Wednesday August 11, 2010

Much of the performance art in the Berkshires exists in a realm of seriousness that makes the area the cultural mecca that it aspires to be. But for all the well-curated acts and discerning patrons that the theater festivals, orchestras and dance companies bring to the area, the need for a respite from high culture in exchange for a raunchy good time is pretty strong.

Enter: Burlesque.

Operating at the extreme northern and southern ends of western Massachusetts, and on the periphery of conventional performance art, two groups of women have made it their missions to offer an alternative. And while burlesque has a long history, just like dance, theater or orchestral concerts, it is a form of art meant to lampoon those traditional forms and to give the mundane an air of importance on par with Mahler or “Macbeth.”

“Historically, burlesque shows were works that were laughing at some higher form of performance, like opera or ballet,” said Heather Fisch, director of Burlesque from Across the Tracks, a troupe based in Great Barrington. “Burlesque houses operated as part of a broader culture that was not meant for women or children or high-class snobs. They were meant for working-class men, mostly. It was a supply and demand form of entertainment.”

In Williamstown, Nicole Rizzo’s Gypsy Layne burlesque troupe has been supplying a demand since the beginning of the year, and she has

been earning accolades in the process. Rizzo views the success of her troupe as an sign that the community is hungry to support grass-roots artists.

“Everybody who I’ve spoken with has been very supportive of what we’re doing here,” Rizzo said during preparations for a recent show at the Red Herring. “The arts community has really been behind us. Today I even met with (North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright) about us moving to North Adams. He is so much on our side.”

Gypsy Layne will continue to perform at 11:30 p.m. on Thursdays at the Red Herring until Sept. 22, when it will move to Main Street Stage in North Adams. Eventually, Rizzo, who is originally from North Adams but spent the past 10 years honing her performance chops in New York and California, said they would like to get into doing dinner theater and work more with local artists.

“If I’m going to be here, I’m going to make this my home,” she added.

When she first returned, she knew exactly what she wanted to do: “I came back determined to give to the arts community and to do burlesque.”

So far, so good. But burlesque has had a tumultuous relationship with the area in recent years. In southern Berkshire County, the memory of the Lenox Library fundraising event that ran afoul of local statutes for performances is still fresh in some people’s minds. But neither Rizzo nor Fisch have received negative feedback from the community.

“I think it’s a shame that all that happened in Lenox,” Fisch said. “But everyone is different with how comfortable they are with their own sexuality and what they see. If someone thinks it’s vulgar and isn’t into it, that’s fine. But I haven’t had anyone say to me that it’s bad to do burlesque. To me, it feels OK if everyone involved feels OK.”

The questions raised by performing this type of entertainment are part of the reason it exists.

“A lot of it is about women learning to be comfortable with their own bodies,” Rizzo said. “Through this process, I have seen the women I work with grow into much more confident people.”

The politics of feminism and female identity are a central part of Burlesque from Across the Tracks’ performances as well.

Part of the reason Fisch wanted to start this troupe was an “interest in exploring what a sexualized performance is as a woman, because there are certain political feminist undertones to what we do, and there is a question about sexuality and objectivity,” she said.

“At this point we’re a group of eight highly conscious women, which makes everything we do an exploration of sexualized entertainment,” Fisch said. “There is a level of awareness in that, which is different from burlesque in the past.”

While both groups teeter on the line of risque, there are differences in the performances that show the two directors’ different performance backgrounds. Rizzo’s resume reveals a dancer and choreographer at heart, with some theater expertise thrown in for good measure, including stints with Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, New York’s Fringe Festival and off-Broadway performances. Her Gypsy Layne production offers a testament to her experience in the world of dance, with its synchronized ensemble numbers and high-energy music-video-inspired interpretations of burlesque through the ages. In fact, her bio reveals that, “her abiding love of dance thrust her into the music video scene, and ultimately landed her the gig that would lead her into the world of Burlesque.”

Fisch, for her part, comes from a family of musicians and a deep interest in physical performance. She studied at Barcelona’s prestigious Escula de Clown and was a theater major at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington. For several years, she earned a large following as an accordion player and central figure in the gypsy-klezmer-rock band Bella’s Bartok. But she wanted to get back into theater.

“I like the idea of burlesque, and I am interested in variety acts and vignettes that include characters and plot lines, emotions and things like that,” Fisch said.

Her group is billed as a “libidinous physical theater troupe” that offers more than just a burlesque performance. The performers were part of a class that focused on creating vaudeville characters and personas.

“I knew there would be more of a draw for a ‘burlesque and vaudeville class,’ and not just ‘vaudeville class,’” said Fisch, who added that she will be teaching classes in the fall in Northampton and Hudson, N.Y. “Burlesque is so enticing because it’s sexy.”

Gypsy Layne Burlesque performs on Thursdays at 11:30 p.m. at the Red Herring in Williamstown and will move to Main Street Stage in North Adams on Sept. 22. For more information, visit gypsylayne.com. Burlesque from Across the Tracks will perform on Aug. 27 in Great Barrington (place to be determined), Aug. 28 at The Copperworks, 34 North Pearl St., Pittsfield, and on Aug. 30 at Club Helsinki in Hudson, N.Y. All shows start at 8 p.m. For more information, visit heatherfisch.com.