On the first day of rehearsal she said she would contribute by being everyone else's "cheerleader." With her bubbly attitude and boundless enthusiasm, Robin Singer has proven to be all that and more! Her extensive background in dance AND martial arts, combined with an inability to call it quits, has made Robin an amazing asset to our ensemble.  And last night, I had the pleasure of hearing what she has to say about this crazy experience we call Butoh Electra.

What is your name and what role do you play?
Hi!  I'm Robin Singer and I play Hope.
Awesome.  So what has been the biggest challenge for you so far in the rehearsal process?
The biggest challenge so far has been the boot camps... the physical aspects of it have definitely been challenging.  3 hours... climbing on your hands and knees up a hillside... you know... not common for most theatrical productions.
Yea.  That's probably true.  What is it that you are most excited for?
I think what I'm most excited for is for people to see it, because it's gonna be awesome.  But personally, as an actor, I'm definitely excited about doing more of the combat and definitely, you know... diving more into the butoh.
Cool.  Speaking of butoh, what is butoh to you personally?
My understanding of butoh is that it is a type of dance / performance that originated in Japan where the performer is called upon to achieve a state of being where they are able to open themselves as far as they possibly can to perform for an audience.
Cool... and what attracted you to the project in the first place.
Well the first thing that attracted me to the project was the Electra story, because I am a big classics person.  And then - having read further down the page - definitely the martial arts aspect of it attracted me. Any sort of physical theatre... the more physical and painful the better... so this is perfect.
How did you first get involved in theatre?
In theatre?  Oh gosh... I started as a dancer when I was like that big (gesturing) and then kind of transitioned into theatre, a little bit of musical theatre, martial arts for a long time.  Yea, I've pretty much run the gambit as far as performance goes.
Where are we right now in the rehearsal / creative process?  Give us a little taste... what are we doing?
Hmmm... well, time-wise, I think we're about halfway through, which is pretty bonkers.  As far as the development of the show, we've really started to dive a little bit more into... really all of the aspects of the performance.   You know... breaking down the text, a lot of the martial arts, like I said - the physical training... and the dance and the butoh, we've pretty much had thorough training sessions for all that and I think now we're starting to get into the choreography, the specifics of the scene work and putting it all together.
Nice.  And what part of your body is most sore right now?
Ahh... geeze.  It's all sore.  There was one week where I had to walk sideways down stairs for a solid three days, I was covered in tiger-balm and it was pretty bad.  My back's a little sore right now too, but I don't know why.  Anything really, I mean... my feet, my mind, my hands... (laughing) everything!  It's a full body experience, I think.
Anything else you want the viewers at home to know?
You have to come see it, obviously.  That's the biggest thing: if you miss it... well, you're a sucker.

We're almost done! We have 5 days left and another $170 left to raise!
CLICK HERE for more info and to donate.  

For Immediate Release
Contact: press@irondale.org/ 718 809 4655 

“commanding, physically impressive performances from The Ume Group." 
- The Village Voice 

What: Butoh Electra - The Ume Group
Where: Irondale Center, 85 South Oxford St, Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/R/Q/D/B to Atlantic/Pacific
When: 8/29, 8/30, 8/31, 9/1, 9/5, 9/6, 9/7, 9/8, all performances are at 8pm
Previews: 8/29, 8/30
Cost: $25 general admission/ $18 advance admission / $10 students/seniors

Brooklyn, NY: Opening the 2012/13 season at Irondale is the magnificent, intense and intelligent Butoh Electra created and performed by the highly acclaimed ensemble, The Ume Group. A “beautiful and disturbing” piece (NYTheatre.com), Butoh Electra presents Sophocles' Greek revenge tragedy as the story of a woman whose vibrant inner life is corrupted by the world of walking dead in which she lives.

The Ume Group's fresh take on this much loved classic combines glimpses of Electra's "dance of utter darkness” with impressive fight choreography and martial arts. Manifested onstage by a collection of gifted performers, this flagship physical theater piece from The Ume Group places the ensemble at the forefront of the emerging arts scene. Led by physical theatre practitioner and producing artistic director Jordan Rosin, The Ume Group is dedicated to sharing traditions and developing new work, a mission clearly upheld by this groundbreaking production which has been called a "successful synthesis of classical Greek and Japanese traditions" which "enriches the myth at the piece's core” - The Village Voice.

Butoh Electra was originally developed in 2010 as part of the Lab Theatre Series at Syracuse University.  It was given its first professional presentation at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2011. Since Butoh Electra in 2011, The Ume Group has contributed developmental support to several projects, including "The Glimmer" (Roy Arias Spring Theater Festival 2012), “Kriep” and "Baldy" (FringeNYC 2012).

Jordan Rosin (Creator / Producer) is a physical theatre artist, teacher, and ensemble theatre enthusiast.  He is co-founder and Producing Artistic Director of The Ume Group, a physical theatre ensemble dedicated to sharing traditions and developing new work.  He received his B.F.A. in Drama from Syracuse University and has also trained at the Tepper Center for Careers in Theatre, as well as with numerous independent teachers of butoh. Directing credits include Butoh Electra (Syracuse University & FringeNYC); Mud by Maria Irene Fornés (Syracuse University); outcry: students celebrating art (Auburn Ave Theatre). He is a 2008-2009 Crown Scholar and recipient of the Josephine Abady Award for Excellence in Directing. He first conceived Butoh Electra as the culmination of an undergraduate thesis project on ensemble theatre techniques, the theories behind which have continued to shape the culture and creative process of the Ume Group's fledgling ensemble.  He regularly speaks on the relationship between butoh, gymnastics, and ensemble theatre on his video blog, A Sense of Ensemble. 

The Irondale Center, the first performing arts space to open in the Downtown Brooklyn Cultural District is uniquely and entirely run and maintained by the Irondale Ensemble. A beautiful and historic space, the Center is an old Sunday school building attached to the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church. The church boasts an incredible history in its own right being a shelter proving through history a commitment to positive social activism.

Irondale’s Mission
Through the power of the ensemble process, Irondale creates and presents theater, performance and education programs that challenge traditional assumptions about art, and help us to better interpret contemporary culture.   The Irondale Center, our theater, laboratory and classroom, is a home for ensemble artists of all disciplines and cultures, and a resource for our community. 

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Tonight I got to interview the one-and-only Torrey Wigfield who plays Orestes in our upcoming production of Butoh Electra at The Irondale Center.  He's the bomb... and by "he's the bomb" I mean that his combat skills rival the destructive power of an atomic bomb.  Did I mention he just spent three weeks in Shanghai teaching stage combat?  Legit... right?  This is what he had to say...  (scroll down to see a transcript of the interview)...

What is your name and what role do you play?
Sure.  My name is Torrey Wigfield and I play Orestes.
What has been the biggest challenge for you so far during the rehearsal process?
I don't know so much about the rehearsal process as the audition... [the audition] was just like boot camp 101.  It was really difficult and I actually ended up bleeding all over the audition room floor and I left thinking, "There's no way they're gonna let the bleeding kid become a part of this cast.  Sure enough, I got the call.  It's been hell ever since. - I'm just kidding.  The hardest part?  The abs.  The core.  The burn... but that's a good thing as I've been told today.
That's great.  What are you most excited for?
I think I'm most excited to see how the actor's shape the... performance itself.  I think the production staff can do certain things to nudge a show in the right direction, but I'm really interested to see what this talented, creative cast has to come up with to keep this show a little bit different every night, not crazy-different, but... interesting... fresh.
All right.  What attracted you to the project in the first place?
Oh, I mean... I've always been an actor who likes different layers and who likes to balance not only just the acting, but - then - with music and (now) with combat and also with dialect work, which is gonna be a part of this show as well... but then to throw aikido and butoh on top of this thing?  I just think... how could you not be attracted to something like this?  I think to really be a contender anymore, it's not just about being a triple-threat.  You gotta be a quadruple threat and you gotta got beyond that.  So the more you can offer and the more you can bring to a production... the more value that you become and fortunately you've assembled quite a fantastic group here.
Cool.  And... last question... what is butoh?
Hard work and dedication.

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So... for those of you who may be wondering why Torrey was bleeding all over the audition room... ask him.  I know he didn't get stabbed with a sword or anything like that, but the true origin of his injury is still unknown to me.  If I find out, I'll let you know.  In the meantime, feel free to post your own theories in the comments.

-Jordan Rosin

Remember to support Butoh Electra on Kickstarter.com.  We have 21 days to raise another $3,515.00
CLICK HERE for more info and to donate.