McLaren Remixed

FPS Magazine informs us about Norman, a new mixed-media stage production that combines the works of an animation legend with live performance. Created by 4D Art‘s Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon, the show is based around the life and work of National Film Board of Canada director Norman McLaren. Performer/choreographer Peter Trosztmer leads the one-man show which combines interviews, visual and sound explorations, and live movement interacting with film.

The performance debuted last weekend in Ottawa and will be performed in the coming months in Canadian cities like Toronto and Montreal, as well as France. A video preview and performance schedule can be found at the 4D Art website.

This review from the Ottawa Citizen offers some interesting details about how the show is designed:

In most multi-media presentations, the video is projected on a screen behind the performers. In Norman, however, these images appear to be mid-stage, allowing Trosztmer to dance between them, coil his supple body around them or sometimes be knocked flat by a hurtling geometric shape. In other scenes, holographic visitors, most of them former colleagues, drop in to chat about the Scottish-born animator’s influence. These snippets are in English or French, with translation provided by surtitles.

In one of the most enchanting moments, Trosztmer opens the NFB vault that holds McLaren’s work and out tumbles a line of miniature men, followed by several cats, who prowl past the dancer’s feet.