Ken Griffey Jr & the Aesthetics of Function

Ken Griffey Jr - August 27, 2008

Ken Griffey Jr – August 27, 2008

The Kid.

Baseball legend. Seattle’s defining superstar. Generational talent. All of these terms are routinely used to describe Ken Griffey Jr, one of the greatest sports players of the ’90s. For baseball aficionados, watching Griffey play baseball is akin to listening to Montserrat Caballé sing Ave Maria. But why is this so? And more importantly, why should theatre artists care?

Sure, there were the layout game-saving catches. The singles he turned into triples with speed, guile, and vision. The bullet-like, perfectly timed throws from across the field. More than all this, though, it was the swing.

In an era drunk on steroids and raw power, of McGwire and Sosa hitting 60, Griffey was right there, keeping pace alongside them. The fluidity of that bat’s passing through the strike zone could just as easily turn a low and outside two-seamer into a home run as turn a high change-up into a line-drive single. Griffey had a swing that Bobby Valentine (one of the most infamously irascible coaches in history) famously called “perfect” (Stone). Jay Buhner, his teammate with the Mariners, said Griffey would “…call his shots all the friggin’ time. We’d all shake our heads” (Stone).

That swing was magic, more than just effective; it was beautiful.

Kant argues that our judgment of beauty emerging from an object of perception – or in this case an action “ . . . arises on the achievement of a purpose, or at least the recognition of a purposiveness” (Burnham). For Kant, purpose “is the concept according to which it was made” (Burnham). Purposiveness however has an “intrinsic purpose” whereby “a thing embodies its own purpose” (Burnham). There is a particular and mischievous delight in thinking that because the “universality and necessity” of artistic judgments “are in fact a product of features of the human mind” (Burnham), we could just as easily apply our idea of beauty to actions as something like Kant’s sunset or a painting by J.M.W. Turner.

Griffey’s swing didn’t dazzle Bobby Valentine because it was so effective. In fact, I’m sure it would have been the opposite when he coached for the Rangers. Griffey’s swing stood out since there is “pleasure in something because we judge it beautiful, rather than judging it beautiful because we find it pleasurable” (Burnham).

The act of hitting a baseball is a functional movement. It serves a very real world purpose. While this feat can be described as impressive on its own, there are all sorts of examples of other people (Nelson Cruz) hitting balls very far without the action’s being particularly beautiful. So why is Griffey’s swing so beautiful? Bobby Valentine again: “Once you start your swing, people talk about transferring your weight. I always thought his transfer was impeccable, the way he was able to stride, and have a good stride, and yet stop his weight as he was going forward so he could transfer all that weight to his front foot, get off his back foot, and stay balanced as he translated all that energy to the bat” (Stone). All of this boils down to being able to do something extremely well with style, a little bit of “extra” that adds something not essential, yet not extraneous to the basic action. “Griffey got into the box, and it almost looked like he was dancing” (Stone).

I remember going to see Pina Bausch’s final piece of choreography at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2010 entitled “ . . . como el musguito en la piedra, ay si, si, si …” and being dazzled by the dancers’ simply walking around the stage. It was just walking. There wasn’t even a particular aberration of the movement, but it mutated from sensual to unnerving in an instant, yet never deviated from the essential action of needing to carry each individual dancer’s body across the stage. Bausch’s dancers floated with, like Griffey’s swing, “ . . . this dance of balance that performers reveal in fundamental principles common to all scenic forms” (Barba). The shift of balance is not done simply for itself. It is a functional movement—a functional movement that is nevertheless enacted with a certain style and specificity, a little something extra that transforms it from basic action into beautiful action.

Theatre is constantly faced with a tension between establishing something real, while simultaneously establishing something beautiful. In day-to-day existence, people strive to “ . . . follow the principle of minimum effort, that is, obtaining a maximum result with a minimum expenditure of energy” (Barba). In performance, the performer is faced with the particular problem of making actions “ . . . which do not respect the habitual conditionings of the use of the body” (Barba). The audience wants to see something real, as in action that accomplishes something verifiable, and yet is also something that has a little flair. Flair that isn’t added on or layered but that is central to the action. There is a subtle shift of focus by the actor not only from the effective and skilled execution of the action but towards something greater.

Whatever that greater thing is can be left open, maybe even unknown explicitly to person performing the action. Étienne Decroux, the father of corporeal mime, is described as having a “ . . . lion inside him and his technique kept it at bay” (Barba). When we see truly incredible performance on the scale of Griffey’s willfully distributing balls about the field, or Bausch’s dancers gliding across a stage, we see not just the action itself, but what they are pointing towards: the lion in the quote about Decroux.

Such mastery over technique hints at a different aesthetic experience that is called by Kant the Sublime, which “names experiences like violent storms or huge buildings which seem to overwhelm us; that is, we feel we ‘cannot get our head around them’ ” (Burnham). People find these actions awe-inspiring because they relate beyond the actions themselves towards a rational idea that is absolute in some way: “Extra-daily techniques . . . lead to information” (Barba). True expression of genius can be called “beautiful, but in addition is an expression of the state of mind which is generated by an aesthetic idea” (Burnham). Information that gets communicated from functional movement at the scale of Griffey seems to relate less to a quotidian idea and more towards something that has a capital letter in front of it.

For years that bat gliding through the strike zone enraptured millions. But it wasn’t just how good Griffey was at swinging that bat; it was the way that he was good at it that made it so special. The real trick is to be able to do that on stage when the performer only has to pick up a teacup.

Trevor Young Marston was an Akropolis Performance Lab Artistic Associate from 2014 to 2016, appearing in Pomegranate & Ash.

Works Cited

Barba, Eugenio. The Paper Canoe: A Guide to Theatre Anthropology. Trans. Richard Fowler. New York: Routledge, 1995.

Burnham, Douglas. “Immanuel Kant: Aesthetics.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2016.

Stone, Larry. “For Hall of Fame-bound Ken Griffey Jr., it all started with the swing.” 5.1.2016. Seattle Times.

Eadweard Muybridge. Animal locomotion: an electro-photographic investigation of consecutive phases of animal movements. 1872-1885 / published under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania. Plates. The plates printed by the Photo-Gravure Company. Philadelphia, 1887 / USC Digital Library, 2010.

Eadweard Muybridge. Animal locomotion: an electro-photographic investigation of consecutive phases of animal movements. 1872-1885 / published under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania. Plates. The plates printed by the Photo-Gravure Company. Philadelphia, 1887 / USC Digital Library, 2010.

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Reviews Are In & Word Is Out About Our Secret Performance

“Poets say the moon is passionate and desirous. Others see an ethical-religious meaning in moonlight. Youth sees the moon as a promise of all those tremendous things which await it; The old find a memento that the promise was never kept, a reminder of all that broke and went to pieces. And what is moonlight?” | Joseph Lavy as Dr. Glas | Photo: Joe Patrick Kane

Although we restricted marketing for The Glas Nocturne to social media and word-of-mouth, word has gotten out quite well. So well, in fact, that we are extending our run by a full week beyond our initial expectation!

If you haven’t yet gotten a seat, we have just 30 available between now and June 7.

Check out some of what’s being said about this truly remarkable performance!

Just 30 seats remain through June 7, so act quickly to get your invitation!

REQUEST INVITATION BUTTON

Pomegranate & Ash Makes a Strong Debut

Yesterday we premiered Pomegranate & Ash: An Experiment in Theatre of Polyphony in On the Boards’ Open Studio #6 — and today OTB has confirmed that we are the first group to fully pack the house!

The Sad Days that are Surely to Come

"This is the time of tension between dying and birth -- the place of solitude where three dreams cross." | Henry James Walker, Trevor Young Marston, and Zhenya Lavy | Photo: Joe Patrick Kane

Dance of Separation

Dance of Separation | Front: Sara Kaus and Annie Paladino. Back: Linnea Ingalls, Margaretta Campagna, Zhenya Lavy. | Photo: Joe Patrick Kane

Dance of Seduction

Dance of Seduction "Oh, ho, I will have it. I will bow and bend to get it." | Trevor Young Marston and Sara Kaus | Photo: Joe Patrick Kane

The Abduction of Persephone

The Abduction of Persephone | Annie Paladino with Zhenya Lavy, Catherine Lavy, Margaretta Campagna, Linnea Ingalls, Emily Jo Testa. | Photo: Joe Patrick Kane

Clairvoyant Action

Clairvoyant Action | Emily Jo Testa with Henry James Walker, Joseph Lavy, Sara Kaus | Photo: Joe Patrick Kane

An Angel Hath Troubled the Water

An Angel Hath Troubled the Water | Trevor Young Marston with Catherine Lavy, Annie Paladino, Margaretta Campagna, Emily Jo Testa | Photo: Joe Patrick Kane

An Angel Hath Troubled the Water

An Angel Hath Troubled the Water "These waters will heal you, they will set you free." | Linnea Ingalls & Trevor Young Marston | Photo: Joe Patrick Kane

Low, Low

"And the sword I will wield, and the sword I will wield... for this is my work while here below." | (L-R) Back: Joseph Lavy, Trevor Young Marston, Henry James Walker. 3rd Row: Annie Paladino, Emily Jo Testa, Sara Kaus. 2nd row: Margaretta Campagna, Linnea Ingalls. Front: Zhenya Lavy, Catherine Lavy. | Photo: Joe Patrick Kane

 

Here’s a sampling of audience responses:

  • “The ensemble was so tight. Precise and tuned into each other.”
  • “The music was amazing!”
  • “Their dance [Dance of Seduction by Sara Kaus and Trevor Young Marston] was really powerful!”
  • “The girl’s [Catherine Lavy] song made me cry!”
  • “It’s hard to believe you’ve only been working together as an ensemble for three months!”
  • “Very moving. Even though there was no story, the imagery and the way you layered everything together was striking.”
  • “It was refreshing to see a performance that was truly interdisciplinary!”

Were you there? We’d love to get your feedback, too! Please email us or comment below.

Thank you to On the Boards for organizing this event.

Pomegranate & Ash continues to evolve. Look for additional showing announcements through this Spring and Summer.

Cast Set for Pleasure & Sorrow of Your Company

Omer Fast, 5000 Feet Is the Best, 2011, digital film stills © Omer Fast

Omer Fast, 5000 Feet Is the Best, 2011, digital film stills © Omer Fast

The cast for January 25th’s New Year New Play reading of Stacy D. Flood’s The Pleasure & Sorrow of Your Company has been finalized.

We are excited to announce that APL Company Members and apprentices will be joined by local talents Natural Israel, Samara Lerman, and Paul Budraitis in giving voice to Flood’s examination of warfare in the drone age.

The event is wrapped in lively conversation; generous and careful discussion of the play; great food; and  ample opportunities to network with artists, intellectuals, and enthusiasts.

Learn more about the play, view the complete casting, and RSVP on the Salon page.

Pomegranate & Ash to Premiere in OTB’s Open Studio

Pomegranate & Ash | On the Boards Open Studio | Feb. 8, 3:30 PM.

Pomegranate & Ash | On the Boards Open Studio | Feb. 8, 3:30 PM.

The fullest manifestation to date of APL’s Theatre of Polyphony, Pomegranate & Ash premieres at On the Boards in the Open Studio on Sunday, February 8, at 3:30pm.

Pomegranate and Ash takes TS Eliot’s Ash Wednesday, Monteverdi madrigals, the Hymn of Demeter, music from the Shaker tradition, and each performer’s personal biography as source material for an original performance rooted in themes of separation, loss, and reunification.

The entire ensemble performs in this piece, including all our new Artistic Associates and Apprentices.

Admission to Open Studio is by donation only: $5 suggested.

Learn more about Pomegranate & Ash and APL’s Theatre of Polyphony.

APL Welcomes New Artistic Collaborators

Akropolis Performance Lab is proud to announce that after a rigorous selection process, we have added six new collaborators to our ensemble: three new Artistic Associates and three new Artistic Apprentices. The new Company Members are Sara Kaus, Trevor Young Marston, and Jesson Mata. The new Apprentices are Linnea Ingalls, Emily Jo Testa, and Henry James Walker.

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Sara Kaus, APL Artistic Associate

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Trevor Young Marston, APL Artistic Associate

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Jesson Mata, APL Artistic Associate

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Linnea Ingalls, APL Artistic Apprentice

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Emily Jo Testa, APL Artistic Apprentice

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Henry James Walker, APL Artistic Apprentice

 

This is an exciting time of growth for APL. We are thrilled for the opportunity to collaborate with these artists whose intentionality, ethos, and talent align so well with ours. We look forward to the artistic depth and diversity they bring.

About the New Artistic Associates

Sara Kaus, a small-town girl and University of Northern Iowa theatre major, has been acting in professional children’s theatre since 2009. Sara toured the Midwest in Greek Mythology with the Traveling Lantern Theatre Company. As a company member of the Rose Children’s Theatre for three seasons, she performed in mainstage productions such as Velveteen Rabbit, House on Mango Street, Annie – The Musical, Bridge to Terabithia, Pinkalicious – The Musical, and Peter Pan. She relocated to Seattle for the 2013-2014 Open Door Theatre touring season. She comes to Akropolis with a passion for acting and a belief that great performance has the ability not only to entertain but to educate, inspire, and even stir audience members to action, themselves. Through live theatre, she strives to create art with the capacity to change lives in a positive way, and she is thrilled to have found APL’s values for creating art line up with her own.

Trevor Young Marston is a Seattle-based actor and producer. He has performed locally with Seattle Shakespeare Company, Book-It Repertory Theater, Seattle Public Theatre, ReAct Theatre, and the 14/48 Projects. As a producer he has brought to the stage, the world premiere of A Cure for Pain by Stephanie Timm, Boots by Libby Matthews, and Barbarians – a devised piece with SITI Company associate Jeffrey Fracé. Most recently, for the screen, he associate produced the feature film Pacific Aggression, which was directed and written by Shaun Scott. Trevor earned his MFA from the University of Washington’s nationally ranked Professional Actor Training Program. He trains extensively with Robyn Hunt and Steve Pearson and their company the Pacific Performance Project. Internationally, he has been honored to work with master teacher Kristin Linklater, with Jason Turner of the L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq (France), and with Andrejz Welminski and Theresa Welminski (Edinburgh), two of Tadeusz Kantor’s original Cricot 2 company members.

Jesson Mata was born in the Philippines and has lived in Seattle most of his life. He studied Political Science at Seattle University and Philosophy and Theology at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley. In his early 20s, Jesson volunteered with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of charity, working with orphans and the poor and dying. Subsequently, he spent four years studying for the priesthood. For the past ten years, he has been Director of Liturgy and Music at Blessed Sacrament Church. Jesson also teaches Philosophy and Theology at Bishop Blanchet High School and has created  VLOG60, a video series comprising of 60-second expositions on philosophical and theological insights learned in the classroom.  He is an avid gardener and photographer. Jesson is keenly interested in the intersection of music and the physicality of theatrical movement, and he looks forward to pursuing those interests with Akropolis.

About the New Apprentices

Linnea Ingalls, a Western Washington University Theatre Department alumna, has performed, directed, and devised work regionally and in the UK. She currently directs, choreographs, and teaches at Seattle’s Broadway Bound Children’s Theatre. In England, she performed in Our Little Secret, The Suicide, and The Birthday Party (after Pinter) with the University of Hull and in Cyclesong as part of the 2012 London Cultural Olympiad. At WWU, Linnea earned Best Director and Best Show for The Naked Eye and trained in Tectonic Theatre Project’s model for devising through the productions, Us (ACTF Outstanding Ensemble) and Soapbox (Irene Ryan nominee for her performance as Gwen). She is a co-founder of Bellingham-based August Rope Theatre Company, whose To Whom it May Concern was praised at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Training interests include Grotowski, Suzuki, Viewpoints, and Commedia Dell’Arte. She has trained with Blue Lake’s Dell’Arte International, New York City’s Blessed Unrest, and London’s Red-Handed Theatre Company.

Emily Jo Testa moved to Seattle after high school, studied acting at Northwest Actors’ Studio, and went on to work behind the scenes with NWAS, Northwest Asian American Theatre, ReACT Theatre, Anything for a Biscuit, Printer’s Devil Theatre, and New City Theatre. Eventually, she volunteered with Circus Contraption in that group’s final year, and then she gravitated towards the Circus members who formed Cafe Nordo – a hybrid of theater and modern dining with whom she has worked as an assistant director on SMOKED! and The Modern American Chicken Part Deux. Emily Jo has performed with the Double Shot Festival of Overnight Plays, WARP Theatre, Blood Ensemble, SIS Productions, and puppet/clown duo Good Evening, Mr. Homunculus. Her screen work includes the short films, ORGANically Grown (for the 48 Hour Film Horror Project) and Happy Anniversary. In addition to NWAS, she has trained with George Lewis, Marya Sea Kaminski, and Amy Thone at Freehold.

Henry James Walker is an alumnus of Western Washington University’s Theatre Department and recent Seattle transplant. His artistic passions include collaborative theatre, training in the physical world of clowning, devising new works with dedicated artists, and connecting social issues and commentary into the theatre he creates. In early 2014 he formed a Commedia dell’Arte troupe, which presented a successful first performance in November and is planning performances around Seattle parks and stages in the coming year. Henry’s most recent roles include Baile in Blood Ensemble’s NDGM, as well as Basque and Dubois in Sound Theatre Company’s School for Lies. Past favorite projects include Soapbox and James’ Castle (devised pieces), as well as Twelfth Night, Pagliacci, Tartuffe, and various Commedia performances. He also leads Commedia workshops. In September 2013, Henry walked more than 500 miles through northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago; he regularly gives talks about his physical, emotional, and spiritual journey along the Way.