Terri Baker has worked for Cirque du Soleil as the artistic director on various shows across the world since 2008. She is currently on tour with Kooza, which runs at the Royal Albert Hall next month…
Q. How long have you been working on Kooza?
I joined the tour in February in Munich, so I’ve been working through since then; but the show itself has been on the road for seven years now. We’ve still got several members that were part of the original creation team that mounted the show in Montreal, where the Cirque du Soleil headquarters are. I love talking to them, they’ve got such great stories.
Q. Have you always been a director?
I worked as a stage manager next to Paul Kerryson at the Haymarket in Leicester for four years after I graduated. I was working on these amazing new creations that would often go into the West End or on to tours, so I was very lucky. All of a sudden I realised that I was second-guessing what a director was thinking, and my scenarios and explanations in my head were very similar to what they were coming out with and I felt I could do this. Back in 1998, I assisted Mark Clements on The Glass Menagerie, and took it out on tour and cast the understudies. That was the first moment when I realised I could really do this, and then I was just like a sponge – I wanted more and more. I dipped in and out and did some more assistant director roles, and then in 2008 I was approached by Cirque du Soleil.
Q. Is it a challenge to keep the show feeling fresh when it runs for such a long time?
It is, but it’s so unique in that it constantly evolves and moves on, because it has to. There are artists who come in and out, so when we bring in a new act they will have to work within the concept of the show, but it allows you the creativity as a director to restage a section. I did many shows in the UK, and I found that the long-running shows can feel quite static, and once the pace is set you don’t have that room for growth. Are audience reactions noticeably different wherever you go? Absolutely. Some audiences, like the Spanish, are very involved and very vocal, whereas in Poland, for example, it’s a different kind of feeling. Every city and country have a different feeling, and respond in different ways.
Q. Do you enjoy travelling so much?
The travel aspect is such a bonus, it really is the icing on the cake. Before I joined Kooza I spent four years at the Venetian in Macau on another Cirque show, which was amazing. When you’re in Asia you can go to so many countries within an hour’s flight. Being a part of Cirque du Soleil has meant I have been able to do so many great things. A while ago we were invited to perform at Elton John’s home – that’s definitely something I didn’t think I’d be doing.
{ SOURCE: The Stage | http://goo.gl/Res4EE }
