If Alice (from Wonderland, of course), were to create her own world, she says, “Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t.” The concepts of nonsense, contradiction and mystery, like dreams or illusions, can be playful and keep us on our toes.
Where is the Cheshire Cat when his gleaming teeth disappear? Why does a strategically placed cookie decorated with the words “EAT ME” make Alice grow? And why celebrate an unbirthday, anyway? While the 1951 Disney film begs us to ask these questions, it is, admittedly, mischievously fun when those answers are withheld behind a smokescreen of magic.
“Alice in Wonderland” has many renditions, from the Disney animation to the original Lewis Carroll novel and even to Salvador Dali’s Alice-inspired illustrations. All these have influenced a new interpretation of the beloved topsy-turvy Wonderland world: The latest evening-length production by dancer-illusionist company Momix, entitled, “Alice,” coming to Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre on Mar. 9.
Momix creates performances that achieve a spectacle of grand illusions through the use of props and projections in tandem with the shapeshifting human body. With 43 years of experience and an ever-accelerating field of technological theater, Momix expands their body of work with an increasing ability to take physical and visual theater to new levels.
“It’s not just a dance show,” says artistic director Moses Pendleton in an interview. He describes the company as rooted in an “alchemical idea of putting [together] various disparate elements of circus, dance, acrobatics, visual theater, painting, sculpture…It’s kind of like we dump it into a retort and spin it.”
This multidisciplinary viewpoint on performance art perhaps comes from his background in agriculture and athletics. He grew up on a dairy farm in Northern Vermont, and during various summers, he went off to ski in Oregon where he dreamed of pursuing the sport professionally. Weave in his study of literature and affinity for photography, and you’ve got a profound amalgam of movement, environment and art. He expresses a deep appreciation of the human body’s connection to all three of these elements.
His unique background has directly influenced past Momix productions, such as “Botanica,” inspired by the seasons, and “Baseball,” showcasing the development of the popular American sport. Pendleton’s prior experience as co-founder of Pilobolus Dance Theater in 1971 also has impacted his continued exploration of “how to put an aesthetic on the athletic.”
Momix presents new production, 'Alice'; Photo by Sharen Bradford
As for “Alice,” the fantastical world of “Alice in Wonderland” provides a bank of inspiration grounded in absurdity and fantasy—a perfect match for the highly creative and illusory Momix movement language, as well as the integration of props, lighting and costuming which amplify those illusions.
Throughout the performance, you’ll find familiar characters, such as a growing and shrinking Alice, a blue pulsating and crawling caterpillar, a trip of rabbits who curiously cock their heads and much more.
“We put it together in a way that would be almost like a surrealist dream of ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ which is a surrealist story,” Pendleton comments. And this “putting together” has involved a years-worth of work by the company.
Pendleton describes the rehearsal space as entrenched in the discipline of tapping into the unconscious and achieving what he deems a “child’s play,” or more relatively, a “mad tea party.” Improvisation with simple props like hoop skirts and exercise balls becomes sections of choreography. How does one make the objects move? How do they transform into a lobster quadrille or a caterpillar? This is what he and his company asked of themselves during the creation process.
The result? Moving images reminiscent of the creatures we know and love from the Wonderland universe.
For those attending the event, the evening will provide an escape from reality and full permission to believe in magic, dreams and nonsense. The two acts of numerous sections aim to keep the audience engaged and entertained with flying characters, spinning playing cards and floating red roses.
“For Momix and for me, you know, I never really try to say how the world is, but how it might be in a fantasy…” says Pendleton. “I think Carroll would have approved.”
Come take your own leap down the rabbit hole: Momix’s “Alice” will be held on Saturday, Mar. 9, 2024, at 7:30 p.m., at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 East Ida B. Wells Drive. Tickets start at $30. For more information about “Alice” and Momix, please click the event link below or visit momix.com.