Alegría: Truth of Illusion

Narrator - " When the time has come and when the time is right, somehow you know. Time after time and time again, you've seen the signs and wondered what it was out there, deep in the river. Was it hell on earth and fading into the sky? Was it the garden of delights? In the heart of the night, you've seen the moon and the shadow of light, the spirit of creation, the spirit of dream. You've seen the truth of illusion...
        The spirit of Alegria infiltrated the Cirque du Soleil Montreal studios on a windy winter night... Subversive, smooth, yet dangerously dynamic. The spirit operated a silent break-in and a major breakthrough. Seizing the premises - walls and halls, shops and props - then, capturing the hearts and minds of many humble servants. His shadow seemed expected and respected by all - Alistair, Greg, Serguei, Danielle, Michael, Emily; all of them willing subjects of Alegria, made of stardust and made to be stars again..."

director, Franco Dragone - " Listen carefully. We cannot go against the image that your body gives us... It works when I say to you, ' Who are you? Wow! We have a monster.' And what I'd like in each character is to have the monsterand the angel...
        The vision of the show is, for me, like a shooting star and the
shooting star, for me, is a character, a character who decides to come on earth because he want to be involved in a show. The show is a lot of shooting stars, a lot of characters who decide to tell a story. The show exists. What you have to do is to find a way to reach the show. Alegria, for me, is a shooting star, a shooting star who tells everybody, ' No! No to the sadness '"

Narrator - " Alegria in silver and gold and glittering stones... Treasures of the imagination, patiently laced, patiently tapered and traced and patiently threaded with gentle care. Alegria in the delicate hands of good faeries who know the finest needlework of ancient times..."

costume designer, Dominique Lemieux - " Our research in custom design this year start from the     centre of the full monster dream... I explore a lot of the...uh..."
* a clown sweeps a colourful jester's hat in front of camera*
assistant, Elena Uranis - " Different textures? "
Dominique - " Yes, the, uh, different textures..."
Elena - " The decorated costumes compared to the last shows we've done. We have flowers, lace, rhinestones, feathers - "
* the same clown returns from back of room, carrying a broom to the front of the camera; pokes upward with it, feathers gently floating down in cascades* Dominique - " Feathers, yes! A lot of feathers! " <<laugh>>

~~ large arena set ~~
yellow & red clown - <<slowly limps/walks into arena with a length of rope. sets up a rope-hanging device>>
set designer, Michel Crete - <<seated at edge of stage>> " When we seek out street performers, they bring the public arena with them. Which means that this element is behind all our scenographic choices; the public space is always there. For example, in Nouvelle Experience, we imagined that the "  saltimbanques".... " yellow & red clown - <<taps Michel on shoulder form behind. hands him the rope and goes back to his device>>
Michel - " - the " saltimbanques " had brought their little wagon with them..." yellow & red clown - <<taps him on shoulder again. points to his device. motions 'pulling' before going back to his device>>
Michel - <<slowly starts to pull at rope>> " They put blocks under the wheels and  the wagon became their stage. For Alegria, we put up a sort ofmonument under the Big Top."yellow & red clown - <<steps up and puts noose around his neck>> Michel - " An undefined monument that might be dedicated to anything - culture,    science, politics or economy, depending on people's imagination." yellow & red clown - <<small, strangled noise>>

Narrator - " Crazy. Crazy days. Crazy nights. From the Big Top to the darkest corners of the shops, the true spirit of illusion is at work. Humans have long-gone and vanished into their sleepless nights. But there's unfinished business here... and there... and everywhere. Entities to be born, their costumes to be fit, their jewels to be found, their faces to be lit... like gems... Gems of life from the garden of delights...
        Yes! They've all gone home! So be it, then. The flesh is weak but the spirit is strong and, what's more, the show, as you know, well... The show must go on...
        Every day now is another countdown with countless commands and constant demands...
        It is a symphony of many worlds and no frontiers...
        But, as in all human affairs, there's always trouble - somehow, somewhere... Clowns - unleashed, unbound and free - amidst the calm of decent discipline. They are human hazards, demons of disruption who choreograph the maintenance of a mess... Clowns - oh, my God - with devious innocence, they have sown the seeds of great disorder. But, soon enough and sure enough, they
will reap their just reward. They will reap a harvest of chaos and
abomination...
        And so it goes. And so the beat goes on, faster and faster yet, higher and higher still, beyond their wildest dreams and so we go, beyond the point of no return for the sky is no longer the limit..."

Franco - " We wanted maybe to scream, " Alegria! " It's impossible to have only joy. It's impossible to have only tears. Joy's always with tears and tears is always with joy. But this show has touched me very much... All the images of this show are very good to my imagery...
        I hate power, any kind of power. It's why I try never, never to abuse with my power. Sometime people think and been casting people out is thing that I scream a little bit too much."

Narrator - " They're all obsessed. They're all possessed. The spell which has been cast is irreversible. At last, they've all gone mad. Mad. They've all gone mad, at last..."

Franco - " You have to give the image to the audience that backstage - there and there - is a mysterious world. You have to leave this world. "

Narrator - " Clowns... In Russian, 'clomes.' The 'clome' is a child, says Mr. Slava, a philosopher, maker of sense to the point of nonsense. He's a visionary victim - innocent, fatally drawn into catastrophe. The interview, in fact, was just another act, an act of sabotage and cover-up by Mr. Slava, Deena and Serguei, going too far again. A lot of talk and hocus-pocus to turn the world into a circus..."

stage hand - " Please, everybody! Let's go! Debbie's waiting for you on stage! "

Narrator - " Time is running out in the space of their dreams. It seems like a light year ago when they first came to life. But, with the show only days away, you'd wish time could come to a halt. You wonder if the vision might be an illusion after all. A blinding darkness for a cast of shooting stars, scanned and telescoped to find their perfect orbit..."

choreographer, Debra Brown - " We're looking for alternative ways of expression that have normally been expressed through athletic - athleticism and tumbling, height and flight and dynamics and what else is there that can come out of that apparatus in collaboration with the artists and the dance and the movements and the music."

musical composer & director, Rene Dupere - " I tried to go back to the beginning of the circus with those three performers. I was a street performer. I played in the streets and there was something very lively, for something very emotional. I want to go back to the emotion in the music with accordion, a kind of raunchy street voice, and violin and those basic instruments."

Narrator - " Vibrations of the old days, of the old streets. Sweet lullaby..."

<< a clown sweeps and flaps onto the dark stage, makes an inquisitive chirp whistle, and lands on an electrical wire, grasping firmly to it with his handlike feet>>

lighting designer, Luc LaFortune - " We choose to work without a scenario so we don't - we can't come into the tent from day one, the rehearsals, and have a full lighting fly."

<<light brightens unexpectedly and the clownish " bird " stiffens alertly and moves around upon the cord in a silly sideways manner, back and forth>>

Luc - " We'd rather take our time, maybe wait, more often and not, till the last moment, and listen to what the tent has to say, what the set will communicate to us, and then go ahead and draw our lighting design."

<<the " bird " finally begins to get adjusted on the wire, moving not so much, but then there's a flood of light and blue electricity shocks him out of his feathers>>

Narrator - " Cast in the colours of their imagination, flowing freely through the night of their creation, they hear the silent heartbeat of Alegria...
        Their time is now. And now, the time is right... It is the vigil of the longest night, when the builders of dreams, magicians, engineers, fools and kings are humbled seers, welding their flying machines for the coming of the new dawn...
        Your time has come. And should we ask who you are, would you remember... who you were? Now that you know the mysteries of many lives ago, angels...garrisons of angels, wise old birds from the galaxy of illusion..."

Franco - " We are always, always in connection. Even the trapeze moving this is in connection with us. The cable of the trapeze, drawing the air of beautiful things, they are not cable... It's at earth to build images. It's a big ballet, big waltz, big choreography and listen to the music. So good luck for today... We will run..."

Narrator - " Good luck for your opening night, for the big ballet. Good luck.You're on...
        Alegria is how they named the sacred flight to the gardens of
delight. No... No to this hell on earth. No to the fears and tears. No...to the sadness of many years...
        Alegria. Alegria. So when the day draws to an end, you may go joyfully to rest for there is music now and a dream to share. There's music now and alegria in the air..."

Credit: Pam!

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