Lina Fitzner on Rehearsal Directing The White Spider

Mascall Dance is about ready to hit the road with The White Spider.  We asked Lina Fitzner to tell us about her role as Rehearsal Director for the piece, and here's what she had to report:

Mascall Dance is nearing the end of a five week residency at the Massey Theatre in New Westminster BC. This coming Friday, the cast, crew and Jennifer will be in Vernon BC for the first of four shows on the Made in BC tour of The White Spider.

I begin the day by teaching class to the dancers, my taste in music varies widely which I feel helps brighten up classical training, the dancers end up singing along and dancing in between sides which warms them up inside and out, connecting their limbs to their cores. I also insert some of Jennifer's concepts so the warm up directs them into rehearsal.  

Because the dancers come from such different backgrounds, I let them finish by stretching or finding whatever else they may need for themselves to be totally warm. The cast works both on and off the ground using professional mountain climbing rigging. It is amazing to watch, grounded one minute, suspend sixteen feet in the air, the next.

Sculpturist Alan Storey has created three notion machines as sets for the work and Composer Jeff Corness has made an exciting and engaging score to compliment the world that Jennifer has built. In this particular remount, Jennifer is focusing on the score. It is difficult for the dancers to listen for tiny sound cues while swinging and partnering but they have such extraordinary focus they are taking in and programming everything.  

The dancers, Darcy McMurray, Marvin Vergara, Brian Soloman, Thoenn Glover and Jessie Kwan have been absolutely wonderful to work with, creative, open and hard working.

In both creating and rehearsing The White Spider, Mascall Dance partners with theatres due to the grand scale of the sets and choreography. We've previously worked at UBC's Chan Centre, the Kay Meek, The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and three times here at the Massey. It's both challenging and inspiring to be in a theatre space, it feels like we're already on tour. We travel so far every day and theatres can be dark and drafty but the space around us brings the dance to a whole new level. The dancers are always aware of their future audiences with their view of 700 empty seats.

We have one more day in residency to add the finishing touches and create the strong sense if ensemble that was so crucial to the teams that first ascended the treacherous Eiger mountain in Switzerland.

I can't wait to see it on stage at Vancouver's Norman Rothstein Theatre on November 25Th. The work we do is so intense and we make such strong friendships quickly. I love rehearsal directing as I get the best of both worlds. Inside information from the choreographers as well as the point of view of the dancers.

Photo by Yukiko Onley