STOMP: back at it, making a racket
By Tricia Ro
Jan. 26, 2010 4:28 a.m.
Most people do not typically envision eight people dancing on a stage while beating on trash cans, pots and poles when they think of Broadway shows. But then again, there is nothing typical about STOMP. It is a percussion-based show, and will be returning to Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre Jan. 26 ““ Feb. 7 after a four-year hiatus.
Created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas 19 years ago in Brighton, England, STOMP combines percussion, movement and comedy into a unique musical production. Originally street-performers, Cresswell and McNicholas came up with the idea for STOMP as a result of, for lack of a better word, laziness.
Rather than having to carry their drum set around to perform, the two musicians decided to be inspired by their environment ““ they used whatever they could find in their surroundings to make music.
Cresswell and McNicholas, who continue to create all the STOMP routines, have their performers, known as STOMPers, play objects ranging from basketballs to bananas as percussion instruments.
“Music is everywhere. Rhythm is everywhere. You just have to have the patience and imagination to see it,” said Donisha Brown, rehearsal director for the touring troupe. “(Cresswell and McNicholas) see traditional instruments and figure out what everyday object could mimic that particular instrument.”
The touring STOMP troupe, which will arrive in Los Angeles today for a limited two week engagement, brings with it a revised and restructured show.
Along with changes in the classic routines, such as “Brooms” and “Poles,” two brand new numbers, “Donuts” and “Paint Cans,” have been added to the show.
“Donuts,” a routine inspired by the art of Japanese taiko drumming, entails six STOMPers on stage pounding on enormous tractor tire inner tubes, which are harnessed around their waists.
“It brings a whole new meaning to what a tutu is,” said Justin Myles, a fourth-year STOMPer. “The sound that results is a very thunder-ish, very loud, bass-y type sound that can be felt from anywhere in the theatre.”
In “Paint Cans,” STOMPers juggle various sized paint cans while they simultaneously keep their groove.
“We strategically are not only drumming on paint cans, but we’re also throwing them to each other,” Myles said. “The sounds, the different tones, that come out of the paint cans sound pretty immaculate. I never knew paint cans sounded so good.”
Turning the sound of things such as paint cans, tractor inner tubes and brooms into music is no easy feat. It not only demands a great deal of practice and a knack for rhythm, it also requires a high tolerance for pain.
“When we first learned (“˜Paint Cans’), we were getting black eyes,” Myles said. “Getting hit over the head with a paint can coming at you at 30 miles an hour is not fun. It hurts,” he added. “But we got it down after rehearsing constantly, and now it’s fun.”
Despite the grueling amount of rehearsals that take place daily, the STOMPers remain dedicated to their art.
“Everyday it’s pretty much, rehearse and do the show, rehearse and do the show. But it’s always an adventure,” said Ivan Delaforce, a STOMPer in his fifteenth year with the troupe. “There are eight people on stage at a time, so if something goes wrong we all help try to recover and keep going. … Stuff can fall apart, but that’s the beauty of it.”
As is the case for all live performances, the unpredictability of the show makes each performance of STOMP an exclusive experience for every audience.
“The joy of doing STOMP is that we don’t know what’s going to happen, or how the audience is going to react. Everything is completely new and fresh every time we start the show,” Brown said. “There is no click track. No special effects. What you see is what you get. If something looks heavy, it is heavy. If it looks hard, it’s hard. It is what it is. Nothing is made up.”
Although most of the performance is choreographed, there is some space for improvisations depending on what the STOMPers are feeling, how the show is going, and how the audience is reacting.
According to Myles, despite being entirely percussion and dance based, STOMP involves a significant amount of interaction with the audience.
“We take the audience on an hour and a half long journey. People don’t expect to be laughing as much as they do. It wows audiences everywhere, because percussion can be music, which is in general, a universal language,” Myles said.
It is the uncomplicated, visceral nature of STOMP that has ensured its success since its opening, and STOMPers predict its popularity will continue with its revival, fascinating a new audience with percussive sound.
“There’s no dialog, so you don’t really have to follow a story line. Kids can enjoy it and people from other countries can enjoy it,” Delaforce said. “It’s just easy to enjoy. And, it’s rhythm. Everyone relates to rhythm.”
