Dana Lawton and Jennifer Kulbeck's 4-Year Collaboration Is Coming to Cowell Theatre

Berkeley-based Dana Lawton Dances has rescheduled its evening-length performance, The Farallonites, at The Cowell Theater at Fort Mason for the weekend of September 16-18. This multi-disciplinary enterprise was originally inspired by a poem from Jennifer Kulbeck about children being teathered to boulders as they played hide and seek in the dense fog in order to not accidentally fall into the ocean. It will feature original musical scores, ambient sounds, spoken word, and other stagecraft to palpably transport the audience to a place and time much different from our own.

A major part of the piece is about the dancers exploring the harsh physical conditions, repetitive labor, and isolation the families who lived on the Farallons and took care of the Lighthouse, endured. “Tasks such as collecting water and the arduous journey on a daily basis to climb the steep hill in order to get to the lighthouse will define the dance,” says Lawton. “Not to mention the labor involved with carrying heavy whale oil to keep the lamp itself lit, all while dealing with the elements, the water, the waves, birds and stars. Also the toll taken on their emotions by the isolation, the duty, and the boredom will come into play.”

We are collaborating with some fabulous artists to realize Dana Lawton Dance's upcoming production, and we want to highlight their amazing contributions, starting with Poet Jennifer Kulbeck. Jen’s poetry spawned the idea for this work and her contributions include an original collection of poetry and creative nonfiction exploring the physical and human geography of the Farallon Islands from 1849 through the turn of the century - all built from historical research and found text. Jen's voice will be part of the sound score, including poems and lines from the original collection as well as new work written during the collaborative process.

"off the rope"

he tethers his youngest children to boulders with braided rope around their waists
until they are old enough to know not to wander too close to the ledge. until they understand
the difference between the sea and the shore. because already the ocean has collected too many too young in the life of this lighthouse.

the older children boast that they are off the rope and yet how do they find balance or
certainty about the land and the sea. especially on this island. especially on the days when
the waves are six feet at six-second intervals and then twenty two feet at seven-second intervals.
 

the ocean surrounds them in daylight and dark. they are all tethered to the rock. they understand the difference between granite and fog. they ride the wind on their roller skates
and turn double dutch with the gulls.

Photo by Piro Patton

Lawton describes herself as “obsessed” with the Farallons and the lives that those who chose to live there led – and who in a way have become a muse. “What drew them to such inhospitable place as the Farallons? I think it was about practicality,” she says. “It was a job and a chance to have stability when the Bay Area was going crazy with the gold rush. And perhaps some thought of it as a higher duty to serve others as a way of meeting a need, but in Victorian times things were not very romanticized so there’s a good chance that it may well have been a ‘just what people do’ situation, all of which I find to be very compelling tells about tenacity, resilience and human nature.”

After the delay of two years, the piece feels more personal to Lawton and the dancers than ever. When asked if the pandemic that has made conceptions of isolation very much more real to everyone had changed her ideas about life on the Farallons, she responded: "No, it has confirmed them. Especially of the importance of ritual in everyday tasks, the fragility of life and the utter importance of tenacity."

The length of the postponement was much longer than Lawton and her crew anticipated. "Some might use the word 'interminable,” says Lawton. "But we loved dancing outside, especially at the beach, recreating water and waves, two distinct sections originally choreographed in the studio. Working with the element of water informed the movement in new ways, as did dancing in strong winds and the rain."

Ultimately The Farallonites is about the lighthouse and living in close quarters cut off from the rest of world on an otherworldly landscape surrounded by fog, water, diving birds and sharks.

In addition, the Cowell Theater lobby will be transformed into a gallery exhibit of both historic and interpretive artifacts, with photographs, poetry, news clippings, and visual art enabling audiences to deepen their understanding of this fascinating aspect of San Francisco history and lore

We are very much looking forward to sharing this special work with you!

Dana Lawton
Associate Professor of Dance at Saint Mary's College
Artistic Director, Dana Lawton Dances