Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

NUNN ON ONE: Michel Laprise of 'Cirque' comes out of the cabinet
by Jerry Nunn, Windy City Times
2015-09-09

This article shared 5024 times since Wed Sep 9, 2015
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Michel Laprise, the talented director and writer of the new Cirque du Soleil show, brings something new to Chicago this summer. Kurios-Cabinet of Curiosities has started swinging.

Laprise created his own company, Theatre Pluriel, right out of school before becoming a talent scout for Cirque. In 2006, he was the special events designer for the troupe. He became involved in the opening ceremonies for the Montreal Outgames then lived a gay man's dream of working with Madonna not only once but twice for her half time show and MDNA concert tour.

Windy City met him while in town recently to talk about his first time directing a Cirque touring show.

Windy City Times: Hi, Michel. What is your background? You speak several languages?

Michel Laprise: I speak two and a half. English, French, and Spanish. I want to learn Russian as well. We have a lot of Russian artists and I have respect for that culture.

I was a theater director in the past but I wanted my life to be more. I went randomly on the Cirque du Soleil website. They were looking for someone to travel the world and audition the artists. Prior to the interview I read books and tried to learn everything about the circus.

I went to the interview and it was the most fantastic interview of my life, apart from this one. Instead of lasting one hour it lasted over two hours. I started to work there and auditioned a lot of artists. I did have them audition as a group then as a two audition workshop. I would give feedback to the artists and work with them. I wanted them to get something valuable out of the process. Even if they were not selected everyone felt happy and respected. Told a few to come back in a few years and work on things. They would come back and shine.

It was a human approach to auditioning and it paid off. People asked me to direct a show and I went to the co-founder and asked for the position. I was moved to the special projects department, which was small at the time and I started to do shows there.

WCT: You not only directed but wrote this show Kurios. Tell readers what it is about.

ML: The show is about technology and optimism set in the second half of the 19th century. There were a lot of things happening and many discoveries like the gramophone so the music could travel. This was the first time in human history that you could have an orchestra in your room. It was a tremendous, joyful revolution. The telegraph allowed people to communicate in real time. The railway system and electricity was developed. Those inventions brought people closer together and connected them. This is my way to talk about that era.

I told my team I wanted people that exit the big top to think everything is possible because we are humans and creative. We can do more together than we can do alone. People leave the show with a smile and it's an informed smile. They see things that they don't think humans can do and there is a very joyful feel to it. The music is very special.

WCT: What is the exact story?

ML: It is about a seeker, a scientist that wants to create a machine to travel in another dimension but something goes wrong and what happens is people from the other dimension come into his world. They transform his cabinet of curiosities. He's a little bit crazy. He lives in a cabinet which are the ancestors of museums. Those people coming from the other dimension brings life to the specimens of this cabinet. Magical things happen and it changes his life.

I think it is a metaphor. When you really connect with circus arts your life is transformed. When I see that humans can do that then I can meet my challenges in everyday life. To me it is a constant inspiration and the best thing that ever happened to me in my life. Working with acrobats they have a generous form of art and are not self-centered. Acrobats bring joy to the audience. This is why I think we are popular. I come from the theater world where the rooms are sometimes half empty. That is because the audience does feel a reason to be there. Theater is the best form of art.

WCT: How was it working with Madonna for her tour?

ML: The reason why she liked me, I think, when we did the Super Bowl together is because I can tell a story and create a phenomenon with context a ritual. Theater is fundamental but we forgot over the years the basic roots of theater. It becomes literature onstage and I think we go wrong when we do that.

With Cirque, the text is the body of the people so it speaks to a very broad audience.

WCT: I read you did the Outgames in Montreal. How was the experience?

ML: Great! It was important for me to do that not only because I'm a gay man but because I wanted to support the idea that Montreal is a diverse city that welcomes different cultures. I love that city. I was fortunate to work with a Quebec diva, Diane Dufresne, who is still very big in France and foreign countries. She is a very theatrical woman but like a very scared animal. She was not used to be directed but I showed her the story and was gentle with her. She swore that she would never perform again a song about becoming crazy but we did it in a playful way and she was phenomenal in a stadium full of 80,000 people.

WCT: Toronto has an amazing Pride. Did you attend?

ML: Yes, and by the end of the weekend I thought that I could move there. Everything was so well done. It was raining but attended by a lot of people.

WCT: Where does Kurios go after Chicago?

ML: We go to Orange County, Los Angeles, Atlanta and then New York. We just heard that the show is so popular in North America that they will extend it to three more cities, so almost a full year. We have been breaking records and getting good reviews.

They will keep working hard. We have a traveling artistic director to make sure everyone gets their full attention. This show is blessed. I think it is because we built it with love. The artist is put in the center of the artistic process. To me that is important because people can tend to over direct an artist. They should be given the responsibility to own the show. What I appreciate is the number of injuries is very limited. Almost no one gets hurt in the show because they are all very focused. They are committed; this group is exceptional.

Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities captivates currently until Sept. 20 at the United Center, 1901 W. Madison St. Visit CirqueDuSoleil.com/Kurios for ticket information today.


This article shared 5024 times since Wed Sep 9, 2015
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical 2024-02-19
- Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ JoJo Siwa, Tom Holland, Bowen Yang, Pet Shop Boys, Mariah Carey 2024-02-02
- In the wake of Nigel Lythgoe exiting So You Think You Can Dance, queer personality JoJo Siwa is returning to the series, per Deadline. Siwa, who was a judge on season 17 of the Fox show, will replace Lythgoe, who left ...


Gay News

DANCE Choreographer Dwight Rhoden talks David Bowie, Alvin Ailey, queerness 2024-01-31
- In "STAR DUST: A Ballet Tribute to David Bowie," Complexions Contemporary Ballet co-founders Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson—backed by their Alvin Ailey lineage—and their dance troupe tackle many of the ...


Gay News

Chicago Dancers United and The Dancers' Fund become Chicago Dance Health Fund 2023-12-14
--From a press release - Chicago Dancers United, which has supported the health and wellness of Chicago's professional dance community through The Dancers' Fund for more than 30 years, announces that, effective January 1, 2024, the organization will operate and distribute ...


Gay News

DANCE 'Sugar Hill: The Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker' running Dec. 20-30 2023-12-12
- Tony-winning producers David Garfinkle and Dr. Ron Simons announced the world-premiere of "Sugar Hill: The Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker"—a holiday dream told in dance—which will play at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. ...


Gay News

MOVIES Rick Cosnett chats about 'Shoulder Dance,' Molly and Jason Momoa 2023-12-05
- In the new movie Shoulder Dance, which is out on streaming, friends Ira (played by out actor Matt Dallas, looking and sounding quite different than from his days on TV's Kyle XY) and Roger (played by ...


Gay News

DANCE Deeply Rooted performing Nov. 3 at the Auditorium Theatre 2023-09-27
- The Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Dr., is presenting Deeply Rooted Dance Theater—a Chicago-based contemporary dance company rooted in traditions of American and African-American dance—in a one-night-only performance ...


Gay News

Chicago Dancers United raises more than $365K at Dance for Life 2023-08-29
- Chicago Dancers United (CDU)—which supports the health and wellness of Chicago's professional dance community—welcomed 1,600 people to the 32nd annual Dance for Life on Aug. 19 at Auditorium Theatre, per ...


Gay News

Teen suspect arrested in killing of gay dancer 2023-08-05
- The New York Police Department arrested a suspect in the fatal stabbing of 28-year-old O'Shae Sibley, who was attacked last weekend at a Brooklyn gas station. According to The Advocate, Sibley, a professional dancer, had been ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Drag news, HIV-bias lawsuit, Disney, Brittney Griner, gay dancer 2023-08-04
- Swastika flag-toting neo-Nazis, some of them armed, were at a Wisconsin LGBTQ+ Pride celebration that included a drag show, The Advocate reported. Members of the neo-Nazi extremist group Blood Tribe joined other right-wing hate groups, like ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Cattrall passive-aggressively returns just like that 2023-06-06
- "I kinda look like a 200-year-old pole dancer now! I don't think that's gonna happen, but thank you anyway." —Sylvester Stallone's response when Sherri Shepherd asks if he'll wear his tank top and booty shorts in ...


Gay News

ART on THE MART's summer programs include Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, Pride celebration 2023-05-11
--From a press release - CHICAGO, IL — ART on THE MART, an innovative digital art project that transforms a Chicago architectural landmark into a larger-than-life canvas, will introduce two new commissions this summer. Building Light, a new projection by Gensler, ...


Gay News

South Chicago Dance Theatre to debut 'Memoirs of Jazz' on June 10 2023-05-09
--From a press release - (May 8, 2023) Through the 1960s and '70s, Jazz in the Alley on Chicago's South Side was a hotbed for jazz and a meeting place for some of the country's prominent musicians, visual artists, poets, activists, ...


Gay News

Artemis Singers presents June 10 "Better Times Will Come" Pride Concert and Dance 2023-05-03
--From a press release - CHICAGO─Artemis Singers, Chicago's lesbian feminist chorus, will present "Better Times Will Come" Pride Concert & Dance, Saturday, June 10, at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Ave. ...


Gay News

Andersonville Midsommarfest to return June 9-11 in its 57th year 2023-04-30
--From a press release - CHICAGO (April 27, 2023) — The Andersonville Chamber of Commerce (ACC) is pleased to welcome summer with Andersonville Midsommarfest, one of Chicago's oldest and most beloved summer street festivals. Now in its 57th year, the ann ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.