Nina Levy catches up with Stephen Agisilaou, co-director and choreographer of an exciting new work entitled Trybe.
Subtitled “An Opera in Paint”, Trybe sounds like it will be a colourful experience. Co-directed by visual artist/designer/poet/performer, Anthony Breslin, and choreographer, Stephen Agisilaou, the work is “Anthony Breslin’s mind, live right in front of you,” according to Agisilaou. “Anthony’s come up with such a beautiful concept and the set design and multimedia aspects are all works of art in there own right - all from his fertile brain! The basic premise follows the struggles that an artist goes through when trying to create. Each performer represents a colour, which will then be incorporated into the painting that Anthony creates live on the stage. So it is literally a living, breathing painting. We follow this journey throughout the performance and by the conclusion, we are left with a stage drenched in the agony and accomplishments of such an endeavour, but most importantly - the final painting.”
It’s the dance that provides the “life and breath” that makes Trybe both a visual and performing arts work. “This show is moving, live art and the dancers take Anthony on his journey to produce his final painting,” explains Agisilaou. “Each performer represents a colour. I have created not just a movement specifically for them but an all round aura for the group. We have researched and explored the meanings of certain colours and used that as a foundation to build the movement. Colours infiltrate other colours and we allow Anthony to use this. In essence, this is a theatrical performance where each colour is trying to find their place in the painting/space.”
In keeping with the painterly theme, Agisilaou’s choreographic palette is a broad one. With a performance history that spans the US, Canada and Australia, he is the founder and artistic director of Vertical Shadows Dance Company in Melbourne. As we talk about his plans for the future, it emerges that musical theatre also appears on Agisilaou’s spectrum. “After Trybe, I have auditions for The White Prince, the premiere piece for Vertical Shadows Dance Company's 2013 season,” he says. “I am also in talks to choreograph and co-direct a revival of Godspell and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance in December, along with the return season of Genesis To Broadway in June. Right now, I am adapting my 2012 dance production On The Rocks into a musical and writing my first feature film.”
Trybe plays Chapel off Chapel, 14-24 March.
See: www.chapeloffchapel.com.au
Stephen Agisilaou. Photo: Jacqueline Barkla.