Acts From Under And Above (1986)
Production
"Acts from Under and Above" is a two-part production that was written by Meredith Monk and Lanny Harrison. It was presented by The House Foundation for the Arts and produced at La MaMa in 1986. The first part, "Acts from Under Above", received its world premiere, while the second part, "Turtle Dreams", was a cabaret. A brief summary of the production is included below:
''Acts From Under and Above'' takes place within what looks like a rock cavern in a which a window has been cut. The first part is a solo by and for Miss Monk, in which she wanders about the space like a little girl left alone in her mother's room, playing with props and indulging in snatches of speech, song and movement (the best moment comes with a collage of whispered voices, pre-recorded by Miss Monk, that warn: ''We know who you are, we know all you've done'').
The second half is by Miss Monk and a longtime member of her company, Lanny Harrison, with the pianist Nurit Tilles in a subsidiary role. The two principal women use the occasion as a nice expression of their friendship, again like children with Miss Tilles alternately playing the piano and acting like some distant motherly or grandmotherly authority figure.
Additional objects related to this production include production photographs taken by Jerry Vezzuso [OBJ.1986.0058] and a show program [OBJ.1986.0142].
-- "Stage: Meredith Monk Chanber-Theater Piece," John Rockwell, April 16, 1986, New York Times
''Acts From Under and Above'' takes place within what looks like a rock cavern in a which a window has been cut. The first part is a solo by and for Miss Monk, in which she wanders about the space like a little girl left alone in her mother's room, playing with props and indulging in snatches of speech, song and movement (the best moment comes with a collage of whispered voices, pre-recorded by Miss Monk, that warn: ''We know who you are, we know all you've done'').
The second half is by Miss Monk and a longtime member of her company, Lanny Harrison, with the pianist Nurit Tilles in a subsidiary role. The two principal women use the occasion as a nice expression of their friendship, again like children with Miss Tilles alternately playing the piano and acting like some distant motherly or grandmotherly authority figure.
Additional objects related to this production include production photographs taken by Jerry Vezzuso [OBJ.1986.0058] and a show program [OBJ.1986.0142].
-- "Stage: Meredith Monk Chanber-Theater Piece," John Rockwell, April 16, 1986, New York Times
April 3 – 20, 1986
PROD.1986.0017
Meredith Monk (performer), Lanny Harrison (performer), Nurit Tilles (performer), Meredith Monk (music), Donald Ashwander (music), James Tenney (music), William Albright (music), Tony Giovannetti (lighting designer), Debby Lee Cohen (set design), David Gearey (contributor), David Moody (tech), The House Foundation for the Arts (producer)
Loading...