Lighter Than Air :: Shana Carroll Talks '7 Fingers' and 'Cuisine' on the Boston Stage

Shana Carroll, the co-founding artistic director of the Montreal-based circus group Les 7 Doigts de la Main, was at home when EDGE caught up with her recently for a phone interview, but she was soon to come to Boston, where Les 7 Doigts -- or, in English, The Seven Fingers -- are slated to perform their newest show, "Cuisine and Confessions," which Carroll, in our chat, referred to as a "food memoir show."

What does that mean, exactly? Text online offers a clue: "Food is so much more than plain sustenance," the show's description reads at ticketing outlet sites. "It forms some of our earliest memories, relationships and family stories. 'Cuisine and Confessions' takes this concept to an acrobatic new level, as the seven cast members recreate stories in the stage-based kitchen, whilst cooking real meals and offering them up to the audience!"

Boston audiences will no doubt recall the troupe from their earlier visitations, when they brought acclaimed shows such as the post-apocalyptic "Traces" to town, or stirred viewers with "S�quence 8," which explores the tensions between familiar and unknown, the self and other. Now Boston audiences will have the chance to sample the new show's feats (and treats) through the good graces of ArtsEmerson, during its four-week run at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, from July 12-August 7.

Les 7 Doigts de la Main was formed in 2002, with its name referring to the original seven co-founding members: Shana Carroll, Isabella Chass�, Patrick L�onard, Gypsy Snider, S�bastien Soldevila, Samuel T�treault, and Faon Shane. The troupe's //7doigts.com/website explains that the name "is a twist on a French idiom ('the five fingers of the hand') used to describe distinct parts united tightly, moving in coordination towards one common goal."

It's fitting, not just given the seven creative forces that formed the company but also for the acrobats they hire. Each show runs like human clockwork, a dazzling mesh of movement and story. Shana Carroll takes EDGE readers back to the beginning of this finely-tuned theatrical circus troupe.

EDGE: 'Les 7 Doigts du le Main' takes its name from the fact that there are seven co-founders to the group, of which you are one. What was the precipitating thought of impulse that decided you to form your own company?

Shana Carroll: Gosh, well, it was a series of things. Each of us had our own personal backstory as to why we, at that point in our careers, wanted to start a company and start becoming creators as well as performers.

I know for myself I had been with Cirque du Soleil for basically all of my 20s, performing and touring, and I had just turned 30, and I knew I wanted to start a company. [Creative partner] Gypsy [Snider] I had known since I was 14, and we had often talked about working together; my husband Seb [S�bastien Soldevila], has said one of the reasons we wanted to start the company was to make sure we would be able to stay together, because in this line of work it's hard sometimes with all the traveling. And Sam [T�treault] I went to circus school with; Isabelle [Chass�], with whom I was a previously on tour on Cirque du Soleil... basically, a group of people that, for various reasons, I knew I wanted to work with. And as I say, they had their own stories as well.

I think the main thing is, for most of us we knew we wanted to eventually create, direct, choreograph, and write shows ourselves, and that transitioning of going from being a performer to in a big company to doing your own shows -- the best way to do it was to start your own thing.

EDGE: Having worked with Cirque du Soleil before, and now having your own company, what would you say is thematically or philosophically your unique vision?

Shana Carroll: The very first thing we said, that continues to be true, was 'Circus at a human scale.' I mean, 'human scale' makes it like it's somehow small, but the focus is the human being within it. It is intimate and close up and all of that; but also there's a sense of theatricality that we're trying to portray very really people you feel you can identify with, and stories you feel you can identify with, that are close to home, and that you know the people on stage so when they in turn do extraordinary things and fly through the air, it's more an emotional experience, because you feel like that could be you or someone you know. I think that was one of the main founding principles.

Also, there are stylistic things that we wanted to [explore], aesthetic things, as well. We wanted to go in a more human direction and have things be stripped down more. At the time, there was a bit of a more contemporary approach as far as the style of movement, the style of theater, and trying to be a little more avant-garde but still trying to keep a lot of the joy and the entertainment factor.

EDGE: When you're sitting down to dream up a whole new show, are you thinking about what themes and elements you might not have used and want to, or what style of physical performance you'd like to try out? Where do you start?

Shana Carroll: It's interesting; each show is a bit different. In two of our shows we were ourselves the performers, and that was different from other shows that I have written, directed, or choreographed that have other performers in them.

We usually start with the cast -- a talented cast of multi-disciplinary artists is just key. Having that chemistry on stage, having the right balance of characters. Actors are trained to portray a role; circus people can be great actors if you can use them for their essence, so for the reason you want to make sure that the people are a balance of characters and energies in a way that you would write a show that was about the characters and their energy. We start with a cast of performers and then what we do is see how that interlocks with the themes that we're drawn to [for that show]. In 'S�quence 8' it was a theme of 'the other,' and how we're all interconnected -- mirroring and relationship; with 'Cuisine and Confessions' it's about food and the kitchen. In 'Traces' it was an apocalyptic, end-of-the-word scenario.

All of those stemmed from what we as creators felt like addressing at that time, but then we were inspired by the groups we were working with. We find where the intersection is with the group we're working with. Like, with 'Traces,' we had a very young, urban acrobatics sort of skateboarding, basketball playing, break-dancing style of movement, so it worked well to do this urban show in this bunker [setting]. We find where their energy and talent intersect with the stories we want to tell. It's organic, but also, on our side, [created] through a lot of brainstorming.

And a lot of improv when we start with the artists. With 'S�quence 8,' for instance, it was one of the shows I really wanted to start with a blank page -- I just felt a desire to get into a studio, make an improv and see what came out of it, what were the natural stories between them. I knew I came in wanting to do something that was a little more sensual and more emotional, so we made it based on their actual relationships. There are other shows, like this one, 'Cuisine and Confessions,' where the idea of the kitchen and the food came strongly from a conversation I was having with my husband, who is the co-director of the show, about having this flash of wanting to do a food memoir show, and then we sat down with the cast and figured out, okay, what are their stories? The material came from our work with them and our improv with them, and their storytelling, and all of that, but the theme came from our original flash.

EDGE: Does being married to your co-director and another founding member of the company mean that you find yourself talking about new ideas while you're in the car running errands or at home in the living room? Or do you try to keep your personal and professional lives separate?

Shana Carroll: Oh, no, no, we talk about it all the time. One of the reasons we choose to work together is, for both of us, the passion about our work - it's not work for us, in a way. It's something that's a pleasure, and when we're not working on the same project and talking about work, it's like, what would we have left to share? Because we're both so involved in what we do. In fact, some of our most exciting conversations are when we're in the car and we'll get an idea for a show, or we listen to a piece of music and we start talking -- 'What if we do it this way? What if we do it that way?' It's really a lot of fun, and I think we both have a lot of respect for each other, so it's really stimulating. When I hear his idea, I think it's really great.

Co-directing is sometimes hard when you're in the process, putting the pen to paper in a way or, in our case, bodies on stage. That's when you have different opinions about which direction to go in, or one of us is working on a piece and has a vision that's not quite there, and the other one is not sure if that will work - that's when we end up going home and having debates. Most of the time it's healthy and stimulating, and sometimes it's not and we're arguing about the show. That becomes another [facet of our marriage], like when you argue over your kids. One of you thinks that it's okay if your kid doesn't eat her broccoli tonight and it's better than to have a bad moment at the dinner table, and the other thinks if she doesn't eat her broccoli it might not be healthy -- so you're having a big argument that's essentially about [a situation in which] everyone has good intentions.

EDGE: And that sort of passion is going to lead to that creative friction.

Shana Carroll: Yes, that's true. It feels like in a way, often when we co-direct, there's a bit of this Mom and Dad feeling. With the cast, as well; they are used to that dynamic between us, which is kind of nice, because we can argue openly. I've done a lot of collaboration with other directors where you don't have a marriage or another kind of personal relationship, and you have to walk on eggshells to make sure you don't contradict them -- which is good and healthy. But in our case, the cast knows we're married and love each other, so if one of us says, 'No, that's a horrible idea!' in front of the cast, they know we're not being disrespectful.

EDGE: Has there been anything you wanted to being to the stage that was too difficult, technically or conceptually, and you haven't been able to do it?

Shana Carroll: Hmmm... well, I think there are a bunch of things that are in the trunk, ideas we haven't yet had a chance to use, from a very complex show I'd written, and we've used elements from it, but it was never really the moment to create the particular show that I'd written.

But as far as really trying to put something on the stage and then backing off? Not so much. There have been a few moments where -- actually, 'Cuisine and Confessions' is a good example where we certain crossroads where we thought, 'Gosh, will we be able to do this? Will we actually be able to cook onstage?' There was one text in the show that's really very dramatic, someone is telling a tragic story about his dad, and at first we thought it was too much. But we kept chipping away at it and finding the right tone to make it work. I think, for the most part, we move forward with out original ideas.

In 'Traces' there was this number we called 'Floor Drawing,' and it was really beautiful because of the choreography that was corresponding with them drawing with chalk on stage and they were physicalizing he drawings. We did it for hours in rehearsal. We didn't realize that, of course, in most theaters you can't see the floor that well! This number we thought would be so beautiful, we had to cut down. We tried to use video so that you could see the floor, but it wasn't the same. It ended up just being a short little flash. That's an example of, 'Oh gosh -- we didn't think this one through very well.'

EDGE: Save that for the movie version.

Shana Carroll: Yeah. Exactly!

EDGE: Earlier, you referenced the fact that you were a trapeze artist for twenty years, not just with Cirque du Soleil but also with Pickle Family Circus. What sorts of skills and lessons did you bring from the trapeze and in the air down to earth and everyday life? I'm imagining you ingrained lessons about timing, commitment, fearlessness...

Shana Carroll: My father is a columnist, and he once wrote a column about the "dead spot" in trapeze - that's where all the tricks happen, it's the spot where the trapeze changes direction and there's a moment when you're no longer being propelled in one direction or the other and you are weightless. He wrote this whole thing about applying trapeze philosophy to life.

But honestly, it comes down to [just a couple of things]. One is, when I started training in trapeze, I'd never really trained, I didn't come from an athletic background. I'd done theater, and I'd done other theater in school where, if you're a smart kid, you'll get good grades. But there was something about the aspect of training that gave the lesson that you just work. It's really just about putting the hours in and doing the training, and working and working and working. Yes, talent is a factor, but mostly it's the person who's training hardest [who is going to succeed].

That was an incredible lesson for me. For whatever reason, I grew up thinking it was about being smarter, or being talented, or being beautiful, or whatever it was, and -- yeah -- I loved that sense of, just put the hours in, show up at the studio and train, and you're going to learn to fly.

[Another is] I think there's definitely an element of fear and of having to conquer your fear on a daily basis. I often say this in interviews, but it is true that when you conquer fear -- even if it's just on a trapeze -

EDGE: 'Just on a trapeze!'

Shana Carroll: - and it's one little move -- that makes you more courageous in life in general, because you've proven something to your brain and your body that whatever limits you have set for yourself, you are able to surpass them. It made me psychologically stronger to get up there and prove to myself that I could do these things twenty feet in the air and conquer my fears. I have this whole very philosophical thing about striving toward the heavens, yet being drawn toward the earth, both working with gravity and against it... but maybe I won't go into that right now.

"Cuisine and Confessions" runs at the Cutler Majestic Theatre from July 12 - Aug. 7. For tickets and more information, please visit https://artsemerson.org/Online