INTERVIEW: Theater Mitu explores how loss can scar, shape, propel
Photo: Michael Littig and Corey Sullivan star in and helped to develop the new theatrical piece Remnant, from Theater Mitu. Photo courtesy of Theater Mitu / Provided by Matt Ross PR with permission.
Theater Mitu is a company built on the expansive possibilities of artistic collaboration. Their shows not only employ the help of trained actors and creative team members, but they also bring the public into the equation. Utilizing testimonial interviews and hours of research, the company members of Theater Mitu learn about the world and then try to creatively capture the spirit of their research on stage and in their visual art installations.
Their latest project is called Remnant, a reflective evening that focuses on the themes of war and loss. The company has been working on the theatrical piece for three years, and the process involved interviews with many different communities, including military families, people directly impacted by war, individuals facing a terminal illness and mental health professionals.
The best efforts of the company are now on display at their new performing arts space in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Remnant, which was written by the entire company, continues through Sept. 21 at their Sackett Street location.
Recently, Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Ada Westfall, one of the collaborating artists. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can audiences expect from Remnant?
They can expect a very unique theater-going experience in which one major sense is engaged hyper-intentionally because even though the show is highly visual, it’s constructed to be innately aural, in that it’s delivered primarily through headphones. It’s all about listening!
The piece isn’t narrative — it’s almost a sort of a puzzle where we ask the audience to piece together their own personal associations with our source material and juxtapose the two. It’s also an interdisciplinary experience featuring live music — that myself and fellow company member Kayla Asbell have written — and abstract movement, found text and video, and a meticulously planned multimedia experience.
What’s it like to collaborate with other artists in Theater Mitu?
Because Theater Mitu is a permanent ensemble of collaborators the experience of creating each show ends up being cumulative — in my case over the course of 12 years with the company. So it’s almost never like other productions outside of Mitu where you show up, meet everyone for the first time, and create something that may or may not be engaged with again. In other words, though I’m superficially working with my best friends, I’m also creating material in an environment where we share a vocabulary and a number of reference points — whether it be through shared tastes, travel experiences, administrative duties, renovating our new space, or just going to get lunch together. It is the experience of working in a company that allows us to progress forward with each new piece that we create, and I feel that Remnant is the pinnacle of that cumulative effort. I’m thrilled that we’ve begun to [integrate] technology and a highly deconstructive approach to documentary and interview based work.
You serve as actor, dancer, composer and lyricist for Remnant. Are you enjoying the challenge of each of these roles?
Undoubtedly. My favorite way to engage with live performance is through an interdisciplinary approach. I’ve never been content to be classified as one type of artist. In fact, whenever I’ve done a show where I’m relegated to only one role in the room, be it solely actor or solely a musician, or solely the music director — I always find myself chomping at the bit to insinuate myself into other aspects of the creative process. In fact, the major challenge is balancing these various duties and being smart about how I manage my time, which is something I’m terrible at.
That said, this show has been particularly exciting because of a new mandate we have in the room in which those of us who create music have been given license to write in our own styles. Whereas before we would try to unify the music into a format that did not evoke particular genres, we’re now using genre to create contrast between the various components that exist in the piece. There’s a punk rock song; there’s a song that features violin and a retro electronic auto harp; there’s one where a huge beat gets dropped; one in which Japanese is simultaneously translated; and one in which I play a complex part on electric guitar — not to mention a beautiful cover of a Kate Bush song sung by Kayla.
Why is the interview process so important to the show’s creation?
The company began playing with interviews a few years ago in our first-ever documentary theater piece, Juárez: A Documentary Mythology, and while that piece consisted of only interview text being spoken aloud, we found that talking to real people helped us to focus in on material that we find compelling.
This show, on the other hand, contrasts interview material with found and originally created content which has opened up an exciting and newly abstract version of that conversation. As the show examines the themes of war, death and that which remains, we found that talking directly to soldiers, survivors and family members of those who have died or encountered death in major ways — gave us access to genuine descriptions and emotional content upon which we were able to construct an environment where we can invite an audience to meditate on these themes with us. Also we were never sure what we would get out of an interview. Many of them surprised us with incredibly dynamic points of view and sometimes ineffable qualities that we found innately compelling. There’s an interview with an American soldier who was deployed in the Middle East that I’m particularly excited for people to hear — he really moved the whole company.
Were you surprised by what people said about their profound forms of loss?
Yes and no.
Yes, because real experience always includes details that are beyond what one can imagine. It’s that old saying, “is it life imitating art or art imitating life?” It is surprising every time a person who has never met us prior to the interview is willing to open up in such profound ways, let us into their most private of thoughts and experiences, and on top of it give us license to put that on stage.
No, because the larger concept of death is one that we all are reckoning with — so there are themes that one expects to come across — what will become of my children? What is it like on the other side? How much time do I have left? What will happen to my body? What becomes of the soul? Have I been a good person? Have I made an impact on the world?
I think it’s hardly possible to be alive and human in the world without asking these questions in some form. And while that material can be somber and even scary, it also is a unifying experience and one that also celebrates the time we have together — in Spanish one of the meanings of ‘mitu’ is a contraction of ‘mine and yours’ — and above all the art we make is about communion, which is why I adore working with this company and I’m really excited for people to see the show.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Theater Mitu’s Remnant is currently running at the company’s new space in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Performances continue through Sept. 21. Click here for more information and tickets.
