Interview: Katy Psenicka of SLEEPY HOLLOW at Shadowbox Live!

Growing up, Katy Psenicka admits she didn’t listen to the radio the way her peers did. While her friends were jamming to country and western, pop music, or rock classics, the chief choreographer for Shadowbox Live! heard the notes but saw movement.

“I was well into my 20s before it dawned on me not everybody hears music and visualizes dance,” Psenicka said. “I thought that was just the way it was. Once I connected those dots, I thought, ‘Maybe I should pursue this (avenue) a little bit more.’”

One of Psenicka’s visions comes to life Oct. 3-Nov. 17 when SBX brings SLEEPY HOLLOW to their stage (503 S. Front Street in downtown Columbus).

SLEEPY HOLLOW, Psenicka’s adaptation of Washington Irving’s short story, is a Shadowbox team effort. The troupe’s producing director Julie Klein produces the show, head writer Jimmy Mak collaborated on the script and SBX music director Matt Hahn composed three pieces of original music for it.

“We’re so excited to present our version of and spin on this classic and even more excited we can present it during the fall, Halloween season,” Klein said. “Katy’s concept has been years in the making and it’s truly been a team effort from all departments -- dance, acting, band, vocals, costumes, lighting, video, and sound design -- to bring it to life.”

Psenicka is glad to see her ideas go from the drawing room to the stage.

“I thought SLEEPY HOLLOW would be kind of a cool show … if we could get it in the right season and have the right kind of talent on staff to tackle a project like that,” Psenicka said.

Psenicka’s concept involves telling Irving’s tale from the prospective of Katrina Van Tassel (played by Riley Mak). Klein serves as the show’s narrator. Members of Van Tassel’s family include her father Baltus (Tom Cardinal) and her mother Rachel (Stacie Boord).

Katrina is pursued by Brom (Robbie Nance), a handsome young man who is smitten with Katrina while Katrina has her eyes set on Ichabod Crane (Nicholas Wilson), a new teacher in town. Other members of the cast include Andy Ankrom (Preacher), Michelle Daniels (Mary), Leah Haviland (Rosalind), Amy Lay (Abigail), Jimmy Mak (Theodore), Nyla Nyamweya (Prudence), Emily O'Regan as (Charlotte/Headless Horseman), and David Whitehouse (Clement).

As a choreographer, Psenicka likes to “push the envelope,” working with bungee cords and harnesses as a part of the dance portion of the show.

Musically, outside of Hahn’s instrumentals, the show draws from a large canvas of rock tunes, including Tori Amo’s “Precious Things,” The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” and The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black.”

When she is sketching out a musical, Psenicka can start with as many as 100 songs and slowly pare down the list to 50. Often cast members will throw out suggestions for tunes.

“Some of the songs are exactly the way they are performed by the original artist,” Psenicka said. “A lot of them are different versions of the original songs but they’re very recognizable.

“If we stage it correctly, choose the right music and the choreography is clean and clear, I know we can touch the audience the same way the story has touched me.”

Taking a new angle on a well-known story is familiar territory for Psenicka, who also put together shows, VAMPIRES, NO RETURN: THE DEADLY DANCE OF BONNIE AND CLYDE, BROKEN WHISPERS (a gender-bending adaptation of THE GREAT GATSBY), MADNESS AND LUST (which was based on WUTHERING HEIGHTS), and DESIRE (a dance show about literary couples, Romeo and Juliet, Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, and, naturally, Morticia and Gomez from THE ADDAMS FAMILY).

‘I'm fascinated by the human experience,” Psenicka said. “When I'm reading a story or about a moment in history, I think about the unsung heroes and the secondary characters who might be in that story.

“There are always so many fascinating parts. I consider what part can I breathe life into? And that's kind of where the adaptation part comes in.”

When she was doing research for DESIRE, the choreographer stumbled into Ichabod and Katrina, a story she read in high school. There’s a certain darkness that comes with SLEEPY HOLLOW. Psenicka, who called the Irving’s story “America’s ghost story,” says the darker elements of the story is what drew her to the project.

“I see beauty in destruction, whether it's self-destruction or destruction of a relationship. It’s also a shared human experience,” she said.

“I like to push that aspect in stories. I'm not going for the heavy drama or depressing stories, but I do look for those moments that pull the heartstrings because people identify with that.”

Photo credit: Buzz Crisafulli

 

 

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