Performer shifts to directing in Footloose
Lisa Marie Baldwin is putting her stamp on the Saskatoon Summer Players’ upcoming production of Footloose: The Musical — but she is preserving the beloved “Footloose shuffle” performed at the end of the namesake movie on which the musical is based.
“It was that moment where we wanted to do something unique, but if we don’t have that, is it Footloose? Is it still Footloose if we don’t do that? So, it’s there. I think people would be disappointed if it weren’t,” she said.
Because it’s based on the 1984 film, she’s heard a bit of excitement for the musical, which runs Nov. 7-11 at the Broadway Theatre. It’s her first opportunity to direct after years as a performer.
“It’s hard in the sense that the musical is very different from the movie,” she said. “The movie is so iconic. Translating something cinematography-oriented and putting it in a live theatre experience is always tricky, because you can’t do a lot of the same things that you do in a movie.”
The musical, like the movie, tells the story of Ren, a teenage newcomer to a small town where dancing is banned by the local preacher. Ren and the preacher’s daughter, Ariel, fall for each other, but Ren draws the ire of Reverend Moore. It was adapted for stage in 1998 by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, with music by Tom Snow.
In preparation, Baldwin rewatched the 1984 film, which she first saw as a child, just to get excited. She resisted the urge to watch video clips of performances of the musical on Youtube, she said. Otherwise, she asked herself what she’d like to see and how she’d like it to feel. That process led her to incorporate elements of cinematography into her interpretation.
“A big part of my concept is using the projector at the Broadway Theatre and having an image that looks very realistic, if not abstract but photo-realistic (so) that it brings you to a heightened level of aesthetic and yet have realistic action like a play happening in front of that, so you’re kind of mixing two media together,” she said.
She’s also brought an element of fantasy to the musical numbers: the characters will still be in real time, but through effects like lighting, she’s aiming for a feel of heightened reality.
Baldwin, who hasn’t coached or directed before, said she’s excited and terrified.
She’s also enjoying directing so much — to an extent, more than performing — that when she speaks of performing in the future, she says “if ” not “when.” She sees it as an opportunity to put other people first.
“It’s taken direction in a different way than I’ve experienced it in some cases, where it’s about realizing that vision. I know that is the job and I do want the vision to be realized. But there is a part of me that is so bent on making sure that everybody has a good experience and they grow through it and they experience the emotion of the show.”