautiful Elise Lavallee, a master choreographer in athleticism
and aesthetic, she just smiled. I love working with her because she and I speak
the same artistic language. Across from her the beautiful and luminous Grace
Neeley, our Maria, and next to her the dashing Keith J. Warren, who’s singing voice
is mesmerizing to me. Looking around I see old friends like JP Cano, our
narrator, one of the most instinctive actors I know, every line he speaks,
always rings true and of course Music Director Josh Bradford whose arrangements
for Kiss of the Spiderwoman bred new life into a dated brassy musical. And
there was Justin Kailer, friend, collegue, and costume designer, whose flawless
taste and sense of style has made so many of my shows pop! My eye catches the
perky Lorens Portalatin, whose voice impressed both me and Josh at auditions
and then my gaze darts to Wes Cantrell, a young actor with a bright future due
to his ability to stand onstage and command the audience. And then the beautiful dancers! All six a gem
of the dance world cross pollinating, Jazz, Ballet, Ballroom, and Modern…all
hand picked by Elise’s fierce search for the best. Each smiling, intrigued, and
probably a little curious about what they were about to embark on.
I sat, looking around the table
and was very surprised at how calm I became. There was a great sense of peace
but with an underlying energy that made the air in our art gallery crackle. As
a director, you get 5 maybe 6 shows in your whole career that change your
foundation and rock your core. Maria de Buenos Aires will likely be one of
those shows for me. And there we were. 20 of us, designers, dancers,
singers, actors, all sitting getting lost in what will be our lives for the
next 8 weeks, and all I could think was,
“HOW COOL IS THIS?!” haha.
Adam, you are a brilliant artist. I feel your power as a creator of passion and beauty in every word that you write about "Maria de Buenos Aries." The productions you create make the world a more perfect place. I applaud and salute your creativity. Bravo, Michael Matthews, ADLR Board Member
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