Technolgy invades Lied with Orfeo
By Josh Nichols
Staff writer
In the first half of the 20th centu
ry, this thing called cinema came
along that everyone was fascinated
by but couldn’t quite figure out.
It used technological advances
that audiences never had witnessed
before.
Coming to the Lied Center for
Performing Arts this weekend is a
new 21st century technological won
der that many have never seen before.
The production of “Orfeo,” by
Canadians Michel Lemieux and
Victor Pilon, is a cutting-edge mix of
virtual reality, theater, performance,
music and dance.
“It is.something different that
many people have never seen in their
life,” Pilon said in a telephone inter
view from his home in Quebec.
“People want to know what this is and
how it is done, just like when cinema
first came out.”
The story of the Greek mytholog
ical character OrpheuswUl be told
using cutting-edge visual technology^
The original myth Js about
Orpheus’ inability!© «5cept the death
of his wife, Eurydice.
He travels to the underworld and
sings so passionately about the love
he holds for his wife that the keepers
of this world allow Eurydice to return
to the living world.
New interpretations have told dif
ferent stories, but this performance,
which has a modern-day setting, falls
somewhere between the original and
contemporary versions.
Pilon chose to use Orpheus
because he described Lemieux and
himself as very romantic people and
because every great love story is
based on the Orpheus myth.
“It’s a love story. It happens con
stantly, where one dies and the part
ner must deal with it?’ Pilon said,
“He defies death because of the
love he has for her. The question is, in
2000, can we still love beyond
death?” he said.
As for the special effects that will
be seen on stage, Pilon said the two
creators have grown up with technol
ogy
“We’ve always played with tech
nology,” he said. “We useifas a tool
to express ourselves as a musician
would use an instrument.”
Despite the continuous special
effects during thesjjjow, the effects’
production ishidden from the audi
ence.
—- “The audience sometimes does
n’t know what is and isn’t real,” Pilon
said.
That even applies to actors “on
stage.”
“Sometimes an actor will go
backstage and walk into a studio.
From this studio, their image is pro
jected back onto the stage,” he said.
- An example of when it may be
difficult to distinguish between real
Orfeo
WHERE: Lied Center for
Performing Arts,
12th & R streets
WHEN: Tonight and
Saturday Night, 8 p.m.
COST: $34 and $30 half
price for students
THE SKINNY: Theatrical
show on the cutting edge of
visual technology.
and illusion is Eurydice’s death
scene.
Her body is transformed into a
ghost, which seems real, but is lack
ing solid form. - •• -
Despite the directors’ fascination
and use of modem technology, Pilon
wanted to stress that the story is not
lost in a barrage of special effects.
“The technology is at the service
of the performer. The actor is not sup
pressed by the technology.”
It is difficult to categorize this
show, but it is closer to dance or ballet
than a theatrical performance.
“Orfeo” is filled with music and
dance but contains few words.
“There are few words because
sometimes words limit the meaning
of a performance,” Pilon said.
“Music can often times be a universal
language.”
Because of their new-wave
approach to the theatrical world,
Courtesy Photos
Images From “Orfeo,” by Canadians Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon,
show a cutting-edge mix of virtual reality, theater, performance, music
and dance.The production takes the stage this weekend at the Lied
Center.
Pilon and Lemieux have been criti
cized for their effect-filled shows.
“Some purists do have a problem
with our work, but we have a lot of
respect for theater,” Pilon said.
“We are just proposing some
thing different.”
Charles Bethea, executive direc
tor of the Lied Center, said he and the
staff at the Lied Center are more
excited about this performance than
a lot of the other work they bring in.
“I’m fascinated by work in any
field, but this is really cutting edge,”
he said.
Bethea said he went to a 1995
performance and met Pilon and
Lemieux, and he was also able to see
one of their shows two years ago.
He said what he saw was some
people in Nebraska have never seen
before.
“It is good we are able to bring
this and be on the cutting edge of per
formance in Nebraska,” he said.
“It is great for the artistic commu
nity.”
Pilon said the people at the Lied
Center deserve credit for bringing a
show such as theirs to Lincoln.
“It’s wonderful ‘Orfeo’ can go to
a place like Nebraska.”