Choreographer Tom Brady Brings 40 Year Work-in-Progress To San Francisco For The First Time This Fall

St Louis-based performance artist, dancer and choreographer Tom Brady, in collaboration with Monica Newsam and videographer Zlatko Cosic, will bring what has essentially turned into a 40 year work-in-progress to ODC Theater in San Francisco this fall.

After debuting the work under the title of Boxes at Franklin Furnace in New York in 1979, he has performed this work and others in New York, Milan, Chicago, and in his home base, St Louis. As an artist, Brady embraces the evolution of his work with patience often taking decades to reach the goal of artistic mastery over a mature work of art.

"What started out as a man struggling with the tumultuous political realities of the 60s and 70s, as well as his own place in the world, the piece has had to change over time," says Brady. "Because unknown outcomes became historical reality. So essentially, the story has become a record, a reflection of the passing of time. After 40 years, I thought it was ready to come to San Francisco."

Brady, who turns 73 in December, has observed a lot of change over the decades, and by extension, observed his contemporaries adapting to the world in what he describes as on their terms. "I notice a lot of fossilized thinking; sometimes it happens at 25, 30, or even 50, but it becomes a stationary position from which to evaluate and judge the world around them. I mean, I grew up in an era where having a telephone meant one phone in a dining room shared with 3 or 4 other phones in the neighborhood. Looking back, its almost absurd how much the world, and by extension, the boxes we live in, have changed."

Man in the Box begins in an abstract mode with a man at death's door about to enter his final resting place. While navigating through a stage of what Brady describes as a "forest of eighteen 15-foot poles that essentially turn the stage into a sculpture," he finds himself drawn back by recollections and former blind struggles, when his younger self (played by Monica Newsam) appears and begins to drive the narrative.

"In Man in the Box, the focus is on reflection, recollections and perspective as one stands on the edge between living and dying," says Brady.

"Taking time to reflect on what has been and continues to be one's life journey is at the crux of the matter: love, betrayal, perseverance and the long journey to compassion. It's about transcending the box."

Intrinsic to the performance of Man in the Box are the video projections used to enhance details and shift the scale of what Brady describes as "a sculptural stage." Using material stretched across the stage to establish a sense of a landscape pierced by the forest of 15-foot poles, the performers are then free to move above it all as if airborne.

Brady-who trained for 8 years in classical music-is also the composer of the original score, which he describes as influenced by Phillip Glass, as well as electronica coupled with ancient and contemporary Asian styles.

Tickets are $15 prior to October 1, and $25 after that and at the door; groups of 6 can be purchased at a 20% discount off of full general admission price ($25.00) available at odctheater.org; Box office phone: 1-415-863-9834.

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