Rehearsal Director and Superheroine - All in a Day's Work

Stacie Strong | Jun 23, 2008 | 2

Kendra Jorstad, Rehearsal Director and resident superheroine of Chicago Tap Theatre. Photo by Josh Hawkins.

Just what does a rehearsal director do?  It's always seemed to me that people in those positions were somehow considered "super" dancers, changing from Clark Kent (aka, average company member) to take-charge, super-powered superhero with just a change of costume.  Actually, there's someone who does both roles, with grace, ease and mountains of tap talent.  Kendra Jorstad, rehearsal director of Chicago Tap Theatre, talks to us about her dual roles in the company, which can - on occasion - include some powerful dancing in shiny yellow go-go boots.

Kendra Jorstad started her dance training when she was three years old because she would constantly walk around on her toes and her Polish grandmother was convinced she was meant to be a dancer.  When Kendra was eight, she went to a performance of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and was well and truly hooked.  From then on, all she wanted to be was a professional dancer.  After high school, Kendra attended Point Park College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (now Point Park University) and graduated in three years to pursue a dance career back in her home town of Chicago.  Kendra has danced in several professional companies but is now a tap specialist with Chicago Tap Theatre, and has risen to one of the most important positions in a dance company - rehearsal director.  She's generously given us a bit of her time, even though she's very busy preparing for the leading role in CTT's upcoming superhero comic book tap opera, "The Hourglass and the Poisoned Pen," which opens on June 27.

SS:  Thanks for joining us!  I guess the first question is how you got involved with Chicago Tap Theatre.  Were you in any other professional companies before that?

KJ:  Upon college graduation I auditioned for many companies and continued to take class in Chicago as I had done every summer. I received an apprenticeship with the Joel Hall Dancers (2001-2002). It was a great introduction to the dance world as they have such a broad range of dancers. I spent one season with them and then began dancing with Rasa Dance Theatre, a contemporary/jazz company. I spent two seasons with Rasa (2002-2004). I met Mark [Yonally, the Artistic Director of Chicago Tap Theatre] the summer after I graduated from college. I was taking class from him regularly, and he had asked for contact information because he was considering starting a company. I didn't hear from him for months so it seemed that he had changed his mind. Then in January of the following year (2002), I got THE call... and I say THE call because you always hear stories of dancers who get a random call to join a company. It was a very exciting moment for me because tap dancing was always my first love.

SS:  When did you become rehearsal director?
KJ:  I am actually the third rehearsal director of CTT. I became rehearsal director in fall of 2003.

SS:  How does someone get to be a rehearsal director?
KJ:  The way we do it at CTT is that Mark appoints a dancer to the position. I believe he asked me based on my memory of footwork and my leadership role in the company. It was a difficult transition from dancer to rehearsal director. The prior rehearsal directors didn't have the best standing with the dancers, and I didn't want to be in a position where I would ultimately lose respect. It is a much different experience to evaluate and critique your peers. I wanted to do it because I felt I could help "clean up" the company in terms of uniformity. I have a very precise eye, and I'm pretty certain my mind works in rhythms.

SS:  What does a rehearsal director do?
KJ:  I'm actually not sure if my role as CTT rehearsal director is typical of a rehearsal director. My other company experiences were slightly different. In CTT, I have many roles. One of my roles is to be picky with choreography so that we are always puttting our best possible work on stage. I also lead rehearsals and company classes when Mark is out of town. I help Mark with tech rehearsals, and I am also a brain to bounce ideas off.

SS:  How do you remember all that choreography?
KJ:  I have always had a great memory for choreography. Even in my younger years, when I was 3-4 years old, the teachers would put me in the center because I could remember. I recall one dance where our teacher had to dance with us and wear a large duck head (the song was Disco Duck), and I had to yell out the steps because no one in my class could remember the dance.

SS:  What's the best way to pick up choreography quickly and retain it?
KJ:  I think it's important to stay present when you're learning. Sometimes I see students drop one step and then they are completely lost and frustrated. If you can't get a step, skip that step and keep learning the rest. It's always better to have most of the work and come back to fill in the pieces later. My advice for retaining choreography is to try to put it all in a large piece in your memory. I feel as if the minute I separate a step from the larger piece I lose parts of the choreography. It often makes more sense if you can keep it whole.

SS: What kind of input do you have in the company's creative process, if any? Is that typical of a rehearsal director?
KJ:  I feel as if Mark allows me to give a lot of creative input, which is one of the things I love about Chicago Tap Theatre. I have a large role in casting pieces and resetting repertory works. I am encouraged to give feedback when rehearsing shows and producing new sections. Again, I'm not sure if this is typical of a rehearsal director.

SS: As rehearsal director, what role do you play in choosing new company members?
KJ:  Mark and I run the auditions together right after we close our season.  This year's audition is August 10, 2008.  We usually each teach a section so that the other can watch how dancers learn and respond to the choreography and to each other. It's very important to us to not only have a fantastic technical dancer but one that melds with the personalities in CTT. Mark and I are also constantly striving to improve the company; that does sometimes mean cancelling a dancer's contract. These decisions are discussed between the two of us, and if it is necessary we handle it together.

SS:  As rehearsal director, are you automatically in every piece?  
KJ:  Of course not. I do learn all the pieces though. I wouldn't be able to improve a piece that I didn't know. Part of my job is to keep all pieces sounding exact, and it would be difficult to do without knowing the choreography.

SS:  You're also the lead in this year's story show, "The Hourglass and the Poisoned Pen."  (for more on CTT story shows, see http://www.danceruniverse.com/stories/issues/200805/MA20-On-the-record/).  What's that like?
KJ:  It's a blast. The opportunity to act while tap dancing is what makes this company unique.

SS: Do you find it hard or easy to act and use props while dancing?
KJ:  When the company first started doing story shows/tap operas it was very tricky. It was not something I had ever dabbled in before. Now it seems like second nature, and many of our rep pieces have even become stories in themselves.

SS:  Any advice for people who are moving into doing that kind of performing?
KJ:  You have to know who your character is. She/he has to have a background. You have to know what she ate for dinner. You need to know where she might shop, what she does for fun, what books she reads. Once you can decipher exactly who this person is, your character becomes much clearer in your head and the acting is much more natural.

SS:  From what I hear, it's a longish show.  How do you keep your stamina up to dance that long?
KJ:  Just like with any athlete, we have trained ourselves to be at this caliber. The audience response also plays a part in our endurance... the more excited they are, the more energy we have!!

SS:  What's the hardest thing that you have to do in Hourglass?  
KJ:  The hardest thing without a doubt is dancing in yellow go-go boots. I somehow escaped wearing high heel tap shoes at any point in my life so to wear these high heel boots is a whole new experience in tapping. The easiest thing is getting on that stage every night. I live my life to perform so to get out there night after night is invigorating. The most rewarding thing is getting audience feedback. I love to read the critics' reviews... whether good or bad. I love to hear what people like and don't like. And most of all I love to be that role model... when the youngest audience members look at you like you're a goddess, it makes everything worth it!

And that's it!  Many thanks to Kendra for taking the time to answer these questions.  You can catch her - and the entire Chicago Tap Theatre crowd - every Friday, Saturday and Sunday between June 27 and July 20, 2008 (except July 4) at Chicago's Athenaeum Theatre.  They'll also be in New York for the New York Musical Theatre Festival in late September (somewhere around the 25-27).  Details of these and other performances - and of auditions for the company, which are on August 10, 2008 - can be found on www.chicagotaptheatre.com.

Print Email Link

• Share
  • add to facebook
  • add to del.icio.us
  • add to digg
  • add to yahoo
  • related at technorati

Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Tap, Modern, Broadway, Teacher, Enthusiast, Parent, Studio, Performance (all tags)