Marathon Dancing Project (2015)
Marathon Dancing: Letters to Wall Street in the Era of Wonderful Nonsense, a collaborative project between Zishan Ugurlu and Julia M. Ritter.
Inspired by the 1969 Sydney Pollack film They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? and the Horace McCoy novel of the same name (1935), Marathon Dancing was conceived and directed by Zishan Ugurlu, resident director at New York City’s La MaMa Theatre, and choreographed by Julia M. Ritter. Ugurlu positions marathon dancing, a popular, yet exploitive form of entertainment that emerged from the American economic crisis of the 1920s-30s as the vehicle for exploring the Great Recession of 2008.
The early American dance marathons were gladiator competitions, during which economically disadvantaged individuals subjected their bodies to abuse with the hope of profiting financially. In this interdisciplinary production, Ugurlu and Ritter integrate text and movement with an original score by composer Keith Lalley to question how the early marathons are reiterated in popular and contemporary forms of entertainment through reality-TV shows such as Survivor.
Created in cooperation with the Departments of Dance, Music, Theater, and Visual Arts, and the Rutgers Filmmaking Center at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University.
Performers: Hyunjin Kim with Ensemble
Photograph: John Evans
Performers: Jose Vidal and Ashley Yehoda with Ensemble
Photograph: John Evans
Performers: Elias Rosa with Ensemble
Photograph: John Evans
Performers: Sean Langford, Lilly Jørgensen and guest artist Jonny Woo
Photograph: John Evans
Performers: Spencer Grossman and Hyunjin Kim
Photograph: John Evans
Performers: Ensemble
Photograph: John Evans
Cast
CREATIVE STAFF
Conception and Direction: Zishan Ugurlu
Choreography: Julia M. Ritter
Rehearsal Assistant/Dance Captain: Yildiz Guventurk
Tap Choreography: Shawn Brush (BFA Alum, Dance)
Sound Design: Keith Lalley (BM, Music)
Musicians: Michael Bond (piano), Jeff Dingler (bass), Keith Lalley (trombone), Sam Tobias (flute, trumpet), Yildiz Guventurk (guitar)
Video Design Assistant: Alex Rosenberg
Lighting Design: John Evans
Live Video Capture/Design: Gab Figueroa, Nick Lawless, Masyn Luck (Rutgers Center for Digital Filmmaking)
Set Design/Installation: Joshua Araujo (MFA, Visual Arts)
Weapons Consultant: Paul Molnar
Stage Manager: Theron Alexander (BFA, Theater)
Assistant Stage Manager/Props Manager: Bryan Russell (MFA, Theater)
Props Coordinator: Allen Cutler
Costume Designer: Meagan Woods (BFA Alumna, Dance)
Advisor: Mark Greif, editor of The Trouble is the Banks: Letters to Wall Street
CONTESTANTS
GLORIA – Lillian Joergensen
ROBERT – Sean Langford
JAMES – Elias Rosa
RUBY – Stacy Collado
HARRY – Spencer Grossman
SHIRL – Hyunjin Kim
JOEL – Jeff Friedman (guest artist)
ALICE – Charlotte Stout
KID KAMM – David Parker
MATTIE – Genna Mattana
MARIO – Javier Padilla
JACKIE – Isabella Vergara
PEDRO – Jose Vidal
LILLIAN – Ashley Yehoda
FRANKIE – Amelia Bonvento
MATTHEW – Alex Rosenberg
CAITLIN – Nimisha Mahiyaria
JOHN/Director – Charles Milliken
EMMA – Bria Bacon
BEN – Neal Rodgers
BUSINESS
ROCKY – Jonny Woo (guest artist)
SOCKS – Joselin Martinez
ROLLO – Andy Santana
FLOOR JUDGE – Rebecca Cooney
DOCTOR – Nia Imani Jackson
NURSE – Adriana Santoro
NURSE – Emma K’Meyer
POLICEWOMAN – Sara Martino
POLICEWOMAN – Nicole Cameli
MRS. LAYDEN – Kelley Arney
CYCLIST #1 – Maria Dorado
CYCLIST #2 – Lauren Graham
MARY ROACH/American Idol – Julia M. Ritter
THE 1% – Dare Ayorinde, Kara Hestevold and Helen Snelgove