A beat produced from any source (a drum,
a hand, or a can) is an instinctive way of human expression that transcends all language obstacles. I think that is what makes STOMP, a show that focuses on sound and the creative percussion of objects, so appealing. My blog inspiration
book, Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Little Golden Book, recommends
that we, “make something from nothing”. That is just what happens in STOMP- everything and nothing is turned into a nonstop rhythmic experience!
Reflection
STOMP ran for 15 years in NYC as an off –Broadway
show. I can see why because it was 2 hours of continual energetic
percussion, movement, and pantomime- like comedy. I was amazed at the varied recurrent patterns of sound produced from ordinary things in combination
with the stomping. The show opened with the swishing and pounding of brooms and then moved to rhythms originating from
body slapping and clapping, sinks, cans,
sticks, basketballs, plastic tubs and
more. It all reached a crescendo with
lighting speed pounding on huge inner tubes, garbage cans and lids and on signs
above the stage. At all times there was perfect
rhythm and choreographed movement.
STOMP is all about making sounds from ordinary
things and using them to visually entertain in a creative manner. Lighters became instruments of rhythm and dancing patterns of
lights. Shopping carts containing a box and a water cooler bottle, made clashing
and hollow reputations as they glided, spun, and stacked across the stage.
Not a word was spoken during the entire show but there was plenty of pantomimic communication with the audience. We laughed as the “clown character” had the shortest stick or the biggest broom to use. The
audience even participated in the rhythm by following instructions to mimic the pattern of clapping.
STOMP is a show that entertains with something as basic as pure percussion of simple objects. This energetic show reminds us that we all can make something wonderful out of
nothing or out of very little.
(STOMP runs from April 11 - 15, 2017 at the Benedum Center. It also continues on tour.)
Spiritual Source
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty, I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want.
(Philippians 4:12)
Other Sources
Stomp/ Pittsburgh Cultural Trust https://trustarts.org/production/51057/stomp
Stomp on Tour https://trustarts.org/production/51057/stomp