If I had to use one word to sum up Dandelion Dancetheater, directed by Eric Kupers and Kimiko Guthrie, it would be 'diverse' - not just in terms of its choreography and theatrical elements, but its performers, as well. Kupers and Guthrie enthusiastically embrace actors, dancers, musicians, jugglers, comedians, and civilians of all sizes, ages, abilities, and mental states. The sheer novelty of their casts is fascinating to watch. How often do you see quasi-social dance performed by a group of modern dancers, an obese woman in her mid-50's, a 12 year old boy, and a woman in a wheelchair?
While this rare onstage juxtaposition might prove distracting and odd in other contexts, under the guise of a recreated bar mitzvah it is more than appropriate; it is accurate. Indeed, is there any age-old ceremonial ritual more deserving of an absurdist, off-key, dramatic interpretation than the bar mitzvah? If your answer is no, clearly you haven't attended one.
DDT's new interdisciplinary performance piece, Dan Plonsey's Bar Mitzvah, paints the stage with such dense, evocative scenes while interweaving original music, inclusive dance, devised theater, live video, and explorations of contemporary ritual. Commissioned by the Jewish Music Festival, performances are Sunday, July 11th (1pm and 4pm) at the Contemporary Jewish Museum of San Francisco.
Like many American Jews of his generation, composer Dan Plonsey was not raised within a context of traditional ritual, and his thirteenth year passed without a bar mitzvah. As his son approached his thirteenth year, Plonsey was inspired to finally undertake his own rite of passage, and to create an experimental musical dance/theater piece about the experience. The resulting work asks questions about the goals, meaning, and expectations of traditional ritual in a post-modern world.
Dan Plonsey’s Bar Mitzvah is part of the Contemporary Jewish Museum’s “Reinventing Ritual” exhibit. Presented as an actual bar mitzvah event, the immersive performance takes audiences through a bizarre journey that wrestles with traditional and alternative ideas about what it means to be an adult, a Jew, an artist and a member of a Jewish family. Plonsey’s music is performed by a nine piece all-star roster of Bay Area musicians. Eric Kupers directs the eclectic, multi-generational cast of performers from DDT and the Cal State East Bay Department of Theatre and Dance. Mantra Plonsey’s text reveals the intimate dynamics of a family of experimental Jewish artists as they navigate the twists and turns of parenthood, livelihood, religion, scheduling, chaos and a yearning for meaning.
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