Step Show (2011)
Directed by Martin Damien Wilkins
Step Show combines the thunderous beats of African American step dance and spoken word to tell one character’s story to find a unique voice through rhythm. Will journeying beyond the community eliminate the silence? Or will it result in sacrifice? Caught in a battle between the rhythms of two worlds, our hero is forced to uncover the legacy of the beats to finally gain a sense of belonging.
Approximate Running Time: 1:30; no intermission
Maxine Lyle founded the first commercial step theater company, Soul Steps LLC, dedicated to bringing step to communities around the world. Pushing the boundaries of African American step dance and celebrating its expressiveness, her step theater pieces showcase the history of the dance and provide a platform for dancers to express their personal connection to the art. Her choreography has been featured at Town Hall, the Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Series, Celebrate Brooklyn, and MTVU, among other notable credits. She is the co-author and lead choreographer of STEP, featured in the inaugural A.N.T. FEST at Ars Nova (2008), as well as the SKENA UP International Film and Theater Festival in Kosovo (2008). Producing credits include MO FAYA (2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival) and STEP (2007 New York Musical Theatre Festival). She is an adjunct member of the Broadway League of Producers. She holds an M.F.A. in Theatrical Management and Producing from Columbia University School of the Arts.
Margaret Skoglund is an associate at Aged In Wood Productions (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Avenue Q). She has also worked at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Nina Lannan Associates, and the Festival of New American Musicals in Los Angeles. Producing credits: Godspell and Through the Night (starring Daniel Beaty; directed by Charles Randolph-Wright) at Duke University. She is thrilled to be part of this stepping sensation!
Martin Damien Wilkins has directed work at the Toronto Centre for the Arts and in Ars Nova’s A.N.T. Fest, the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and the Tisch School’s Freeplay Festival. He has assisted Wendy C. Goldberg, Charles Randolph-Wright, Molly Smith, Tazewell Thompson, and Kate Whoriskey. He has also served as an Associate Director for Colman Domingo. Martin has directed readings for Primary Stages, the Lark Play Development Center, Classical Theatre of Harlem, and the BE Company. He has been the recipient of Arena Stage’s Allen Lee Hughes Directing Fellowship and a Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Observership. Martin is a member of The Movement Theater Company and is an Associate Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Recent New York productions include The Tremendous Tremendous (The Brick), Paradigm Shift (St Mark’s Church), The Argument (Attic Theatre), The Bird and the Two-Ton Weight (EST), What Happened To Bill Viola? (Ars Nova), For Artists Only (Ontological), Mo Faya! (NYMF), Thirteen Near-Death Experiences (PS122), and Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War (2010 winner of multiple New York Innovative Theatre awards, including Outstanding Production of a Play). Other design credits include: Grace, or The Art of Climbing (Power Plant, Philadelphia), The Mikado (Utah Festival Opera), Hinged Memory (Firehall Arts Centre, Vancouver), and Manitowapan (L’Agora de la Danse, Montreal). Upcoming: Last Meadow tour in Montreal (June 2011) MFA NYU. www.mikeinwood.com
Aaron Salley holds a B.A. UNC Chapel Hill where he studied vocal performance and dramatic art. He has recently worked in a technical capacity with Sanguine Theater Company (The Last Days of Judas Iscariot), New World Stages, and Duke University (Reefer Madness, Into the Woods, Aida). Favorite Stage Credits: The Mad Bomber (Seven Angels), Parade (UNC Opera), RENT (BALP), Arsenic & Old Lace (Griswold Drama). www.aaronsalley.net
No music tracks are available for this show yet.