Korzo UP - De nieuwsbrief die je wél wilt lezen

In onze nieuwe nieuwsbrief Korzo UP vind je elke maand een interview met een andere creatieve maker, boordevol inzichten en tips over kunst, cultuur, wetenschap en natuur. 

In deze editie -en voor één keer in het Engels- onze circusmaker Michael Zandl over situationele humor, hout en Rare Bird.

Meet Michael Zandl:

This Austrian circus creator and artist is leaving Korzo as one of our house makers this coming September. In this interview he talks about what he does when getting too absorbed in work or the state of the world, how music colors his world, and the power of situational humor.

When we catch Michael…
He’s in the middle of preparing for a residency in Belgium after being sick for a couple of days. This will be the 9th (!) residency he does for his upcoming creation FOOD, which invites us into a bizarre world of consumption where the act of eating is at its center point. 

We have come to know Michael as someone versatile who challenges himself in various ways and, together with his co-creators, strives for something extraordinary. But making something extraordinary can be tough. And how do you cope with the state of the world at the same time?

“So close to our premiere, I’m really absorbed by the process and it’s kind of distracting me from all that’s happening around me. It’s extreme,” he says.

Do you think the world is in a dark place right now?
“I believe there are definitely many ‘dark places’ in the world right now, but I would not describe the entire world as dark. I feel we are at the moment confronted with a lot of situations that cause immense suffering and misery for people, and I think it is very important not to look away. I find it super interesting to follow what is happening in the world, but I often get the feeling that our media contributes to drawing a rather negative and extreme picture of the world that makes it easy for us to overlook the good things that are happening. In the book Factfulness by the Swedish professor of international health -Hans Rosling- they elaborate more on how the world is better than you think.”

When work serves as a distraction, what helps you not get too absorbed in it?
“I really like to be in my wood workshop where I started woodturning a while ago. It is very satisfying for me to create something with my hands. I also build all props and décor for my performances myself. For me this is a crucial and probably the most joyful part of the creation process. The reward of holding something in your hand after a day of work is something I miss when working in the rehearsal studio. It never feels really finished. When your work is tangible, it seems somehow more present.”

The workshop may offer him distraction and satisfaction, but ideas rarely stop at the woodshop door. Inspiration sneaks in from many places: art, film, music.

Where did the inspiration for FOOD begin? 
“I take most inspiration from art that is visual, as I find it easier to translate into performances. Especially seeing live performances and watching movies often spark ideas in me. For example, the movie La Grande Bouffe planted the first seed for creating FOOD.
I also take a lot of inspiration from music. Especially when working on ideas for scenes I often start with finding the right soundscape for it. This really helps me to visualize ideas. I actually have a song that has accompanied me throughout my life called Sympathy by Rare Bird.  We used to sing it in another creation that featured a playful scene with disassembled puppets lying around - a surreal and humorous picture. Very often I find myself in situations where the song comes up in my head.
Music colors so much of how you feel and experience things and situations. It has a great power to change your mood instantly, jumping from one emotion to the other. I enjoy making different playlists as a way to add color to my everyday life: for when I’m heading to work, doing grocery shopping, or waiting for a flight at the airport watching people pass by.”

Humor seems to play a big part in your life and in your performances as well. How come and how can humor be helpful in life in general? 
“I think I have that from my family. Everybody tries to be funny all the time and my grandfather once told me that he grew up in a tavern, and from an early age he learned that you can go far in life when you share humor and bring a smile to someone’s face. This sentence somehow really stuck with me. When I can make other people laugh on or off stage it’s the most beautiful feeling to me. I find it an extremely honest response and that has a high value for me. I also think that humor can be used as a powerful tool to open up an audience to the story you want to tell them.
As I find good humor is often based on situations that happen in the moment, it is quite a challenge to recreate these situations on stage. A scene, for example, that I enjoy playing a lot is the opening of our previous performance Sawdust Symphony, where I sit down on a self-made chair that slowly breaks down. Since the wood is always cracking and breaking in different ways, each show creates slightly new and unpredictable situations for me to react to. Like the famous clown Avner Eisenberg once said: ‘People think they have to do something interesting when being on stage, but very often you just have to be interested in what is happening, observe it and react to it.´

I think I will make many different shows in the future, but humor will always be a part of them.”

FOOD is premiering at Korzo on September 26 during Cirque Mania Festival. There are still some tickets left.