Theatrikos Theatre Company is bringing the Pulitzer Prize finalist Dance Nation to the Flagstaff stage. The show follows a group of pre-teen competitive dancers preparing for a national dance competition. It’s a violent declaration of girlhood, but also an exploration of the complexity of puberty and the adolescent experience.
KNAU’s Bree Burkitt spoke to the production’s director, Nichole Katz, about the unorthodox coming-of-age play.
Bree Burkitt: So, tell us about the show.
Nichole Katz: The moment I read it, I knew I needed to produce it, and direct it and wrap my hands around it. It's unique in so many ways it pushes the envelope it makes us think It questions the idea of boundaries and consent, and what's appropriate and what isn't. It sort of teeters on that right in-between time when we're just budding grownups and trying to find our way and it reminds us of what that feels like to be a tween and struggling in this world with body image and fitting in. And so it allows us to take a step a step back in time, and go there and remember what that felt like. And I appreciate not being there anymore and appreciate all the wisdom that comes with adulthood.
Your actors are adults. For them, this is years ago — this role that they're playing, they're playing younger. How do you help them channel that kind of being on the cusp?
We talked a lot about what being 11, 12, 13, 14 feels like — felt like. We had an exercise where we all told the story of an important time in that period of our lives that changed us forever and how significant that moment was in shaping and forming who we are now. So we've talked a lot about that I've encouraged them to play and, and dance and find that youthful energy again. And then how do you juxtapose that with the wisdom of an adult? And this play allows you to be both, which is so cool. It's looking through the lens of an adult at those younger years. So it's layered with all of this magic and wisdom, which is so cool.
Did the show debut after the Me Too movement?
It was first premiered in 2019.
So right on the cusp.
Yes, exactly. So it was just I'm not sure when she started writing it, but probably along the same timeframe that the Me Too movement really took shape.
That's so interesting
Yeah. I mean, you wonder if this was written in, you know, 1997, what would that have looked like?
Tell me what your vision entails.
So I want it to have a sense of magic and wonder. It teeters on that idea of fantasy and reality and where we sit in those two worlds and how they can interlace and exists simultaneously…and I wanted it to feel full and colorful and exuberant and joyous and full of grief and sorrow. So we can mourn with these young girls, and we can celebrate with them and we can do everything in between… I think we can all identify with those feelings when we were 13 of not feeling enough, not feeling beautiful, not loving our bodies, not feeling comfortable with a partner or with a family member. You know, the Me Too movement is real and so many of us have experienced a Me Too story. And so this, this taps into that, and questions, the idea of consent and boundaries and what is acceptable and what isn't. And this allows women to reclaim their bodies and voices in a very powerful way. So it's very relevant. The subject matter is so important right now and it just asks a lot of important questions and hopefully, the audience will go home, talking about this and making, you know, making conversation, creating — provoking thought and conversation…
What do you hope the audience takes away from this?
I hope they can start working on themselves and feeling like they're enough…that was the message every single day at rehearsal, even though we might be broken, even though we might be going through hard things, divorce, loss of love, you know, whatever stressful situations, we're all enduring right now. Let's just agree to show up, be our best selves in the moment…and I hope the audience leaves with that same notion that they can just be where they are in the moment and that can be enough.
Dance Nation runs through Sunday, June 4. Visit Theatrikos’ website for more details.
