BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC

DAVID GORDON/PICK UP CO. WAYNE HORVITZ The President BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC Harvey Lichtenstein, President and Executive Producer

BAM Opera House December 14-17, 1988

presents UNITED STATES a work constructed by David Gordon featuring the Pick Up Co.. Valda 'Setterfield Dean Moss Ch~ck Finlon Scott Cunningham Karen Graham Cynthia Oliver Heidi Michel Angel. Vaillancourt StevenB~kon . Timothy Hadel Jora Nelstein David Gordon

Produced by. Alyce Dissette

The United States project is sponsored by . The Lila Wallace-Reader'~ Digest Fund.

These performances are partofthe AT&T Dance1bur.

Theseperformances.are made possible,. in part, by grants from TIlE HARKNESS FOUNDATIONS FOR DANCE.

Joseph V. Melillo, Director, NEXT MVE Festival UNITED STATES Researched by Roger Oliver and Curtis Grund Lighting Design by. Mark W. Stanley

Location , Music/Texts

Minnesota W.A. Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major -1st Movement played by 'The Saint. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Emmanuel Ai.., Piano 2nd Movement played by the Minnesota Orchestra; Walter Klein, Piano Text excerpts from Carol Bly, Meridel Le Sueur, TQyse Kyle, Edna & Howard Hong and Mary Hong Loe; read by Valda· Setterfield Final words: Suzanne Weil

New England Excerpt from a discussion with Robert Frost Intermission New York· David Boles: "Fade Away" Miles Green: "Bear Bones:' "Bingo Montage:' "Chinlash:' "Don't Move" Maggie Dubris: "Andrew Ryder" Richard .Rodgers: "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" from On Your Toes; 1983 Bro·adway cast recording TlleOrdinaires: "Gridlock;' "Racing Thoughts" Readings f~om Mike ·Feder and Ain Gordon "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" played by the New York Philharmonic; Richard Rodgers, conductor

Police Drawings by R<;lCky Pinciotti Intermission New England Excerpt from a discussion with Robert Frost

San Francisco Performance excerpts of Carmen McRae, Judy Garland, Jeanette MacDonald, Tony Bennett, The Residents, The ~harlie Byrd Trio W.A. Mozart: Piano 'Concerto No. 17 in G Major 3rd Movement transcribed for the· synthesizer and per­ formed by ~orman Landsberg

New England Excerpt from a di$Cussion with R~bert Frost The dancers ofthis, Company are the main' collaborators in my work. They are .responsive and creative and I thank them. I would especially like to thank Dean Moss and Chuck Finlon· who continue to up the ante on what I askfor with their talent and their imagination...and Valda' Setterfield who is my partner and my teacher and my best friend. I would also like to thank Alyce Dissette who has a dancer's courage. - David Gordon

The United States is a co...;commission project between the David Gordon/Pick Up Company and the following perfoIlning arts presenters across the nation: '

City of Albuquerque/Cultural Affairs UCLA··Center. for the Performing Arts BAM NEXT WAVE Festival University of Kansas - Lawrence Cal Performances John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Fine Arts S~ries, ColoradQ State University Lively Arts at Stanford L University of Colorado at Boulder University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cornell University Portland.State University Dance: Afftliates Dance Saint Louis Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College San Antonio Perfo,rming Arts Association ' Detroit Music Hall San Diego Foundation for the Performing Arts Harvard Summer Dance_Center San- FranCISCO Perfortnances . Houston Society for the Performing Arts TITAS, Dallas; Texas CenterArts/Humboldt State University Walker Art Center Hancher Auditorium/University of Iowa Meany Hall at the University of Washington Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Inc.

The Pick Up Co. gratefully acknowledges thefollowing Foundations and Corporations and Fund- ing Agencies for 'creatively embracing this project: .

The' National Endowment for the. Arts Booth Ferris Foundation Harkness Ballet Foundation The Massachusetts C9uncil on the Arts and Humanities Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New ·York Pew Charitable Trusts The Rockefeller Foundation Emma A.Sheafer Charitable Trust The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund \ Western States Arts Federation BIOGRAPIDES David Gordon performed in the companies ofJames In September 1984, she· received aNew York Perfor­ Waring and Yvonne Rainer in the'19608. He showed mance Award (Bessie) as an outstanding performing' early work at the Living Theatre and in the frrst Jud­ artist. In 1987, she co-starred with Mikhail Baryshnikov son Church performances. In the early 1970s he was in "David Gordon's Made in U.S.A."forWNEI'/Great a founding member of the improvisational ensemble Performances, and in May, 1988, returned as a guest the Grand Union. In 1978 he formalized the process artist to the Rambert Dance Company to perform in ofmaking work for varying numbers ofperformers by Gordon's'Mates. establishing the Pick Up Company as a legal entity. Since that time a core company has been established Dean Moss has performed with the Cleveland Ballet, with whom he rehearses and tours regularly. Between Louis Falco Dance Co., American Dance Machine and , 1978 and 1986, Gordon has made work for companies in the Broadway revival of ~st Side Story. His work in the United States and Europe, including American has been shown at Dance Theatre Workshop and ~S. Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Group de 122. He joined the Pick Up Company in 1983. Recherche Ch~reographique de l'Opera de Paris, and recently for the Rambert Dance Co. Mr. Gordon is a ChuckFinlonhas a degree in dance from the Univer­ Guggenheim Fellow (1981 and 1987), has served as a sity ofWisconsin. Before that he studied biochemis­ panelist for the Dance Program for the New York State !IY and linguistics at two other universities. He studies Council on the Arts and as Panelist and Chairman of ballet with Jane Panetta along with the Alexander and the Dance Program Panel ofthe National Endowment Feldenkrais techniques. for the Arts. In September 1984, he received a New York Performance Award (Bessie) for Sustained Scott Cunningham has danced wi~ the companies of Choreographic Achievement. He is profiled in Sally 'Elisa Monte, Ohad Naharin, and' the Mark. Morris Banes' ,book Terpsichore in Sneakers and by Arlene Dance Group. He received a B.A. from U/Mass, and ~ Croce in the November 29, 1982 issue ofThe New lbr­ grew up in Needham, Massachusetts. He joined the ker. In May 1980, David Gordon's work was included Pick Up Co. in 1986. in the Dance in America broadcast Beyond the Main­ stream, and he one ofseven artists featured in Michael is Karen Graham was born and raised in Dlinois and she Blackwood's filmMaking Dances. His ten minute TV attended the University ofIDinois and performed with videotapes produced by the Pick Up Company have the IDinois Dance Theatre. She has been with the Pick been shown by Channel 4/Great Britain. They were Up Co. for two years. selected for the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival and were aired in August 1986 on an episode ofthe national PBS series Alivefrom Center devoted to Gordon's work. Cynthia Oliver grew up in the Virgin Islands where Off Car~ In October of 1987 "David Gordon's Made in U.S.A." she performed with Theatre Dance, Inc. and The aired nationally on WNEI'/Great Perfo1711JJnCes and later ribean Dance Co. In New York, she has performed with received three Emmy nominations. The program fea­ Throne Dance Theatre and the Nanette Bearden Con­ tured Mikhail Baryshnikov and Valda Setterfield in temporary Dance Co. She studies ballet with Pam three ofGordon's works for the Pick Up Co. and Ameri­ Critelli. can Ballet Theatre. This past summer the Company completed a video work titled "My Folks" which will Heidi Michel began dancing and taught dance for be aired on BBC-TV. Mr. Gotlion's work was frrst seen se~eral years in Southold, New York. She received a at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1984 when he 'B.F.A. degree from the North Carolina'School ofthe constructed the movement for the NEXT WAVE Fes­ Arts and currently studies ballet with Janet Panetta in tival's presentation ofthe Philip Glass work The Pho­ , New York. Heidi has performed with Joan Lombardi, tographer. The Pick Up Co~y was presented in the F Judith Moss and Mark Dendy. Festival in 1986. Angela Vaillancourt began her early dance training Valda Setterfield is from England where she per­ in San Diego with Marius Zirraand at Les Grands Bal­ formed in pantomimes and with Ballet Rambert. In let Canadiens and Alvin Ailey Dance Center. A final­ 1958, she came to America and joined the companies ist in 1985 for the National Society of the Arts and ofJames Waring (1958-62) and Merce Cunningham Letters Competition, Angela has performed with (1965-1974). She has appeared on stage with Grand Peridance, Elisa King and Lisbon Dance Company. Union and in works ofKatherine Litz, Yvonne Rainer, Robert Wtlson, Richard Foreman, JoAnne Akalatis and Steven Beckon recently received his BFA in dance at on film in works of Ms. Rainer and Brian de Palma. the Juilliard School. While in attendance there, he She performed in the work ofDavid Gordon at the Liv­ appeared in the works ofAnnaSokolow, Martha Clarke, ing Theater and the Judson Church and has been a fea- David Parsons and Jose Limon. Hejoinedthe Pick Up tu~_~~~~!~!!!t~!j~~U:p Co. since its ~~eptio~. Co. in the fall of 1988. 11motby Hadel was born and raised in Kansas City Up Co. coordiDating research for die United States pro­ and attended the University ofUtah. He has perfonned ject. He was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and has lived with Tandy Beal, Charles Moulton, Doug Varone and in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Iowa City, Iowa, and Lucinda Childs. Tim joined the Pick Up Co. in the fall New York, New York. In real life he is a graduate stu­ of 1988. dent in Public Administration at New YQ.~k Bniversity.

Jora NelsteiJrwas born in Amsterdam and began her. Roger Oliver (Research) has been the Humanities dance training at the Dance Academie in Amhem, Hol­ Director for the Brooklyn Academy ofMusic's NEXT land. She toured Europe and Canada with Brazil Trop­ WAVE Festival since its inception in 1983. Inthis capac­ ical and danced the opera Labelle Mellene with the ity, he has designed and implemented an internation­ Dutch National Ballet and Sanda Ballet in London. In ally recognized audience education program New York, Jora danced with Rush Dance Company and encompassing a variety of publications, exhibitions, Bill T. Jones!Arnie Zane. She has worked with Jennifer symposia and discussions. In addition to his duties for Muller, Margo Sappington and Michelle Kadison, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Dr. Oliver also thanks 4'nnSimonson, Maggie Blackand Kathy Grant. teaches humanities and dramatic literature at The Juil­ liard School, and is adjunct Associate Professor ofEng­ lish and Dramatic Literature at New York University. He holds the B.A. degree in Enlish from Middlebury College, the Ph.D. degree in Drama from Stanford University, and is the author ofDreams ofPassion: The Dramatic Art ofLuigi Pirandelio.

Alyce Dissette (Producer) began her professional Michael Rocco (Rocky) Pinciotti (Police Drawings career as a production stage manager specializing in and Project G,aphics) is an artist, art director, set opera an4 ballet .. She was personal assistant to light­ designer, video animator and illustrator who has worked ing designer/production manager/teacher Gilbert V. with San1X>rn and Perillo, David Byrne,. Lee Breuer Hemsley and worked with him on numerous, projects, )lnd Bob Berky, MoUssa Fenley, Charles Moulton, includi1)gthe 1976 Tony Award winning production of David Van Tieghem and Michael Nesmith. His work Porgy and Bess and President Carter's nationally tele­ has been used by Children's Television Workshop, vised Inaugural Eve Gala. In 1977 she joined the Coca-Cola, HBO, The Kitchen, MTV, Paragon Cable, management staffofthe Presentations Department at "Sesame Street" and Sony. He has worked on music the Metropolitan Opera, NYC, and assisted the depart­ videos for Leo Kottke, Nile Rogers, DittyDancing (the ment in producing American Ballet Theatre, the Stutt­ movie), and the original "Alive From OffCenter" video gart Ballet, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, and the Martha logo. As an artist/photographer, he has exhibited on Graham Dance Company. Prior to the Pick Up Com­ three continents and his neon work is featured in the . pany she was Executive Director ofthe Oberlin Dance books The Magic ofNeon and The New Let There Be Company/San Francisco. Neon. Originally from Ohio, he moved to New York and received his M.F.A. at Pratt Art Institute. He MarkW. Stanley (lighting Designer) is currently the worked as set designer and paintbox illustrator/animator Resident Lighting Designer of the New York City on "David Gordon's Made in U.S.A." Ballet. Most recently he has completed three years as Resident Lighting Director ofthe New York City Opera, where he designed more than'fifteen operas for the repertory and companie~. His additional credits include CONTRIBUTORS serving as Lighting Director for the Carlton Interna­ Carol Bly (MN) was born in Duluth, Minnesota, and tional Dance Festival in Brazil, the U.S. tour of the educated at Abbot, Wellesley, and the University of Vienna Volksoper, and the Sankai Juku Dance Com­ Minnesota. She works for the National Farmers Union pany. He has also designed for the Kirov Ballet, several and lives in Sturgeon Lake, Minnesota, with her four regional opera companie~, the Am¢rican Opera Cen­ children. She has received grants for her fiction, which ter at The Juilliard School, the Hannah Kahn D~cers, has appeared in The New Yor~r and American Review, The Perfect Party at the Kennedy Center, the Off­ from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Bush Broadway production of Curse ofthe Starving Clds$, Foul\dation. and Karen Aker's one woman show. Mr. Stanley is the author of The Color ofLight Workbook. \ David Boles (NY)' was born in Lincoln, Nebraska 22 years ago. He was a Vreeland Award winner for Curtis Grund (Research) fell into a temporary job in playwriting and a Rieckes scholar for two years at the the Pick Up Co. office in the Spring of 1988 through University ofNebraska at Lincoln. Mr. Boles won the the good graces ofa high school friend from Oregon. SUNY Purchase Playwriting contest while a freshman Soon, he was answering phones for the Cunningham at UNL. His plays have competed inthe American Col­ Dance Foundation, and then he was back at the Pick lege Theatre Festival and AACf/FEST. He has worked atArena Stage in Washington, D.C. as a reader and also choreographers Wendy Perron, Nancy Lewis and Emily at Ford's Theatre as an assistant director. He recently Schottland and also wrote music for a never seen Roger finished writing a script for the Nebraska ETV Net­ Corman flick called The Lawless Land. In 1986, with work onthe life ofWl1liam Jennings Bryan. Mr. Boles a degree in Electrical Engineering, Miles took on ajob is now a first year M.F.A. Playwriting caDdidate at The as DirectOr ofBathroom Sanitation and Studio Upkeep Oscar Hammerstein IT tenter for Theatre Studies at at The Living Room recording studio in NYC, where Columbia University. He is a Shubert Organization he is now Chief Recording Engineer. In the past year Presidential'Scholar. he has done synthesizer programming for Scott John­ son's Patty Hearst soundtrack and Philip Glass' ]000 Maggie Dubris (NY) was born in Georgia and grew Airplanes on the Roof up in the Southeast and Michigan. She' has worked as a paramedic in New York CitY for the past eight years. ChuckHammer (Sound Score Assembly) born in New .A poet, she has published work in a few magazines and York City, has been working in the music field for 10 anthologies, edited KOFF Magazine for three years, years. He has recorded and worked with Lou Reed, and is the president ofKoff Communications Interna­ DavidBowie, Laurie Anderson, and Robert Longo on tional. She has also done readings at St. Mark's Church Killing Angels. He has recently oPened a new music and the Museum of Modem Art. The material used scoring studio called Hammer Music. Chuck's work in this Performance has been taken from a book-length primarily involves music and sound design for film and work-in-progress called WillieWorld. She is currently video, and he i~ currently working on a seri~s ofdigi­ writing songs and playing guitar in two bands: Fleurs tal guitar recordings called Guitarchitequre. Chuck has du Mal and The Dish That Flew Away. been deeply .involved inthe developnient of new gui­ tar techniques, and frequently interfaces the guitar so Mike Feder (NY), 43 years old, is married with two that it may be used to trigger orcontrol many different kids: a girl, eight, and a boy, three. He lives on the sounds orevents. Heis currently working with a "syn­ Upper West Side ofManhattan after having lived in Park thaxe" and "synClayier digital music system." SloPe, Brooklyn, and growing up in Laurelton, Queens. He has been a welfare caseworker, probation officer, Howard V. Hong(MN) was born in Wolford,North factory worker, bookstore owner and manager, land­ Dakota, in 1912, Edna H. Hong in Thorpe, Wiscon­ lord, and assistant manager of WBAI radio station. sin, in 1913. They both ~uated fro~ St. OlafCollege, Since 1979, has had a radio show on WBAI-FM, where where Howard received his B.A. degree in 1934, Edna he does live radio call-ins, interviews, plays records, hers in 1938. After Howard received his Ph.D. degree and tells stories. He has Performed live in various from the University ofMinnesota in 1938, they stud­ theaters and clubs since 1983 including Village Gate, ied together at the University of Copenhagen' in West Bank Theatre, 78th St. Theatre Lab, Hartford 1938-39. Together the Hongs have translated many of Stage, New Theatre ofBrooklyn, and various colleges. the works of Soren Kierkegaard, including ,Jo14rnals His stories have been published in Harper's and Seven andPapers (seven volumes, 1968-1CJ77), for which they Days magazines. He has a book just out from Crown received the National B90k Award in 1969. Edna ijong Publishers entitled New York Son. . is the author ofnumerous books. Her poetry and sto­ ries have appeared in various ,magazines. Howard Hong Ain Gordon (NY) has Performed with Stephen Petro­ is the author ofThis World and the Church (1955). He nio" Yoshiko Chuma, Nelson zayas, David Gordon, has served as the director ofthe Kierkegaard Library and Stephanie Skura. He has been a prpps man, a at St., Olaf College, where he has taught philosophy dresser, a stage manager, a company manager, an elec­ (except for Periods ofleave) since 1938. Aconscien­ trician and an administrator:. His work has been tious objector to war, he served in field positions in presented at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, ~ew York, Scandinavia, Austria, and Germany from 1943 to 1949, the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church: and several aiding war prisioners and refugees. Mary Hong Loe times at Dance Theater Workshop. Inaddition, his col­ was born in Northfield, Minnesota" in 1944. She laborations with Gayle Thfts have been presented at ~S. received her B.A. degree at St. OlafCollege in 1966, 122 and the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, where they an M.A. degree in library science in ·1970 from the were Artists in Residence. So much for nepotism. University ofIowa and herM.A. degree in English from SUNy:.Oswego in 1983. She is a homemaker and a Mlles Green (NY) has been making music since 1980 librarian in Oswego, New York, and does travel writing. when he started on a $12 acoustic guitarjamming with the legendary rock bank KISS. Though the band itself Toyse Kyle (MN) was born in Kansas City, Missouri, was on record, he was able to achieve that SPeCial blend in 1938 and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1948. ofmusical intensity and ponderous intrOSPeCtion that . She has degrees in arts and in education from the -is his trademark today. In 1981 Miles formed Bop Apoc­ Metropolitan State Junior College, Minnesota, where alypse, a ~ piece band that played at CBGB's, Dance she also compl~ted and M.A. degree.in speech com­ Theatre Workshop, and other but less notable venues. munication. She has writtel) television scripts and has As a composer, Miles has written pieces for produced educational taPes. for KTCA-TV. NonwuiLandsberg's (SF) diverse musical talents were BOARD OF DIRECTORS being fine tuned as early as three years old at his toy Arlene Shuler - Chairperson piano. His mQve to California to pursue a career in Anne Alexander, H.D. Auerbach, Nadine Bertin, recording production· and arranging brought him Michael Brill, David Gordon, Robert Gottlieb, Amory acclaim as musical director for performers such as the Houghton ill, Michael Remer Pointer Sisters and Holly Penfield. He has also toured extensively with singer Lenny Williams. Landsberg's David Gordon/Pick Up Company receives fiscal national television appearances include, "The Tonight managementfrom Pentacle, a non-profit organization Show", "The Helen Reddy" and "Flip Wilson" Shows, which provides administrative services to a variety of "Dinah Shore" and "Rock Concert". performing arts groups. Tour Arts is the official travel agency of the Pick Up Company. Meridel I.e Sueur (MN) was born in Murray, Iowa, in 1900 and has spent most of her life in the Middle The Pick Up Company's performances are made pos­ West, from Texas to Minnesota. Le Sueur's first story sible in partwith public funds from the New York State appeared in the Dial in 1927 and was reprinted in Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for O'Brien's Short Stories that year. Since then her work the Arts, andby grants from American Express Foun­ has appeared in Scribner's, ,the Saturday Evening Post, dation, AT&T Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, Mademoiselle, Seventeen, the Yale Review, the AnVil, Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., Robert Sterling Clark the Kenyon Review, the New Republic, the Nation, Foundation, Inc., Consolidated Edison, Goldsmith­ Mainstream, New Masses, Harper's, and other maga­ Perry Philanthropies, Inc.'~ William and Mary Greve zines. One of her best-known books is North Star Foundation, Inc., Harkness Ballet Foundation, JCf Country (1945), which originally appeared in a series Foundation, Mobil Foundation, Inc., Morgan Guar­ edited by Erskine'Caldwell. Her more recent books anty Trust Company of New York, S.1. Newhouse include Corn· Village (1971) and Rites of Ancient Foundation, Inc., New York Times Company Foun­ Ripening (1976). She lives inthe Minneapolis-St. Paul dation, Inc., Philip Morris Companies, Inc., Reed area with her daughter, and continues to be active in Foundation, Inc., Tpe Rockefeller Foundation, Emma the literary life of the cities. A. Sheafer Charitable Trust and the Lila Wallace­ Readers Digest Fund. The Ordinaires (NY), since their inception in 1982, have entertained- andconfused- audiences andcritics Credit: Additional sound equipment by ProMix Inc. alike with their playfully serious blend ofinstrumen­ tal music. New York based and nine members strong, Special Thanks: Doug Allan, Alberta Arthurs, Sha- , the lineup consists of Angela Babin (guitar), Robin ronBeckman, ArtBecofsky, Michael Blachly, Robert Casey (violin), Joe Dizney (guitar), Sven Furberg Boyd, Loris Bradley, Chris Broadwell, Ellen (bass), Kurt Hoffman (tenor saxophone, accordion and BuchwaIter, David Carey, Peter Carzasty, Jessica Chao, clarinet), Barbara Schloss (violin)" Jim Thomas (drums Elizabeth Crowley, M. Christine DeVita, Tambra and percussion) and Fritz Van Orden (alto saxophone). Dillon, Susie Farr, Ruth Felt, Julia Forster, Kim Fowler, They garnered international critical attention with the Karen' Brooks Hopkins, Annie Kauffman, Evan release oftheireponymous debutalbumonthe German Kavanagh, John Killacky, Paul King, Sali Ann Dossierlabel (distributed by New Music Distribution Kriegsmann, Harvey' Lichtenstein, Jeanne Erwin Service), andhave continually delighted club and con­ Linnes, Sharon Longfellow, Rory MacPherson, Toby cert audiences nationally and in Europe with their live Mattox, Tim McClimon, Mimi McKell, Joe Melillo, shows (most recently at the BerlinJazzfest in Novem­ Karen Murnan, Michael O'Rand, Peter Pennekamp, ber ofthis year). The Ordinaires have just completed Cindy Rainbow, Michele Rudnick, Suzanne Sato, ~ the recording oftheir second album, One tentatively Andrea Snyder, Joel Synder, Ellen Sortin, Gayle Stam­ scheduled for a Spring 1989 release. ler, Robert Stearns, Mike Stillwagon, Pebbles Wad­ sworth, Patsy ~arr, Albert Webster, STAFF FOR TIlE PICK UP COMPANY Company Manager Cathy Einhorn and a very, very special thank you to Arlene Shuler, Assistant to the Producer Rick Rose our wonderful Board Chairperson. Production Production Stage Manager Allan Kerr Stage Manager Alex Heddinger Sound Score Assembled by Chuck Hammer Costumes Assembled by David Gordon with Jeffrey Ullman Sound Engineer Bruce Cameron United States Graphic Designs by Rocky Pinciotti