In our latest episode, we get a preview of one of the largest and most vital film festivals on the circuit; we sit under a 340-ton boulder to interview Doug Pray about the subject of his documentary, "Levitated Mass: The Story of Michael Heizer's Monolithic Sculpture"; and we chat with Teller (yes, of Penn & Teller) and Aaron Posner — co-directors of a novel staging of "The Tempest" at South Coast Repertory.
'Levitated Mass': Filmmaker Doug Pray's doc follows the journey of LACMA's rock
Most people who walk under Levitated Mass at LACMA fear it might crush them. But Doug Pray — director of Levitated Mass: The Story of Michael Heizer's Monolithic Sculpture — says it's the best way to see the artwork, which is why we interviewed him about his documentary underneath the massive boulder.
The Heizer piece consists of a 340-ton rock perched — seemingly precariously — on two bars above a steeply inclined slot carved into the earth. Pray documented the rock's journey from a quarry in Riverside to LACMA — a slow trek that took more than a week and half as it crossed four counties and 22 cities.
The documentary took two years to make. We spoke with Doug Pray about the journey, what defines art, and how this rock is setting a precedent in the thriving Los Angeles art scene.
Interview Highlights:
How Pray feels when he's standing under Levitated Mass:
Actually, I've never really felt fear or dread. I just like the fact that when you stand under it — the lines of this walkway, this slot — that to me, if not half the sculpture, is almost most of it. The rock is like the centerpiece, but the fact that those lines are so sharp against the blue sky, they just come flying up against it. I just think it's actually really cool to sit under here and just look at the angles. This is kind of where it feels like art to me. Like, I'm inside an architectural design with this big huge ... like, how often do you see the bottom of a boulder? Never!
Pray on how the public's reaction to the rock formed his definition of art:
We do project everything from ourselves onto a piece of art. And so, for some people, if they're kind of politically minded, then the art is a political problem: "That's a waste of money that could be used towards jobs." Or there's a woman in Carson who is just convinced that this mountain was moved by God because it [stopped] right at The Rock of Salvation Church. I love that malleability of what this thing is.
What Pray was feeling when the Levitated Mass trailer broke down on its journey to LACMA:
Just beyond excited and happy. Thrilled! No, I always joke with my friends: "You know, deep inside, of course, I was secretly wishing that the rock would just roll right off that rig and just crush three buildings." I didn't want anybody to be injured, but I'm a filmmaker. Of course I wanted a big huge story!
Pray on his decision to end the film at the unveiling at LACMA:
I actually like the fact that the film is not really about the sculpture. It's not about the public's perception of the art. I sort of stopped just short of that. I could have added a whole 'nother chapter of like, "Well, how'd it go? What were the reviews? What did people think about the art?" But that was a very conscious decision. ... The moment it becomes L.A.'s — it's no longer in the possession of the artist or, you could even argue, the museum. That's where the movie ends.
What the rock means to Pray:
For me, it's loaded. I mean, it means a couple years of my life, and it means a lot to me in terms of L.A. and how I see the city. I do believe that what LACMA's doing and what's happening in the arts community in Los Angeles is actually really fundamental. And I heard this the other day — that there's more artists in L.A. working now than in any other time and any other city in history. I don't know if that's true, it certainly could be. And I look at this as sort of the centerpiece for that concept, that L.A. is a very arts-friendly city, and this points to the future. This is not a New York piece of art. It's not a Berlin piece of art. It's very L.A., it's very Riverside, it's very Southern California — and I think that's something to celebrate.
Doug Pray’s documentary, "Levitated Mass: The Story of Michael Heizer's Monolithic Sculpture" opened Sept. 5 at the Nuart Theater in Los Angeles.
Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' gets Dust Bowl treatment by Teller, Aaron Posner and Tom Waits
There have been countless adaptations of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest," both on stage and on film, but only one set to the not-so-sweet sounds of Tom Waits.
The Bard’s famous tale centers on Prospero, the Duke of Milan, who uses illusion to regain the kingdom he has lost. No wonder the story appealed to Teller, the oft-mute member of the magic duo Penn & Teller. He is co-directing, with Aaron Posner, a new adaptation of “The Tempest” at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.
This particular production is set during the 1930s in a Dust Bowl-era tent show, and features music by Waits and his wife and frequent writing partner, Kathleen Brennan, with choreography by famed dance company, Pilobolus. Teller says a biography of traveling tent magician Willard the Wizard was instrumental in inspiring the Depression-era setting of the production.
"I kept thinking about how if I were Willard the Wizard and I had always wanted to do Shakespeare, this would be the Shakespeare that I would pick," Teller told The Frame. "In fact, in the play, there's one moment where we're actually doing a trick that Willard the Wizard did in his tent."
The Frame’s Senior Producer, Oscar Garza, caught up with Teller and Posner as they prepared for opening night to talk about the difficulties in teaching magic to actors, how they got Waits involved, and more.
Interview Highlights:
Posner on why he and Teller work so well together:
"He is a great artist, a great theatrical mind. We have very different perspectives, very different skill sets...We both have similar values around accessibility and theatricality and engaging an audience in really powerful and meaningful ways, and yet the skill sets we bring and the perspectives we bring are really, really different, and that's made for a really effective and exciting collaboration."
Teller on what inspired the setting of this production:
"I was reading a biography of Willard the Wizard, who was a Dust Bowl musician who toured in a tent and did absolutely astounding magic. Totally first-class magic, and you were seeing it in a tent. So it made it more amazing than seeing it on a stage where there are fly lofts and all sorts of things that people normally use.
"We looked at pictures of that world and I kept thinking about if I were Willard the Wizard, and I had always wanted to do Shakespeare, this would be the Shakespeare that I would pick. And to express the Shakespeare, I would use this repertoire of stage magic that I have been very skilled at. In fact, in the play there's one moment where we're actually doing a trick that Willard the Wizard did in his tent. Our first production of this in Las Vegas last year was mounted in a tent, so there's this feeling of the raw tent show is part of the aesthetic of it."
Posner on how the Tom Waits and Pilobolus partnerships came about:
"Once we had the Willard inspiration, that took us to [the] Dust Bowl. Then, if you're going to say you can have any music in the world that would be awesome for a Shakespearean Dust Bowl magical production, who would you go to except for Tom Waits? We brought in Tom Waits, we got permission to use his songbook, then we were trying to make monsters and strange creatures on this island.
"Penn & Teller were working with Pilobolus at the time, and that brought us into connection with the most amazing dance company anywhere, so it's been a layering-on of all of these amazing collaborators to try and make a production. Our goals were humble — the best Tempest anybody's ever done anywhere."
Teller on why Tom Waits was such a perfect fit for "The Tempest":
"One of my favorite recollections was with Tom Waits and Katherine Brennan. We were sitting with them and we opened the biography of Willard the Wizard. There was a full-page picture of Willard's band sitting on stage. It's these five or six Depression-era people staring straight at the audience seated in chairs with trombones and beat-up hats, and Tom looked at this picture and said, 'Those are my people.'"
Teller on the difficulty of teaching magic to actors:
"We cast [Nate Dendy as] Ariel because he is not only a wonderful actor, but he's a stupendous sleight-of-hand artist. He's able to express all sorts of ideas and feelings. Tom Nelis, who plays Prospero, this was his first encounter with magic, but Prospero doesn't have as much hands-on as Ariel does. Basically, what Prospero does is say, 'Ariel, go do the work.' That's not to say that Tom isn't an incredibly good actor who — when taught how to do a magic trick — absolutely nails it, and nails it every time.
"There's a magic consultant that we have on the show who works with me all the time, named Johnny Thompson, and he's 80 and he knows everything and he's in love with Tom [Nelis] because he says you just show him what to do and he doesn't have any stupid preconceptions — he just learns it, he's amazing."
“The Tempest” is at South Coast Repertory Theater through September 28th.