LOS ANGELES—Sitting in the Freud Playhouse, watching the sensual and evocative images of "Aurélia's Oratorio" unfold before me, I have the distinct sensation that if this were the entirety of my life and I never left this darkened theater, it would be a good life.
"Aurélia's Oratorio," presented by UCLAlive, Apr. 9-12, is like a beautiful, existential poem; A stylish, funny, and quirky inverted world where kites anchor flying people, clothes wear people, and demons are made of delicate white lace in a dreamscape of imagination.
In one scene, puppets watch a "human show," perhaps hinting at greater truths about existence, as the human ultimately controls the puppet audience.
My following thought, "This is life, and we do in fact live in a reversed world, a circus of the absurd."
"Sometimes life is more surreal than we would like to admit," says the charming and sublime Aurélia Thierrée during a conversation. When asked if she identifies with the main character, Aurélia replies that it depends on how she feels that night, reminiscent of the show's premise.
"When you dream you adapt to it while you are dreaming, you don't question it at all, I went with that idea in the show."
Combining acrobatics and dance with cabaret style music, "Aurélia's Oratorio" was born from a lineage of performers and creative innovators deeply dedicated to their art.
Victoria Thierrée Chaplin,(daughter of Charlie Chaplin) designed and directed this show with and for her daughter, Aurélia Thierrée, even sewing costumes and building props herself.
"She works instinctively, without any sense of the whole, until at the end things start to place themselves and themes emerge … She has an idea and builds it physically," says Aurélia of her mother. When asked what its like to work with her she said, "She is exciting, passionate, it is always invigorating to be around that."
"She has crazy ideas and builds them," Aurélia laughs, describing the challenges of a particular act in the show involving a model train, "I never thought it would be possible," but she attributes the success to her mother's strong conviction and vision.
Thierrée says it makes it easier in some ways to work with her mother, as there is already an established trust, whereas she might not be so willing if approached by another with the same idea. "It is always good to work with people with common desire and the work becomes most important. We always work together as a family, it's a way to stick together," says Aurélia.
Her brother James Thierrée is also an accomplished performer/director, who's acclaimed, "The Junebug Symphony" played at UCLA to sold out audiences two years in a row. Aurélia, who says that she really enjoys touring the show, which took five years to complete, finds balance in all of its aspects. "It's a luxury to present it in different countries. The show has no dialogue, so it travels well."
Next year, U.S. runs are planned in D.C., New York, and Boston, along with additional international engagements.
Aurélia said that what inspires her is, "The fragility of the human experience; you never know if it will work, it remains an alive experience. No matter how many rehearsals or how much you plan, you can never tell how it will go. No two shows are ever the same. You have to adapt to so many things which must align themselves, you must make it work every night."
No doubt, Aurélia, with the circus in her veins and a heart of grace, does just that.
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