Stand Up Dance

I stumbled upon an advertisement for the new solo show by Meagan O’Shea presented by Stand Up Dance called the Atomic Weight of Happiness.  I was searching out a good dance performance to take a friend to.   This looked very appealing.   A bicyle powered theatre-dance mash-up based on many (un)true stories was the description.  It was created and performed by Meagan O’Shea created with and directed by Andrea Donaldson.  It sounded unusual and the movement coaching was done by Susie Burpee.  The Set and costume design, and photos that were emailed to me for this blog are by Lindsay Anne Black.  lighting design by Michelle Ramsay.  Sound design by Verne Good.   It was an extremely small venue but the crew was tight.   It was pleasure to be witness to such a creation.  The performance started April 22 and continue until May 29th, 2011 at the HUB, 14 Markham Street.  It might not be too late to grab tickets.   I recommend it if you like: whit, creativity, intimacy, engagement, exploration and the unique.

Meagan O’Shea – The Atomic Weight of Happiness

I have to admit that I was slightly drawn more to the production after hearing about Meagan’s background as a dancer. I read that, as a dancer born with 12 toes, Meagan O’Shea has always had to acknowledge her inner outcast.   I’m sure many of us can relate in one way or another to being an outcast in our lives.  In The Atomic Weight of Happiness,she takes us on an hour-long experiment to arrest global warming; dissect, identify and measure the ingredients of each human emotion; and determine whether her anatomical deviations are drug induced oddities or random genetic mutations.   Meagan wrote “It seems I am never satisfied.  As soon as I feel confident with one thing, I decide to expand or complicate it.  This was most true in this project.  I am confident in my ability to make solos for myself and others.  But I had not ever as a duet made a solo, until now!”

Bicycle Powered Theatre-Dance

Meagan starts us off with her quirky humour and leaving the intimate set audience in the dark.  She brings light into the room with her bicycle power enthusiasm.    She quickly moves us towards her whitty experimentation of solutions for global warming and her emotional intelligence equations.   The production covered profound issues but was light and somehow even the absurd seem to make sense.  Meagan never lost interests from her audience.  She was captivating and a true performer.  I was constantly amazed by her feet and toes through the performance.  The use of her body was strong, creative and expressive.  Something that I admire greatly in a dancer, rather than the traditional flexibility.  At the end I felt she made everyone fall in love with her performance, and her feet whether they were anatomical deviations that were drug induced oddities or not.

Adam Lazarius – One of the Opening Acts

Meagan has the following various acts opening up for her depending on the evening:  Chanteuse Amelie Lefebvre, dance like no one is watching, Tedd Robinson solos for Claudia Moore, Adam Lazarus, Lindsay Zier-Vogel Reading from her new book.

I was witness to Adam Lazarus performing Racisist.  He was refreshing and honest with his creative work in process.   He read his written piece well and was engaging.   I was impressed with his stage presence which was demanding of the audiences attention.  Adam is a performer, director and instructor whose work in physical theatre that has taken him to France, England and across Canada and the USA.  He won the Spotlight Award for Outstanding Performance in his solo show Wonderland at SummerWorks 2010.  Recent credits inculde:  [Boxhead] (Crow’s Theatre/Mammalian Diving Reflex) Dora Winning Appetitie(Volcano/Theatre Passe Murialle/Exchange Rate Collective).  Adam teaches at National Theatre School, University of Toronto, and independently.   You can find out more about Adam and his workshops that he offers at http://www.quiptake.com if you would like to learn some of his performance techniques.

Reviews

“One of the city’s most engagiing independent artists”  The Toronto Star

“whacky, whimsical, and wonderful”  The Toronto Star

“Best Dance Piece 2010, Ottawa, XPress for “based on actual unrelated events”

“Like Laurie Anderson, only entertaining!” AndrewAndrew.com

Thanks to the following support from these contributors:  The HUB, Stand Up Dance, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, and Canada Council for the Arts

Meagan also added   “As the driving force behind Stand Up Dance, I wanted to try something different for the run of this show.  I wanted to let it grow.  So I decided to have a 6 week run.  Perhaps you are joining us at the beginning, I dare you to come back at the end to see how it’s changed.  I look forward to being able to look back and appreciate the growth.  Thanks for coming.”

It would great to see another performance by Meagan to see the creative progression in this unique, imaginative and brilliant performance piece.   It inspired me to move forward and stand up and dance in my own creative movement.

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