Pushing Sisyphean Beach Balls and Honoring Obstacles
'I hate large beach balls,' Celia Rowlson-Hall said at the Baryshnikov Arts Center last week.
A director, choreographer and performer best known for her quirky and surreal work in film, Rowlson-Hall was rehearsing 'Sissy,' an idiosyncratic hybrid of dance and theater. It draws on the Greek myth of Sisyphus, eternally condemned to push a boulder up a mountain only to have it roll back down. The boulder is represented by a giant beach ball, and in rehearsal the performers were having trouble lofting it into a net suspended above the stage. After failing a few times, they succeeded, only to have the ball bounce back out again.
This Sisyphean moment was not planned, but it might easily have been part of the choreography. 'Sissy,' which runs at the Baryshnikov Center Thursday through Saturday, is the kind of production that playfully blurs the line between real life and make believe. It's about a director-choreographer (Zoë Winters), a new mother who is making a dance piece that uses the metaphor of Sisyphus to symbolize the difficulties of balancing motherhood with her artistic life. Rowlson-Hall came up with the idea while she was pregnant and working on a feature film.
'It was a camera movement in my head,' she said during a rehearsal break. 'I saw the camera coming around and revealing this woman who had been hiding behind the rock the whole time. And I was like, 'Oh, what's her story?''
Much of the story that Rowlson-Hall wrote is drawn from her life, but it's nested in layers of fiction and art making. In 'Sissy,' which alternates between scenes of dialogue and dance, Winters's character presents a work-in-progress set in a rock quarry. (Lucas Hegseth plays a quarry worker.) A dancer (Ida Saki) pushes the beach ball around, dances out childbirth, then pushes a slightly smaller beach ball (representing the moon) while holding her child — a child played by Saki's own 1-year-old son.
The showing seems to be going fine when it's interrupted by a paleobotanist, who announces that she has made a 'once in a millennium' discovery in the parking lot: the fossilized root system of the world's oldest forest. It seems the boulder that is the director's show is rolling down the mountain again, and she will have to adjust to the new circumstances — a process made more farcical because the paleobotanist is played by the gifted physical comedian and actress Marisa Tomei.
'Celia called me and asked if I was interested in the myth of Sisyphus,' Tomei said. The two had known each other socially, and Tomei had been impressed with Rowlson-Hall's work. After a long conversation about the tarantella and other 'mythic dances,' she signed on.
'Marisa had been in my head because I wanted someone who would come in with full ownership of the space and a sense of comedy,' Rowlson-Hall said. 'I like the idea that this one interaction blows up the director's entire show. She can no longer ignore reality coming into the building. But then it actually informs a richer world for her.'
During the rehearsal, Rowlson-Hall was adjusting to the reality of the theater, and the technical difficulties of realizing what she had imagined. 'In the studio last week, everything was perfect,' she said. 'Coming into the theater is like this explosion happened, and I'm picking up the pieces.'
The pressure of making these adjustments less than a week before opening night was unfamiliar to Rowlson-Hall, who has spent most of her career working in film.
'In film, you can try different takes, and you shape a lot of your story in the editing,' she said. 'Right now, I have to make choices and maybe realize they're not right but not have time to go back and change them.'
Trained as a dancer, Rowlson-Hall started her career performing for eccentric, theatrically minded concert dance choreographers like Faye Driscoll and Monica Bill Barnes. Quickly, though, she moved into choreographing for film, fashion and television, gaining attention for her work on the HBO show 'Girls' and in music videos for Alicia Keys, Coldplay and the Bleachers. She also made many movement-based short films — ingenious, imaginatively free and frequently hilarious. In 2017, she released her first feature, 'MA,' a dialogue-free, dreamlike vision that might be described as a modern-day Virgin Mary's pilgrimage to Las Vegas.
It was only after giving birth to her son two years ago, she said, that she had the desire to return to stage work. As she began creating her female Sisyphus show, she worried about her father, who had been wrongfully confined to a psychiatric ward. Then Saki, her lead dancer, revealed that she was pregnant.
'I could no longer compartmentalize,' Rowlson-Hall said, 'and the only way I was going to survive the moment is if I packed it all together.' Later in the process, both of her parents died suddenly, of different causes. And so into 'Sissy' it all went, along with the play-within-a-play (or dance-within-a-dance) structure and an actual discovery by paleobotanists that Rowlson-Hall read about.
'Whatever is happening in her own life or in that moment, she's just like 'This belongs in the show,'' Saki said.
Like most of the cast, Saki has worked with Rowlson-Hall before. 'There is no brain like Celia's brain,' she said. 'On every project, when I read what she has in mind, it's so vivid and otherworldly that I always think 'How is this even possible?''
'On this project, there has been obstacle after obstacle,' Saki continued. 'But Celia makes it part of the show. That's what the show is about — pushing that freaking rock.'
The darkness of Rowlson-Hall's recent struggles has not damaged her sense of humor. 'Sissy' finds room for a goofy disco dance and an elaborate ensemble number with light-up aircraft-marshaling wands.
Although Rowlson-Hall often stars in her own films and has acted in projects like the film 'Aftersun' (2022), she chose not to cast herself in 'Sissy.' But Tomei noted that because Rowlson-Hall is a performer, she can understand an actor's process and adjust accordingly. 'There's a very open dialogue there,' Tomei said.
'Being with the dancers, I'm in heaven,' she added. Tomei began her career with dreams of dancing in musicals and has relished the opportunity to be physically expressive, she said, 'thinking in shapes and body sculpture,' stylizing gestures, getting carried around and dropping into the splits when necessary.
Tomei described the whole creative process as one of 'transformative alchemizing.' In 'Sissy,' a female artist faces obstacles — 'some of them have to do with biology, some with life cycles,' she said. But while women often hide or minimize such challenges, this artist incorporates them into her art.
'This show is such an honoring of where Celia was in her own life at that moment,' Tomei said. 'To see her work with it — naming it, showing it — that's really important.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Elle
3 hours ago
- Elle
Zimmerman Is An It-Girl's Bohemian Holiday Dream — These Are The Best 12 Pieces To Wear Now
It's no secret that Australian brand Zimmermann has holiday dressing sussed. Founded by sisters Nicky and Simone Zimmermann in 1991, the label has put easy, breezy bohemian dresses high on our packing lists ever since. Zimmermann's signature louche silhouettes, evocative cutouts and, perhaps most pointedly, its dreamy prints have made it the resort wear brand of choice for It-girls world over. You need to look no further to understand the brand's universal allure than a recent trip to Mykonos, where a set of global stars descended on the Greek island to toast the latest Zimmermann collection. Among those notable names wearing the brand from top-to-toe was Laura Harrier. 'Zimmermann just gets the fantasy of vacation,' the American actor tells ELLE UK. 'The pieces are feminine, elevated, and light enough to toss in a suitcase but still make you feel like the main character wherever you are.' 'Pack things that move,' Harrier says on the topic of packing like a pro. 'Anything that flows, flutters, or catches the light a little. Those are the pieces that make the moment feel cinematic.' She's right. Zimmermann's signature aesthetic comes most alive when worn in roomy silhouettes, whether silk chiffon evening dresses or sweet cotton two sets for the day. What's best about curating a holiday wardrobe from Zimmermann is the consistency of its collections, which means you can just continue to add and build your wardrobe like you do your holiday memories. Even if the brand's signature bohemian elegance isn't your usual thing, it's hard not to fall for it or consider it the ultimate switch off. Trying on a new guise is an easy way to side step out of your usual life and into something all the more relaxed. If this is the summer you signal your first foray into the world of Zimmermann then here's where to begin. Laura's favourite? 'A floor-length black dress I wore one night —sleeveless, super fluid, and it felt very Grecian goddess. The silhouette was so simple but powerful, and the way it moved in the wind by the water… it was giving drama without trying too hard. Definitely my favourite moment.' Freelancer
Elle
a day ago
- Elle
Look Inside Olivia Wilde's Dreamy Greek Getaway With Zimmermann
There are few better places to jet off to in June than Mykonos. This past week, Zimmermann hosted a chic gathering of friends, family, and VIPs on the island to celebrate the opening of its new flagship boutique. Notable guests included Emma Roberts, Laura Harrier, and Olivia Wilde, who took us along as she got ready. The excursion embodied the best of Greek living. Upon arrival, festivities kicked off with an intimate dinner at Sea Satin Market, a waterfront tavern located directly under the famous Mykonos windmills. The following the day, guests gathered once again for a seaside lunch—this time at the iconic Spilia restaurant, where they lounged and celebrated well into the evening against a sunset backdrop and sounds by DJ Mimi Xu. For Wilde, the trip was as perfect as a spontaneous summer getaway can get. 'I had a great time in stunning Mykonos with the Zimmermann team, and all their gorgeous, fun guests,' the actress and director exclusively tells ELLE. 'We laughed so hard, ate and drank so well, and wore extremely good looks. It was the most gorgeous 24-hour adventure I've had in a long time.' During the main event at Spilia, Wilde looked statuesque, sporting a low-cut flowing black gown with a drop waist that moved perfectly in the coastal winds, ideal for kicking off her shoes on the sandy beaches and dancing the night away. Both the bronze glam and golden jewelry evoked the radiance of a Greek goddess, completing the island vision.
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Boston Globe
Athens' ancient theater hosts final festival season before closing for three-year restoration
Advertisement Its closure will be a profound loss for spectators who have long enjoyed first-class performances under the stars in one of the world's most iconic open-air theaters. 'When (people) think of the Athens cultural scene, everyone thinks of the festival and Herodion,' said Katerina Evangelatos, the festival's artistic director since 2019, calling the theater by its commonly used Greek name. 'It has become a synonym of the festival. It is the heart of the festival.' When the Greek National Opera opened this season's festival with Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, it erected temporary structures behind the Roman-era odeon's arched walls to expand available space for performers' dressing rooms. The permanent underground facilities weren't enough. The production also needed more space inside the venue to accommodate the scale of the production. Advertisement To meet the opera's scenic and casting demands, a crew constructed a wooden, balcony-like platform to partially extend over the orchestra pit. This adaption allowed space for the large cast and complex staging, including the emblematic scene in which the emperor, Turandot's elderly father, is ceremonially rolled out in his towering throne to watch suitors attempt to solve his daughter's riddles — at the risk of execution. The scene requires significant simultaneous on-stage presence by multiple performers. Greek National Opera's Artistic Director, Giorgos Koumendakis poses ahead of the dress rehearsal of Giacomo Puccini's "Turandot" by the Greek National Opera during the 70th Athens Epidaurus Festival in Athens, Greece, on May 30. Thanassis Stavrakis/Associated Press 'It's like entering a temple' Giorgos Koumendakis, the Greek National Opera's artistic director, describes the Herod Atticus Odeon as 'a strained, fatigued space' which still commands widespread veneration. 'People who are conscious, cultivated, educated — who understand what this space is, its historical significance, the importance of the festival, and the history of the Greek National Opera — respect it deeply and enter it almost reverently,' said Koumendakis. 'It's like entering a temple — a temple of art — and it truly has an impact. I can see it from the singers and the orchestra, too. When they come here, they genuinely want to give their all." During previous restoration and conservation projects, the Herod Atticus Odeon had surfaces cleaned, cracks filled with grout and new seating installed. This time, the scope of the work will depend on findings from the studies still underway. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said that although the venue's closing date is certain, at the end of summer, its reopening is not. 'This will depend on the problems that the studies will reveal,' she said in an interview to Greek radio station Skai last month. 'What is certain is that at least three years will be needed.' Performers of the Greek National Opera Denia Mimerini, center, and Nikos Egglezos, left, prepare ahead of Giacomo Puccini's "Turandot" during the 70th Athens Epidaurus Festival at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, Greece, on June 3. Thanassis Stavrakis/Associated Press A long intermission The closure of the Herod Atticus means the Athens Epidaurus Festival will need to consider alternatives for the next few years. Evangelatos reflected on the festival's 70 years, noting that it began during Greece's turbulent postwar years of political division and economic hardship. Advertisement 'It's a miracle of survival and artistic legacy,' she said. On the festival's opening night, the backstage area was abuzz with final preparations, with wigs styled, masks adjusted and costumes touched up. Soprano Lise Lindstrom, who starred as Turandot, took in the gravity of the setting. 'It's an absolutely magical atmosphere here. To be able to stand on the stage and look directly up and see the Acropolis is a little bit mind-blowing, I have to admit,' she said. 'And then also to look out and see all the people sitting there and just being so absorbed into the performance. It's very, very powerful and magical.' All eyes were on Lindstrom as she took center stage beneath the stars — marking the start of a final season before a long intermission.
