A Vampire Tale Makes Some Changes

It's closing night and the Phoenix Theatre's Little Theatre is sold out for Scorpius Dance Theatre's A Vampire Tale. This is the third year in a row I have come to watch the story of the Forlorn Girl get sucked into the world of the undead and each year Lisa Starry(Director/choreographer) makes some artistic changes. I had heard rumors that this year the show included more aerial dance, new company members, and more theatrical make-up. I'm not going to lie, I was incredibly curious.

As soon as I walked into the theater, the direction of the stage had completely changed. It was flipped horizontally to provide much more space for the numerous dancers and sets coming and going throughout the show. I immediately missed the vampires mingling in the audience from years passed, but quickly forgot my longing as the Strange Man (Eric Boudreau) entertained the audience with skill and ease. He was a fearless improviser, quick to adjust to audience reaction, turning every occurrence into an amusing situation.

Having the stage facing the an atypical direction prevented the use of a curtain, presenting some creative transitioning techniques, but also causing some problems. The entire vampire world was already exposed to the audience from the moment they entered the theater. There was not the same surprise I generally feel when I see the vampire lair for the first time when the Forlorn Girl is lured by the Watcher. The lack of curtain also made watching the intimate duets between Forlorn Girl and the Watcher difficult. I was constantly drawn to what the other vampires were doing, such as setting up props, completely missing the main plot of the story. Otherwise, the directional change of the stage proved to be a success, giving the dancers much more space and letting the audience get an intimate view of the characters.

As for choreographic changes, there were many, most of which improved the dynamics of the show drastically. The movement was more athletic. There was less unison, replacing it with more intricate spatial design. And most importantly, there was less standing around time. There was, indeed, more aerial work sprinkled throughout the show with the help of guest choreographers Travis Mesman and Nicole Graffeo, which entertained the audience thoroughly. Even though Travis Mesman's "boot disc" scene, in which he used a ski boots bolted to a rotating disc to twist, hover, and bend in fascinating ways over a circle of lust filled female vampires proved to be a favorite of most audience members, nothing happened. The same five to six basic tricks on the boot disc were used over and over again with no variation in arms or torso, while the vampires longingly reached for his failing body for many minutes without variation as well. The scene added nothing to the plot and felt like a cheap gimmick, when in actuality it has the potential to do so much more. An interesting concept of using and innovative prop left me, but definitely not most of the audience members, disappointed.

The overall quality of dancers was also improved this year. The new additions to the company proved to be a good idea increasing the caliber of technical ability. As always, David Starry flawlessly protrays "the Watcher." He is amazingly lonely and sad while not making much facial expression, but rather exuding his character through his eyes and posture. During one scene in particular, the dinner scene, I could not stop watching him while the chaos continued all around him. He was perfectly disengaged from the rest of his vampire kind, showing his discontent with his life. Andrea Chesley was a nice "Forlorn Girl," but I was very distracted by her poorly fitting costume, concerned a breast was going to pop out at any moment. There were numerous times of "secretly" adjusting her top.

This year as A Vampire Tale ended, I nodded my head in an agreeing manner, satisfied with the changes made. Do I think this show has more improvements to be made? Of course, but I do believe this show is heading in a much more exciting and interesting direction and hope it continues to do so for future shows to come.

Cerrin, Phoenix, Dance Teacher