BWW Interviews: Miral Kotb Talks iLuminate's ARTIST OF LIGHT

Miral Kotb, director, choreographer, and playwright, describes iLuminate's ARTIST OF LIGHT as a "comic book brought to life." If you have yet to see the show, it is the perfect way to describe it. Last week, I got to see how the magic of iLuminate is brought to life and sit down with Miral Kotb. Looking at the set under normal lighting conditions, she and I discussed the inception of iLuminate and their current show ARTIST OF LIGHT.

BWW: I read that you got the inspiration for iLuminate from your background in dance and your work on apps for the iPhone. How did that play out?

Miral Kotb: I was at a conference for software developers, and they were talking about how wireless chips at the time, which was 5 years ago, were getting so popular and tiny that we could start using them in more devices. I thought, "Well, what about a wearable version?" And, I thought, "As a dancer, it would be really interesting to have something electronic on your body that could emit information to the audience, wirelessly."

It was more of an interactive display idea at first. That's where the iPhone came in. You could communicate with the dancer through lights, words, or directions from an iPhone. What I found that was really starting to take off was not just the interactive element but actually programming it so it is all actually triggered from one central spot.

BWW: You brought your technology to NBC's America's Got Talent. What was that like?

Miral Kotb: It was awesome! It was a great experience. At the time, it was incredibly stressful. I don't think I could ever do that to myself again. I think I lost like thirty pounds! But, post show, the amount of exposure we got made it extremely worth it. I think it was a good thing for us. It was a lot of fun to build America's interest in what we were doing, especially since it was something that started with grassroots in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn. That's one of the great things about America's Got Talent.

BWW: This is not your first time to bring the show to stage, correct?

Miral Kotb: No. We opened it originally at the Duke on 42nd Street. We just did a holiday season, and it was so popular that we thought, "Wow! Maybe we could actually maintain a full season of the show." That's when we decided to come here [New World Stages], and give the show an open ended run.

BWW: ARTIST OF LIGHT tells the story of a kid who gets bullied and has his magic paintbrush stolen. Was this storyline created for this venue, or have you been working on it for a while?

Miral Kotb: It's something that we have been working on, and it's kind of a good vehicle to do a lot because sometimes people say the star of the show is the technology. Really, the storyline gives the audience something to relate to. There's also a love story behind it. There are a lot of fun characters. Through that, we're able to keep adding to the show. What was at the Duke is totally different than what's here, and we even have a new intro that we just added. It premieres on October 8, and it's danced to Chris Brown's "Turn Up the Music." That's the basic storyline, but we keep adding new technology and new dances around that basic story.

BWW: Where did the idea for this story come from?

Miral Kotb: I think it just came from this idea that there are artists of different mediums, from watercolors to oil paints. There are different types of artists, like graphic artists on the computer. So, I thought, "What about a light artist?" So, he has a magic paintbrush that actually creates works of art through light.

BWW: Cool. From your experiences, how do audiences respond to the innovative art you and your team are creating with iLuminate and ARTIST OF LIGHT? What do you feel they are taking from it?

Miral Kotb: I think what people really respond to is the overall performance. It's not just the lights. It's not just the dancers. It's how everything just fuses together so seamlessly. The lights are so strong; all the illusions with people appearing and disappearing or bodies falling apart and coming back together; and people flying-all of that is so visual. Then, the characters are people too. It's not just about the lights. It's not just about the story. It's about how it all comes together organically.

BWW: At it's base, it is new technology...

Miral Kotb: It's performance technology, and iLuminate wants to be the company that is the leader of performance technology.

BWW: Awesome. Since this show does evolve and change, do you find that you have to restructure character archs as dancers move in and out of the show?

Miral Kotb: Everybody brings his or her own personality to a character, and it is so exciting. I think the characters themselves have become more developed because of the fact that we have dancers that go in and out of the parts. Within the cast, each dancer actually knows at least two, maybe three, parts. We're all kind of working together to figure out each character-what's this character's purpose, their personality, and how they perform on stage. Every moment counts.

Without a facial expression, you have to really rely on your body language to get the story across, and that's a lot harder than it seems. What you'll find is that, in the dark, the dancers are very expressive. Their facial movements are as if you could see them because it's almost impossible to get that to read in your body unless you're completely becoming that persona. Their faces emote as if they're not in a fifteen-pound light suit and as if the whole audience could see every movement and facial expression.

BWW: It sounds like you're pulling a lot of storytelling technique from ballet more than maybe other types of dancing.

Miral Kotb: Yeah. We even have so ballet in the show. But, even more than ballet though, there's almost a silent film, comic book, or cartoon type inspiration. When you can't see a person's face, it is so hard to relate to that person. You subconsciously meet someone on stage, and from that moment you start to learn so much about them from the small details of their movement. We're constantly trying to figure out how do you make somebody fall in love with you when all they can see is a mask. It's a fun challenge, and with each show we get more and more finely attuned as to how to get that to come across.

BWW: What is your favorite moment to see brought to life in the show?

Miral Kotb: It changes everyday. It's never the same. The surprise of what happens to the bad guy is probably my favorite moment. He morphs into something even more grandiose, and I love the shock of the audience when they see it.

BWW: As someone who has made a career in the arts, what advice would you offer to someone hoping to make a career in the arts?

Miral Kotb: Always take a step back. Don't get so inundated with the details, the difficulty of working, trying to make it, wondering if it is it perfect, and if you can do it better. Take a step back and look at what you have done every once in a while. If you never do that, you'll never really appreciate what you do and why you do it.

iLuminate's highly innovative ARTIST OF LIGHT is fascinating, fast-paced, and family friendly 50 minutes. If you're looking for something different and very visual, head down to Stage 4 at New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, New York City, New York 10019. Tickets start at $39.99 and are currently on sale through January 4, 2015. For tickets and more information please visit http://iluminate.com. You can also follow iLuminate on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.