Pas de Deux: A Celebration of 25 Years of 2ndStage
The 2012-13 season marks the 25th anniversary of The Studio 2ndStage. Founded in 1988, ten years after the inception of The Studio Theatre, the organization’s upstart origins were chronicled in the 2008 anniversary book, 30 Years of The Studio Theatre:
The Studio 2ndStage began through a grassroots effort of a group of highly dedicated staff members. This active group of artists, including Keith Alan Baker, Kathi Redmond, Maynard Marshall, Nancy Paris and Marcia Churchill, pushed for the creation of 2ndStage as a way to continue their own creative work under the aegis of The Studio Theatre…The Studio 2ndStage has evolved from its group-driven origins into a distinct producing wing within The Studio Theatre, now headed by Artistic Director Keith Alan Baker, one of 2ndStage’s original cadre of artists.
The Studio 2ndStage made a name for itself staging a wide variety of provocative and pulse-pounding work. 2ndStage has produced a number of site-specific theatre pieces, beginning with Jim Cartwright’s Road; has staged four company-devised theatre works, including Kerouac and Wonderland Alice; and has focused audience attention on the early works of major contemporary playwrights, such as David Mamet, Terrence McNally, and Edward Albee. The Studio 2ndStage has also built a reputation for top-notch productions of unusual and controversial musicals, from Hair to Batboy to The Who’s TOMMY to Reefer Madness to Jerry Springer: The Opera.
In selecting a 25th anniversary event, the diverse history of 2ndStage’s programming created a challenge for Artistic Director Keith Alan Baker: how do you celebrate and honor a quarter century of purposeful eclecticism with just one play?
In a nod to 2ndStage’s innovative spirit, Baker didn’t pick one play—he programmed two, crafting an evening of two kinetic one-acts—Gary Henderson’s Skin Tight and Daniel MacIvor’s 2-2 Tango—to be presented under the title Pas de Deux: Plays from New Zealand and Canada.“The two plays complement each other beautifully,” says Baker. “Both are movement-based, visceral celebrations of life, love, and sex.” In addition to their thematic similarities, the combination also pays homage to 2ndStage’s storied history: a 1992 production of 2-2 Tango, directed by Baker, was one of 2ndStage’s earliest hits.
The pairing of the two plays also necessitated a unique creative team that celebrates 2ndStage’s commitment to collaboration. Each play has a different director—Eric Ruffin, a professor of Acting/Directing at Howard University, will stage 2-2 Tango, while Johanna Gruenhut, who directed the 2012 2ndStage production of The Big Meal, will helm Skin Tight. The two plays also share a choreographer, scenic designer, lighting designer, and sound designer, but have different costume designers.
Pas de Deux celebrates many aspects of 2ndStage’s mission, but it ultimately serves as a tribute to the risk-taking spirit of the small faction of artists that oversaw 2ndStage’s foundation—a spirit that endures and defines the organization to this day.
—Lauren Halvorsen
Artistic Team
Director (Skin Tight): Johanna Gruenhut
Director (2-2 Tango): Eric Ruffin
Choreographer: Nancy Bannon
Set Design: JD Madsen
Lighting Design: Jedidiah Roe
Costume Design (Skin Tight): Kelsey Hunt
Costume Design (2-2 Tango): Rebecca DeLapp
Sound Design: James Garver
Cast
Skin Tight
Tom: Jens Rasmussen
Elizabeth: Emily K. Townley
Man: Ken Vest
2-2-Tango
James: Alex Mills
Jim: Jon Hudson Odom
Boy: Maceo Dolan-Sandrino