Last night marked the opening of The New Theatre Project’s The Dance of the Seven Veils, written by Amanda Lyn Jungquist, who also appears in the show.
As reported previously, this play is loosely based on Obie award-winning playwright Charles L. Mee's work Salome . The Dance of the Seven Veils is a three-woman it show that explores the lives of sex workers through a narrative culled from interviews, research and postings on a social networking website for sex workers.
The short play runs without intermission but the monologues are broken up by interludes of live music and dance. The work is performed in-the-round in the intimate Pot & Box performance space. This enables the actresses to speak as individuals to individuals, and the direct eye contact with the women is both unnerving and compelling.
The focal point of the set is a dance pole. Each woman uses it – each in her own defining way.
Amanda Lyn Junquist plays the first woman we hear from. The play opens with her practicing ballet exercises using the pole. She explains that as a young child she wanted to be a ballerina or a nurse … but ended up selling sexual favors online.
Maria Thomas plays a woman who becomes sexually promiscuous to get even with an unfaithful boyfriend, but then realizes she could make the money she needs to care for an ailing sister.
Linda Rabin Hammel, an actress whose credits include many theatres in the area, plays a ‘woman of a certain age’ reflecting on her life as a pole dancer.
The violence these particular women experience is more emotional than physical and implied rather than mimed – an artistic choice made by the playwright and director to avoid shock value and force a closer look at the inner lives of the characters. The effect is engaging and, perhaps, more enjoyable than one might expect given the dark subject matter.
Near the opening of the show, a character voices the original Charles L. Mee text:
You might say
I'd never do such a thing
how do you know?
you say: because that's not the kind of person I am
But you don't know.
Because one day you will do something
and then you will find out what sort of person you are.
Ultimately, The Dance of the Seven Veils invitees reflection and provokes dialog. We can all use more of that.
The production runs through February 28, Friday-Monday. All performances start at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets are $15, and students/seniors/industry tickets are $10 (cash or check only). Tickets can be reserved by calling or texting The New Theatre Project box office at (734) 645-9776 or emailing tickets@thenewtheatreproject.org. Seating is limited and reservations are strongly recommended.
Performances are held at the Pot & Box, 220 Felch St., Ann Arbor. Free parking is available onsite. For more details, visit The New Theatre Project website.
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