VIDEO: Cresswell, Morrison Give Advice to Wannabe STOMPERS

With a novel theatrical spectacle like STOMP--sans dialogue and conventional lyrics-- the parameters set by orthodox stage direction take a backseat to the unique, personal touch that each new performer brings into any STOMP production wherever in the world it may be staged.

Even from the selection process for prospective Stompers, casting directors encourage brave auditionees to be themselves and show a bit of who they truly are in their audition pieces.

"Whenever we bring someone new in [to the show] it isn't to repeat something, it's to change something, so anyone who comes in to do the show has to bring 'them' and that changes the show again. So the show you see in New York, is very different from the show you see [in London] or in Manila," says STOMP Co-Creator Luke Cresswell.

Cresswell and Fraser Morrison, STOMP rehearsal director

Original, innovative, and creative: three words that you will never hear used when describing any carbon copied material.

It's a given that STOMP is a revolutionary show driven by the raw physicality of its movements and its wordlessly witty exchanges among the performers, but a huge part of the show's heart-- which beats almost (but not just quite) as loud as its unbelievable energy and rhythm-- is its legacy of reinvention in its quest to find and bring out the magic in the mundane.

"Because we do auditions in a group environment, people watching what the other person has just done before them will sometimes go to attempt that and that can be spectacularly dangerous at times when it involves a backflip or a forward flip!" Morrison laughs amused, as he recalls some of the most animatedly crazy auditions he has seen throughout his years in STOMP.

Cresswell and Morrison

STOMP showcases performers who use ordinary objects as musical instruments, i.e. brooms, dust bins, boxes of matches, plumbing fixtures, and supermarket trolleys, among others, while they show off their dance moves and flair for comedy.

Performed in more than 50 countries and before more than 24 million people, the show has won the Olivier Award for Best Choreography, an Obie Award, Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatre Experience, and a special citation from Best Plays. Its HBO presentation "Stomp Out Loud" received an Academy Award nomination, four Emmy Award nominations, and one Emmy Award. Some of its noteworthy TV appearances include The London 2012 Olympic Games' closing ceremony and the Academy Awards.

Following its Philippine premiere in 2011, London's West End and Off-Broadway's percussion sensation, STOMP, will return to the Cultural Center of the Philippines' (CCP) main theater for a limited eight-performance engagement from Tuesday, June 17, to Sunday, June 22.