Movement inspires storytelling at BPP

Tonight and Saturday, Nell Weatherwax will let movement take over her body in her improvisational autobiographical show "Dreaming on Your Feet" as part of the Bloomington Playwrights Project's Dark Alley late night series.\nWeatherwax, a Fine Arts undergraduate academic counselor at IU and an independent instructor of improvisational movement in Bloomington, described her process of art.\n"I'll take a position onstage, usually off-center, and I'll let a movement fall into my body. I'll explore it, and a memory will emerge -- maybe something I've never remembered before -- and I tell the story. That's why it's called 'Dreaming on Your Feet,'" she said.\nThis means Weatherwax said she doesn't know what story she will tell the audience on any given night, nor has she choreographed any movement. The only structure she gives herself is an approximation of what memories she will go into. In this case, she will look into memories of her family.\n"Everything I tell is true," she said.\nShe tells whatever story comes to her, using mime, dance and stage movement to bring the story to life. \n"I physicalize a story, usually a personal story. I'll use both concrete and abstract movement while I tell it," Weatherwax said.\nFor example, Weatherwax could use a gesture like cradling a baby, then let her arms wrap her torso and then roll up over her head, blending the initially concrete image with an abstract one.\nBut Weatherwax won't be totally alone. Longtime best friend Marian Conaty will operate the lights -- improvisational as well.\n"I don't know what she's going to do or where she's going to be," Conaty said. \nThe two have worked out cues, but neither know when they will come, and both are excited about the possibility of each show going anywhere.\n"She's an excellent storyteller," Conaty said. "She really knows how to move with her body. She takes you there fully and completely."\nWeatherwax approached the BPP with the idea after hearing they were interested in finding new material. She pitched the idea to BPP artistic director Richard Perez, who she said "didn't miss a beat."\n"('Dreaming on Your Feet') is a perfect piece to rethink what the Dark Alley series could be," Perez said. "The Dark Alley has always been edgier, riskier work, but our mainstage is that already."\nPerez sees the Dark Alley becoming more open to different forms expression. Weatherwax's improvisational blend of storytelling, mime and dance is just that. \n"I think that's what's so cool about the Dark Alley Series. It's setup to be experimental," Weatherwax said.\nHer show also complements December's Dark Alley production, Amy Fortoul's "This IS my BODY." Both Weatherwax and Fortoul are theater artists who have worked with the BPP in the past, and Perez said he's excited to have them reconnect with the theater.\n"Dreaming on Your Feet" continues tonight and tomorrow at the Bloomington Playwrights Project at 312 S. Washington St. Both shows begin at 10 p.m. and tickets are $6.\n-- Contact staff writer Patrick Doolin at pdoolin@indiana.edu.