Michel Laprise loves big projects. The charming and whip-smart out director served as creative director for Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl halftime show and directed her “MDNA Tour.” More recent credits include writer/director of Cirque du Soleil’s latest touring show “KURIOS — Cabinet of Curiosities” soon to set up its distinctive Grand Chapiteau (Big Top) in Tysons Corner, Va.
Inspired by the Victorian era’s surge of invention and creativity and imbued with a “French steam punk” aesthetic, “Kurios” premiered in Montréal in April 2014 and is Cirque du Soleil’s 35th production. Like Cirque du Soleil’s other shows, “Kurios” reinvents circus by combining the basics — tent, clowns and acrobats — with sophistication and the artistic elements of theater.
Recently, Laprise shared thoughts with Patrick Folliard of the Washington Blade via phone from Montréal where he’s based about “Kurios,” Cirque du Soleil and Madonna, whom he calls M.
Q. For a lot of people, Cirque du Soleil’s innovative aspects have become familiar. Is the pressure to remain cutting edge massive?
Yes, but it’s a pressure we put on ourselves. I hear people say, “I’ve seen Cirque once. I don’t need to see it again.” For us it’s a mission to constantly reinvent ourselves. “Kurios” is different from other shows. The characters are real people in real clothes. The set itself is a laboratory that someone inhabits and not the abstract magical place like in our other shows.
Q. What led you to staging big productions? Did it happen by accident?
Well nothing happens by accident, only by passion. I’m a group person, so the bigger the project, the more people you get to play with. I’ve never looked at the obstacles, only the destination, which is to make people happy and storytelling. It’s like a big surprise party for a lot of people. When I joined Cirque 15 years ago to do casting, I styled auditions to be an intense two-day mini-workshop. Because most of the acrobats were not speaking English or French, I used my intuition to touch their talent and did my best to bring it out. Over the years, the artists who were cast encouraged me to direct. Eventually I told Cirque co-founder Guy Laliberté that I wanted to direct. Of course he wasn’t yet ready to give me a $30 million dollar project like “Kurios,” but he knew I came from theater and was a professional director so he made me special events designer. And eventually he allowed me to conceive and direct my show which was a longtime ambition of mine.
Q. What’s the inspiration behind “Kurios”?
My dream was to do a show where a character accesses a parallel world and brings poetry and imagination back to earth. We live in a world where we can do so much. I can ring Tokyo for free on Internet right now. Yet it’s a very complex time of scarcity for many people. I want to help people believe that everything is possible, because I think it is. And I want them to feel joy. The show is set in the latter half of the 19th century, a time of invention and innovation. Lots was happening — the railroad, telegraph, gramophone, electricity. Suddenly invisible energy was stimulating people’s imaginations. Not accidentally, it was also the golden age of magic and illusionists. Magicians were the rock stars of the era.
Q. Does being gay make you a better director?
I’ve always been gay so I don’t know any other way. But I do believe that going through the process of coming out to self and family and friends gives you a sense of compassion and allows you to appreciate diversity. And that I think makes for a better director. Of course I’m generalizing. There are assholes in every community. Within Cirque, same-sex couples are respected and celebrated. So being gay here isn’t an issue.
Q. Why especially should LGBT people come to see “Kurios?”
Critics and fans say this is Cirque’s best touring show in 10 years. It’s more theatrical than most of Cirque’s other productions and what’s more, there’s a rainbow and disco ball in the show. I don’t want to spoil the surprise of when they appear. There’s also a lot of love and inclusiveness in the show. The planets were well aligned when we created this show. And of course the acrobats and what they can do with their bodies is amazing. To reach their level skill, they begin training at age 5 and live a strictly disciplined lifestyle. They eat tiny bites of food throughout the day. Stretch a couple hours before every performance.
Q. I’d be doing our readers a disservice if I didn’t ask the next question.
You want to know whether or not I’m single?
Q. No. I’d like to hear about working with Madonna.
Before working with Madonna in 2012, I presented my ideas to her manager. He liked them so he took me to her. She appeared in the room. I told her my thoughts and she was smiling as I spoke. Then she asked me to listen to “Give Me All Your Luvin’” the first track of her then-new album “MDNA.” M’s hands were shaking a little bit as we listened. So I thought that if after 30 years she’s still nervous to show new work, then this is somebody who really cares about what they’re doing. I knew then that I wanted to work her. For the first week of rehearsals for “MDNA,” M hurt her ankle and broke her little finger. I asked to slow down pace. She said, “No Michel.” That’s the job. It’s like going to war with her. She thinks like an acrobat. Her work ethic is incredible. She’s also very demanding but it’s nothing I wouldn’t expect from a woman of that level. She never yelled at me. The only time she raised her voice during rehearsal was when the schedule wasn’t allowing her to see her kids. Despite the pressure on her, she was calm and focused with brilliant sense of humor. She teases me about my (French Canadian) accent which is less strong now than it was. I don’t do a lot of pop music shows, but I’d definitely like to work with her again. We stay in touch. She sent me flowers on my birthday.
Q. And are you single?
I am. But that might be changing. Some romance may be in the works, but that’s all I’ll say.
{ SOURCE: The Washinton Blade | http://goo.gl/SsQZyO }
