Photo by OSA Images; Costume by Liz Vandal. Copyright Cirque du Soleil
Creepy-crawlies never looked so vivid and colorful.
Cirque du Soleil, the international theater troupe renowned for its elaborate costumes and captivating performances, comes to the Schottenstein Center May 17-21 to perform Ovo, its insect-themed show.
Ovo, which means “egg” in Portugese, is a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life. Insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a nonstop riot of energy and movement.
When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. But it’s love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye – and the feeling is mutual.
The performance will feature 50 performers from 12 countries specializing in a plethora of acrobatic acts. The show presents the world of insects with heavy emphasis on constant movement and color, says Deborah Colker, writer, director and choreographer of Ovo.
“I have a very physical choreographic language and, for me, the insects’ movements translate into emotion,” Colker says. “Ovo reflects my background in dance, of course, but it also represents my lifelong love of music, the inspiration I draw from sport and the liveliness you can discover in every aspect of life. I love to work on a large scale and create a big impact with tons of energy and excitement on stage.”
Photo courtesy of OSA Images; Costumse by Liz Vandal. Copyright Cirque du Soleil
The setting of Ovo is a stylized habitat that is home to the insects. At times, it is a forest, and at others, it is a cave or even a house. The show begins with a large egg on stage, obscuring much of the performance space from view.
The mysterious object from the outside world is an explicable enigma in the eyes of the insects and a nod to the monolith from Stanley Kubrick’s iconic film 2001: A Space Odyssey. It reappears in other forms later in the show, laid by the insects.
The creative costumes were designed by Liz Vandal, who has a special affinity for the world of insects.
“When I was just a kid, I put rocks down around the year near the fruit trees, and I lifted them regularly to watch the insects who had taken up residence underneath them,” Vandal says. “I petted caterpillars and let butterflies into the house. So when I learned that Ovo was inspired by insects, I immediately knew that I was in a perfect position to pay tribute to this majestic world with my costumes.”
Photo by OSA Images; Costume by Liz Vandal. Copyright Cirque du Soleil
Ten crickets are key insects in the show. At times, they have detachable legs that break away from their bodies to give the impression that there is an insect invasion occurring.
“I have a particular soft spot for these characters because their costumes are so sexy, graphic and vibrant,” Vandal says. “I explored techniques of transforming material in order to evoke, not imitate, insects. Through my study of line, I try to make the body dynamic and reveal its intrinsic beauty.”
The musical score for Ovo was developed with these big-stage bugs in mind by Berna Ceppas, composer and musical director of the show. Ceppas combined the sounds of bossa nova and samba with funk and electro music.
Ceppas sampled actual insect sounds to combine with the music directly from the keyboard, and also assigned instruments and individual themes, Peter and the Wolf style, to specific characters.
“It puts the audience in another universe,” says Ceppas. “And the show itself puts them into the world of insects.”
Mark Your Calendar!
Cirque du Soleil presents Ovo
May 17-21, Schottenstein Center
Facts about Ovo
- Most characters have two versions of their costumes: the first, more lightweight and functional, for their acrobatic performance, and the second, more richly detailed and heavier, for their life in the community.
- The initial cricket costumes required 75 hours of work each because of their complexity and the need to give them rigidity while maintaining the flexibility and expandability of the material.
- The egg, which is inflatable, measures 28 feet wide by 22 feet tall.
- The acrobatic structure is 45 feet from the ground and weighs more than 22,000 pounds.
- Ovo is the 25th Cirque Du Soleil live production, created on the company’s 25th anniversary. It first premiered in Montreal in April 2009 and has visited more than 30 cities in six countries as a big top show before transforming into an arena show in 2016.
Matthew Kent is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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