'Stomp' tour includes fresh acts

Throwing paint cans, banging trash can lids, wearing tractor-trailer inner tubes - it's just another night for Brad Holland.

Like others before him, the 29-year-old actor and musician brought his own beat to the rhythm-based stage show "Stomp," which makes a percussive orchestra out of unsuspecting everyday items.

Now the show's back in Knoxville, and, according to Holland, audiences can expect something totally new when all those trash bins crash into the Tennessee Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, April 28 and 29.

"We spent time last September revamping the show," said Holland, who performs and works as rehearsal director for one of "Stomp's" five touring companies. "About 40 percent is new. We took three numbers out, and put three back in."

To keep the nationally touring show fresh, really all it needed was a fresh coat of paint. One of their new routines, Paint Cans, creates an intoxicating rhythm out of colliding metal.

"It's basically a juggling piece," said Holland. "There's constantly something flying through the air." During rehearsals, he added, performers got more than a few black eyes.

One of the creators of "Stomp" thinks the show is moving forward with the changes.

" 'Stomp' has evolved a great deal ever since its first incarnation at the Edinburgh Festival," said co-creator Steve McNicholas in a press release, who revamped the show with fellow co-creator Luke Cresswell. "Every reworking has involved losing some pieces and gaining new ones, but has always stayed true to the original premise of the show: To create rhythmic music with instantly recognizable objects, and do it with an eccentric sense of character and humor."

In one routine, "Stomp" performers may be rappeling down scaffolding while beating on metal bins; in another, they might play inner tubes, wash tubs or chairs.

But what is one man's garbage, is another's music. For 14 years of performances, "Stomp" has built on the success of making percussive sounds out of just about anything.

According to the show's Web site, the performers go through 30 brooms, 8 lids, 200 liters of water, and 12 pairs of drumsticks, all in a week.

However, part of what keeps audiences coming to see "Stomp" for so long, and has transformed it into an international phenomenon, is the visceral excitement of the shows. According to Holland, the physicality of it crosses all cultural bounds.

"That's why its lasted for so long," he says. "No spoken dialogue. It's easy for any culture to understand."

Holland compared the show to the professional sports side of Broadway, regarding the athletic training required of performers.

While the show does focus on physicality and rhythm, it's not without story. Holland said the abstract nature of the story allows him to experiment.

" 'Stomp' is unique in its theatrical productions," said Holland. "[It] allows you to be whoever you want to be. I play four roles in the show."

"You're allowed to improv and bring yourself to that role. It makes it interesting for us. Always keeps it fresh."

Stephen Woodward is a freelance contributor to the News Sentinel.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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