Successful People from Our Neighborhood - Alisa Walton, Artistic Director of Crow's Feet Theater
People come into our lives for reason, for season or for a lifetime. Is this a cliche or just a simple truth of life, that is being cited so often simply because it does not need to be proven? Some people come into our lives so easily, naturally and change completely our perception of the world, our values and the whole philosophy of life. And days or may be months later, suddenly we feel horrified: what if?, what if that day we would have chosen a different path? what if we would have never met? And learn to appreciate with the new overwhelming strength what was meant for us from the above.
It is a honor to announce my Tuesday guest - Alisa Walton, Artistic Director of Crow's Feet Physical Theater, Educational Director of Circus School Lab le Jeu, caring mother of two, dramatic actress and sad clown.
Before we proceed with our interview, I would like to bring your attention to what actually preceded the dialogue - rehearsal. We were invited and were deeply shocked, in a good way. Rehearsal involves interrogation scene during World War 2. Alisa explains and answers a lot of unspoken questions in the conversation below.
Alisa, where are you originally from and when did you come to Toronto!
I was born in Canada, in Quebec, Trois Riviere.
So you are fully bilingual, or tri-lingual, cause you speak Russian too.
Yes, I speak some Russian, enough to get by, and I speak Spanish, so I speak 3 languages.
What or who gave you an idea of becoming an actress?
I came to Toronto when I was about 19. I had to stop dancing professionally because of an injury. ( I thought I had stopped dancing, in the end I continued for a long time, and I still dance…)
so I went off to University in a concurrent Teachers college course.
I was taking a Theater class and the Prof suggested that maybe I was in the wrong stream. I ended circuitously finding a Conservatory Theater Program. It was a perfect fit for me, because it was a le Coq based program, so all things (le jeu) came from the body first.
We never once took a single note. We were on our feet for the whole year!
Within a few years of graduating I had already toured a theater production, produced a dance festival, shot a short film and found myself on the set of an award winning children’s show called POLKA DOT SHORTS, which I stayed on for eight years.
What was your dream job as a child?.
As a little girl I wrote down on my kindergarten “what will you be when you grow up?” paper that I wanted to be a nurse. I also drew myself as a blonde princess in a long dress in kindergarten. “ I have a GREAT imagination. Nurse, no way. Princess, not really.
What was your first job?
When I was about 13, and away at boarding school for ballet, I would come home for summers. It came time that I would start to wear pointe shoes, and not only are they expensive but they don’t last very long.
My father took a walk to the local grocery store an arranged a job for me. He came home and informed me that I would be paying for my own shoes from now on. So I was a cashier at a local IGA. I learned a lot from the women there, and I am quite grateful to my dad who showed me that having my own money and investing in my own career was important.
When my parents encouraged me to quit dancing and go to University (which was a mistake) I reminded myself that I could invest in myself and my career by working through theater school, which I did…
What was your worst job?
My worst real world jobs were working in an Italian bakery where the owner would chase me around with a broom if I did something she thought was wrong…and then there was the Brunswick House. Oh boy, I lasted at the Brunny about three weeks.
My worst media job was modeling for a print ad for Lysol. I turned up on set a bit windblown, apologized for my appearance (knowing I was going into Hair and makeup anyway), and the Make-Up Artist said “it’s ok, you’re the ugly mom in the background anyway” I was all washed up at 34!
What is your position now?
Now I have a couple of jobs, and all of them connect.
I had a few serious bone breaks and dislocations, and started doing Pilates when I was 30. AS soon as I started I knew it would change my life, so I stopped waitressing between gigs and started teaching Pilates. I’m going into my 14th year. I’m currently Artistic Director of Crow’s Feet Physical Theater which is a company of performing artists who are over the age of 40. Members of the company are members according to what show we are doing, so we are always looking for seasoned professional talent. I think here it’s important to mention that I didn't start this company because I was nostalgic about my past achievements. I started it because there is a wealth of talent in the age range of 40 to 70 plus in this country, and our media “system” has retired these people way too early. I have performer friends all over the world, most of them older-some much older than me, who are still working and who are very well respected as Artists. When you watch the video of our most recent rehearsal, you may notice how physically accomplished we are, but I would also encourage you to notice that our performances are informed by real emotion, a seasoned sense of timing, and a real fearlessness to play hard, no matter what the subject matter. With age comes all of this. As a young performer I was not able to play without fear and with so much investment. You only have to look as far as the Nederlands to see that they have for instance three companies attached to Nederlands Dans Theater and the most well attended shows are those of Nederlands Dans Theater 3, Artists of the company who have been working for over 30 years. Closer to home you may be interested to know that Cirque du Soleil only hires a lead clowns people who have been working as actors or clowns into their 40’s and beyond. I have managed a circus tent as a ringmaster, and I can tell you, it takes a lot of skill to actually pull the strings of an audience that large.
I’m the Education Director of the School Lab Le Jeu, which is a training facility in extremely physical theatrical forms, including circus, but also theater, physical theater, and for small kids creative movement.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Staying in shape enough to create the imagery I see in my head, and having the wisdom and discipline to pare it down and stretch my imagination to recreate the image if it isn't physically possible.
It must be emotionally exhausting too?
I was raised and trained to manage the emotions the way you can manage the physical vocabulary. Invest fully, but be realistic, it is acting after all. I very rarely slip into the trap of bringing the emotions home they way they occur on stage. This show has been a bit brutal because of the subject matter. Sometimes I find myself very sad, but there’s nothing actually “wrong”. And then I remember I spent the evening watching footage of Bergen Belsen….
What is the Story behind Defiant Requiem?
The show is an original work, based on the history death of four characters that are murdered in Thieresenstadt Concentration Camp
(TEREZIN) This camp was a place that Nazis put Artists and lead academics of the Jewish community in Eastern Europe.
These are four Jewish Circus performers who meet up after death in Mezi (purgatory). They have to face their own deaths, and each other before they move on.
What you see in the beautiful video you created from our rehearsal takes place AFTER death. We decided to use the bungee and harness to elevate the imagery in the interrogation scene because I was discovering that the real brutality of playing a beating was too harsh for anyone to watch. And of course you need people to watch to be able to send the message. The technique behind this bungee scene is very much pioneered by us, we are experimenting to make the images happen, and it does serve the purpose of hooking viewers visually.
Ginette Mohr, our Director, has been an invaluable part of keeping this exploration and experiment going. She very much shares my work ethic, which is that we will not go to production until every stone has been turned.
Do you have any other hobbies?
I crochet. NO JUST KIDDING!!!! I love photography, and I've been using my “eye” for many years to capture imagery of various well know clowns in compromising or dark situations. The project is called “Every Clown has a Dark Side”. I interview the performer, or get to know them, then grab something from the conversation and translate it into an image which we then recreate theatrically. I shoot he Performer as their dark side. So for instance I shot Rob Mills as Samson getting his hair cut and his eyes poked out in a hair salon….cucumbers on his eyes and everything!!!!
I really want to send this message strongly, the kind of clowning I’m talking about is quite European. I’m not talking about the therapeutic approach that has become popular since the seventies here in Toronto.
A good clown who touches people is precision disciplined with the imagination, has excellent physical technique, and has enough theatrical experience and training to play dark even more strongly than light. Period. If you don’t have this strong underbelly, you cannot play the other. There is and never should be anything therapeutic about training a clown. Most people’s experience of clowns is more distinctly an experience of a funny character in a funny costume. I’m not interested in this kind of performance. Even my children have walked out of circus shows because they recognize what touches them, and what does not.
Alisa, do you like to travel?
I love to travel! I just came from Paris, France recently. I am going to Austria to present at International Conference on Physical Theater, I will be teacher and speaker, will be staying g in a castle with my children. And with this show I am quite hopeful we will travel to Israel first.
What is success to you?
Success for me is just having the opportunity to work. I’ve had big success in terms of the television works, and it was lovely, it is always nice if you are stopped on the street or in the gym and asked for an autograph and would never ever down play it. But as we grow more mature, I think the opportunity to create the original work is what feeds this art.
You are saying the scene between you and Mark is very dark but I see a lot of hope in it….
THANK YOU! You are exactly the reason we open our rehearsals to the
public from time to time, because as part of the process of staying disciplined, we need feedback to hash through difficult moments. This piece has the potential to also find moments of hope, and this is a concept very difficult to make real theatrically without becoming precious. I think in this show we resurrect the question that so many Jews asked of God when they were imprisoned. Why. WE are supposed to be the chosen people. It boils down to a simple why. I also think it would be absolutely wrong to answer that question in the show.
Alisa, do you have a funny story to share?
One time, I was ring mastering for a circus, and I was standing on a platform, about 50 feet above a crowd who were standing below. I was rigged to a harness, and attached to a wire that was attached to a barrel underneath me, operated by a guy. A spotlight came up on me; I smiled, and prepared myself for my terribly dramatic descent down the wire and over the crowd. Except that nothing happened. I kept smiling, and gesturing dramatically….and…..nothing happened. I reached back to touch the wire behind me to find that it was slack, not tight, meaning the GUY was turning the barrel the wrong way!, I had to make a choice but quick, so I just stepped off the platform (not smart at all…you see with age comes wisdom) I went rocking back and forth in space, totally ungraceful, until the GUY realized what was happening…and he pulled me up! Actually no one in that audience was laughing, they happened to be mostly scientists and I’m sure the physics of the rig did not go un noticed. More funny though is that I returned home that evening not feeling particularly well. I chalked it up to the wobbly moments up in the sky, but as it turns out I was pregnant with my first child. (The kid in question is not a risk taker at all, by the way!!!!!!)
Is there a professional message?
Don’t jump off platforms.
Also, if the work you are producing does not have meaning to the audience who has paid money to see it, you should re-think it. I was very lucky to work in television shows that were produced with integrity, but THEATRE gives us an opportunity to touch people LIVE.
After 25 years of performing, I allow myself the luxury of taking my time. Ginette and I are also very demanding of ourselves when it comes to the work. WE are ruthlessly committed to finding the right people and the kernel of truth for every moment.
What is home for you Alisa?
Home is anywhere I can get a really great sleep. I have moved around a lot. Sometimes sleep is elusive. FORTUNATELY my children keep me grounded to a place right now, but I am keenly aware that they, like me, will choose a path, and I really hope they embrace it with the passion I embraced mine. This usually means that at some point they leave home…so …for now, I define home as the place where I can enjoy my children while they are young, and where I can sleep!
Thank you so much, Alisa! There is not way I can possibly add up to this, so I will depart quietly.....
More articles about Alisa Walton
Wikipedia about Alisa Walton
Elliot Moose (TV Series)
Polka Dot Shorts (TV Series)
Compliments of Marina Gavrylyuk
Real Estate Agent with Sutton Group Summit Realty
www.MarinaG.ca
More Success Stories:
Yuri Olhovsky, Home Inspector
Ron Balagtas, Real Estate Investment Advisor
Kendra Edmondson, Marketing Coordinator
Dr. Grace Mankowski, Chiropractor
Bill Zufelt - Director and Founder of Sherway Music Academy
Alejandro and Renata Pereira - Taekwondo Instructors
Dmitry Dovnar - IT-professional
Andrew Heron, Sign Market - Business Owner
Erika-Leigh Howard (Stirton) - Rhythmic Gymnast
Chris Chapin, Vice President at Mutual Transportation
Danuta Smiehowski - Head Coach of Olympium Rhythmic Gymnastics Club
Lisa D'Avino - Mortgage Broker
Matin Saliev - Chef
Yevgen Aleksyeyenko - Truck Driver, Owner Operator
Successful people
It is a honor to announce my Tuesday guest - Alisa Walton, Artistic Director of Crow's Feet Physical Theater, Educational Director of Circus School Lab le Jeu, caring mother of two, dramatic actress and sad clown.
Before we proceed with our interview, I would like to bring your attention to what actually preceded the dialogue - rehearsal. We were invited and were deeply shocked, in a good way. Rehearsal involves interrogation scene during World War 2. Alisa explains and answers a lot of unspoken questions in the conversation below.
Click to viewAlisa, where are you originally from and when did you come to Toronto!
I was born in Canada, in Quebec, Trois Riviere.
So you are fully bilingual, or tri-lingual, cause you speak Russian too.
Yes, I speak some Russian, enough to get by, and I speak Spanish, so I speak 3 languages.
What or who gave you an idea of becoming an actress?
I came to Toronto when I was about 19. I had to stop dancing professionally because of an injury. ( I thought I had stopped dancing, in the end I continued for a long time, and I still dance…)
so I went off to University in a concurrent Teachers college course.
I was taking a Theater class and the Prof suggested that maybe I was in the wrong stream. I ended circuitously finding a Conservatory Theater Program. It was a perfect fit for me, because it was a le Coq based program, so all things (le jeu) came from the body first.
We never once took a single note. We were on our feet for the whole year!
Within a few years of graduating I had already toured a theater production, produced a dance festival, shot a short film and found myself on the set of an award winning children’s show called POLKA DOT SHORTS, which I stayed on for eight years.
What was your dream job as a child?.
As a little girl I wrote down on my kindergarten “what will you be when you grow up?” paper that I wanted to be a nurse. I also drew myself as a blonde princess in a long dress in kindergarten. “ I have a GREAT imagination. Nurse, no way. Princess, not really.
What was your first job?
When I was about 13, and away at boarding school for ballet, I would come home for summers. It came time that I would start to wear pointe shoes, and not only are they expensive but they don’t last very long.
My father took a walk to the local grocery store an arranged a job for me. He came home and informed me that I would be paying for my own shoes from now on. So I was a cashier at a local IGA. I learned a lot from the women there, and I am quite grateful to my dad who showed me that having my own money and investing in my own career was important.
When my parents encouraged me to quit dancing and go to University (which was a mistake) I reminded myself that I could invest in myself and my career by working through theater school, which I did…
What was your worst job?
My worst real world jobs were working in an Italian bakery where the owner would chase me around with a broom if I did something she thought was wrong…and then there was the Brunswick House. Oh boy, I lasted at the Brunny about three weeks.
My worst media job was modeling for a print ad for Lysol. I turned up on set a bit windblown, apologized for my appearance (knowing I was going into Hair and makeup anyway), and the Make-Up Artist said “it’s ok, you’re the ugly mom in the background anyway” I was all washed up at 34!
What is your position now?
Now I have a couple of jobs, and all of them connect.
I had a few serious bone breaks and dislocations, and started doing Pilates when I was 30. AS soon as I started I knew it would change my life, so I stopped waitressing between gigs and started teaching Pilates. I’m going into my 14th year. I’m currently Artistic Director of Crow’s Feet Physical Theater which is a company of performing artists who are over the age of 40. Members of the company are members according to what show we are doing, so we are always looking for seasoned professional talent. I think here it’s important to mention that I didn't start this company because I was nostalgic about my past achievements. I started it because there is a wealth of talent in the age range of 40 to 70 plus in this country, and our media “system” has retired these people way too early. I have performer friends all over the world, most of them older-some much older than me, who are still working and who are very well respected as Artists. When you watch the video of our most recent rehearsal, you may notice how physically accomplished we are, but I would also encourage you to notice that our performances are informed by real emotion, a seasoned sense of timing, and a real fearlessness to play hard, no matter what the subject matter. With age comes all of this. As a young performer I was not able to play without fear and with so much investment. You only have to look as far as the Nederlands to see that they have for instance three companies attached to Nederlands Dans Theater and the most well attended shows are those of Nederlands Dans Theater 3, Artists of the company who have been working for over 30 years. Closer to home you may be interested to know that Cirque du Soleil only hires a lead clowns people who have been working as actors or clowns into their 40’s and beyond. I have managed a circus tent as a ringmaster, and I can tell you, it takes a lot of skill to actually pull the strings of an audience that large.
I’m the Education Director of the School Lab Le Jeu, which is a training facility in extremely physical theatrical forms, including circus, but also theater, physical theater, and for small kids creative movement.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Staying in shape enough to create the imagery I see in my head, and having the wisdom and discipline to pare it down and stretch my imagination to recreate the image if it isn't physically possible.
It must be emotionally exhausting too?
I was raised and trained to manage the emotions the way you can manage the physical vocabulary. Invest fully, but be realistic, it is acting after all. I very rarely slip into the trap of bringing the emotions home they way they occur on stage. This show has been a bit brutal because of the subject matter. Sometimes I find myself very sad, but there’s nothing actually “wrong”. And then I remember I spent the evening watching footage of Bergen Belsen….
What is the Story behind Defiant Requiem?
The show is an original work, based on the history death of four characters that are murdered in Thieresenstadt Concentration Camp
(TEREZIN) This camp was a place that Nazis put Artists and lead academics of the Jewish community in Eastern Europe.
These are four Jewish Circus performers who meet up after death in Mezi (purgatory). They have to face their own deaths, and each other before they move on.
What you see in the beautiful video you created from our rehearsal takes place AFTER death. We decided to use the bungee and harness to elevate the imagery in the interrogation scene because I was discovering that the real brutality of playing a beating was too harsh for anyone to watch. And of course you need people to watch to be able to send the message. The technique behind this bungee scene is very much pioneered by us, we are experimenting to make the images happen, and it does serve the purpose of hooking viewers visually.
Ginette Mohr, our Director, has been an invaluable part of keeping this exploration and experiment going. She very much shares my work ethic, which is that we will not go to production until every stone has been turned.
Do you have any other hobbies?
I crochet. NO JUST KIDDING!!!! I love photography, and I've been using my “eye” for many years to capture imagery of various well know clowns in compromising or dark situations. The project is called “Every Clown has a Dark Side”. I interview the performer, or get to know them, then grab something from the conversation and translate it into an image which we then recreate theatrically. I shoot he Performer as their dark side. So for instance I shot Rob Mills as Samson getting his hair cut and his eyes poked out in a hair salon….cucumbers on his eyes and everything!!!!
I really want to send this message strongly, the kind of clowning I’m talking about is quite European. I’m not talking about the therapeutic approach that has become popular since the seventies here in Toronto.
A good clown who touches people is precision disciplined with the imagination, has excellent physical technique, and has enough theatrical experience and training to play dark even more strongly than light. Period. If you don’t have this strong underbelly, you cannot play the other. There is and never should be anything therapeutic about training a clown. Most people’s experience of clowns is more distinctly an experience of a funny character in a funny costume. I’m not interested in this kind of performance. Even my children have walked out of circus shows because they recognize what touches them, and what does not.
Alisa, do you like to travel?
I love to travel! I just came from Paris, France recently. I am going to Austria to present at International Conference on Physical Theater, I will be teacher and speaker, will be staying g in a castle with my children. And with this show I am quite hopeful we will travel to Israel first.
What is success to you?
Success for me is just having the opportunity to work. I’ve had big success in terms of the television works, and it was lovely, it is always nice if you are stopped on the street or in the gym and asked for an autograph and would never ever down play it. But as we grow more mature, I think the opportunity to create the original work is what feeds this art.
You are saying the scene between you and Mark is very dark but I see a lot of hope in it….
THANK YOU! You are exactly the reason we open our rehearsals to the
public from time to time, because as part of the process of staying disciplined, we need feedback to hash through difficult moments. This piece has the potential to also find moments of hope, and this is a concept very difficult to make real theatrically without becoming precious. I think in this show we resurrect the question that so many Jews asked of God when they were imprisoned. Why. WE are supposed to be the chosen people. It boils down to a simple why. I also think it would be absolutely wrong to answer that question in the show.
Alisa, do you have a funny story to share?
One time, I was ring mastering for a circus, and I was standing on a platform, about 50 feet above a crowd who were standing below. I was rigged to a harness, and attached to a wire that was attached to a barrel underneath me, operated by a guy. A spotlight came up on me; I smiled, and prepared myself for my terribly dramatic descent down the wire and over the crowd. Except that nothing happened. I kept smiling, and gesturing dramatically….and…..nothing happened. I reached back to touch the wire behind me to find that it was slack, not tight, meaning the GUY was turning the barrel the wrong way!, I had to make a choice but quick, so I just stepped off the platform (not smart at all…you see with age comes wisdom) I went rocking back and forth in space, totally ungraceful, until the GUY realized what was happening…and he pulled me up! Actually no one in that audience was laughing, they happened to be mostly scientists and I’m sure the physics of the rig did not go un noticed. More funny though is that I returned home that evening not feeling particularly well. I chalked it up to the wobbly moments up in the sky, but as it turns out I was pregnant with my first child. (The kid in question is not a risk taker at all, by the way!!!!!!)
Is there a professional message?
Don’t jump off platforms.
Also, if the work you are producing does not have meaning to the audience who has paid money to see it, you should re-think it. I was very lucky to work in television shows that were produced with integrity, but THEATRE gives us an opportunity to touch people LIVE.
After 25 years of performing, I allow myself the luxury of taking my time. Ginette and I are also very demanding of ourselves when it comes to the work. WE are ruthlessly committed to finding the right people and the kernel of truth for every moment.
What is home for you Alisa?
Home is anywhere I can get a really great sleep. I have moved around a lot. Sometimes sleep is elusive. FORTUNATELY my children keep me grounded to a place right now, but I am keenly aware that they, like me, will choose a path, and I really hope they embrace it with the passion I embraced mine. This usually means that at some point they leave home…so …for now, I define home as the place where I can enjoy my children while they are young, and where I can sleep!
Thank you so much, Alisa! There is not way I can possibly add up to this, so I will depart quietly.....
More articles about Alisa Walton
Wikipedia about Alisa Walton
Elliot Moose (TV Series)
Polka Dot Shorts (TV Series)
Compliments of Marina Gavrylyuk
Real Estate Agent with Sutton Group Summit Realty
www.MarinaG.ca
More Success Stories:
Yuri Olhovsky, Home Inspector
Ron Balagtas, Real Estate Investment Advisor
Kendra Edmondson, Marketing Coordinator
Dr. Grace Mankowski, Chiropractor
Bill Zufelt - Director and Founder of Sherway Music Academy
Alejandro and Renata Pereira - Taekwondo Instructors
Dmitry Dovnar - IT-professional
Andrew Heron, Sign Market - Business Owner
Erika-Leigh Howard (Stirton) - Rhythmic Gymnast
Chris Chapin, Vice President at Mutual Transportation
Danuta Smiehowski - Head Coach of Olympium Rhythmic Gymnastics Club
Lisa D'Avino - Mortgage Broker
Matin Saliev - Chef
Yevgen Aleksyeyenko - Truck Driver, Owner Operator
Successful people