“If it goes to shit, it won’t close the company.” By Brian Carbee
That was the last-ditch pitch Executive Producer, Vivia Hickman used to sell the idea of a self-funded New York City season of Tense Dave to Chunky’s Board of Directors. It was a mad notion. No other Australian dance company had ever self-produced an overseas tour, never mind one so ambitious. It was madness! Was it madness? It was certainly a big freaking gamble.
Tense Dave centred around “a cast of strange and unsettling characters playing out their obtuse internal dramas” on a revolving stage that never, ever stops!
It was a scenario unlikely to generate much enthusiasm amongst the Board and even less, when they learned the set would cost a walloping $20,000 to freight. Getting them to come to the party was a major ask. Nevertheless, Vivia, sweet and courageous woman that she is, put her career on the line for this New York dream.
From her first viewings in the rehearsal room, it was clear Tense Dave had legs. “It was clever, unique and very funny, disturbingly so at times but also quite hilarious. And it had a poignancy.” While it was vastly different from any other Chunky work, Vivia recognised how well it fit within the company’s eclectic repertoire. “It was pure Chunky.” She had been longing for a work that would launch the company in the US and it became immediately clear that Tense Dave would be the vehicle.
To be fair, Tense Dave had a lot going for it. Lucy Guerin and Michael Kantor joined Gid as Directors. Bluebottle’s set was striking and wonderfully versatile. The cast was stellar! Michelle Heaven, Luke Smiles, Stephanie Lake (followed by Kristy Ayre after the initial Melbourne season) were Chunky favourites, and Brian Carbee and Brian Lucas had distinguished themselves in the industry over many years. They were all regarded as fine dancers but more importantly, for this project, they were performers who were very comfortable entering into the world of weird.
Vivia felt justified fronting the Board and did so with some confidence. The show was awesome! She came armed with great reviews from stand-out seasons at the Malthouse Theatre, the Sydney Opera House as well as festival outings in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Portland, Oregon (USA). Tense Dave was tried and tested and Vivia’s sights were firmly set on the Big Apple. Wisely, the Chunky Board signed the cheque.
It was not going to go to shit!
That said, on the day of the New York premiere, Vivia was overcome with fear and doubt. What have I done! What was I thinking? Perhaps this is madness, after all! She felt like a character in the show, reduced to a bundle of nerves and in absolute dread of what was coming around the corner! Her reputation, of course, was on the line as was her job, ostensibly. She had arranged for festival directors from across the States to attend, some at the company’s expense. Not only that, there were seasons at Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts and the American Dance Festival in North Carolina to worry about if this season should go belly-up and start to stink. So damn much was at stake. Adding to her jitters, the revolving stage had developed some bugs in transit. It was a tonne of steel and wood that kept grinding to a halt as if suddenly, it had acquired a Physics Degree and resented having to turn in the same direction that it had in the southern hemisphere.
Tense Dave opened its three week season at Dance Theatre Workshop on 25 May 2005 in downtown New York to a rapturous ovation and rave reviews. The season quickly sold out!
“I was staggered by the ovation,” Vivia admitted, “it was definitely a career high point!”
The drunken celebration that followed was well earned but there was still a whole tour to go, and all surprises that entails…
At Jacob’s Pillow, the company’s accommodation was haunted. (Just ask Michelle Heaven.) Then lightening struck the theatre! The roof caught fire and the electrics got totally blown!
But the show must go on!
And it did! Miraculously!
At the very last minute, actually, 25 minutes after the show was due to start, the revolving stage finally creaked into action. It was ultimately powered by an emergency generator that Vivia scrounged from god knows where. The generator was further backed-up by a lot of people holding their breath and crossing their fingers. The show was all the more memorable for it!
After that, there was a residency at the University of Florida. Florida was a hot muggy mess: bright eager students but also, god awful food, the cleaning ladies at the motel were hysterical but massive pick-up trucks sporting fully stocked gun racks were less endearing. Religious symbols were ubiquitous, as were bumper stickers that proudly proclaimed shit like, My Kid Can Beat Up Your Honor Student! (That is indeed how they spell honour in America.)
The American Dance Festival followed. It was not so much of a season but some shows cycled into a theatre amongst other shows that had been cycled through. It was almost industrial. Just the same, the show was a hit, kisses and congratulations were collected, and discount shopping outlets were duly stripped of their bargains.
Having a hit show really rocks, whether you’re taking your bows in NYC or in a charred theatre in the middle of nowhere. But when it comes right down to it, it’s the weird-ass shit that happens on tour that is the real lightening. It’s the never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined that events, which generate the most excitement and the best memories. Everyone joining together to pull off the impossible makes long challenging tours a joy.
Months later, lightening struck once again! Vivia received a phone call informing her Tense Dave had won a Bessie Award for Outstanding Choreography/Creation! Shut up! A Bessie Award is like an Oscar for contemporary dance (but without all the glitzy stars and uber-expensive gift bags). It was a freaking big deal! No one had any clue Tense Dave was even nominated. It was another bolt from the blue! You could have knocked Vivia over with a dessertspoon and then eaten her with it.
It did not go to shit!
The NYC season, the buzz surrounding it, the Bessie, and successful seasons at Jacob’s Pillow and the American Dance Festival, well and truly opened the door to the US! The next year, Chunky brought I Want to Dance Better at Parties to New York, this time to the Joyce Theatre, a bigger venue with more prestige. After that, Glow followed in 2008, then Mortal Engine and Two Faced Bastard in 2009, I like This in 2011, Faker in 2012, and Connected in both 2011 and 2012.
After many tours to Europe, Chunky had finally expanded its reach into the States and established a reputation for innovation and excellence.
In 2006, Vivia left the company to seek other challenges. She had achieved her goal with Chunky. Her wild gamble paid off, the company had conquered the US! The triumphant New York/US tour also opened doors for her. Today, Vivia is the Executive Producer of Programming for Sydney Festival.
Go, Viv!
And, thank you!
Written by Brian Carbee
New York Review Highlights
“…Australian CHUNKY MOVE in its ingenious piece on a revolving stage…” THE NEW YORK TIMES
“The show is a miracle of production design and performance. Don’t miss it.” THE NEW YORK SUN
“Tense Dave captivates and ensnares the viewer through deft staging, lighting and set design…Throughout, one unable to look away.” NEWSDAY.COM
“The whole business – given its sly intelligence, deft theatricality, and perfect pitch- is immensely satisfying.” THE VILAGE VOICE
“With five extraordinary performers…, the creators have made a masterful hour of sound, movement and emotion. Obarzanek, Guerin and Kantor take us on a ride as expert in its execution as it is exhausting in its content…” DANCE REVIEW TIMES
