Although performer-producer Michelle Stern insists that the demise of GAle GAtes et al., the Brooklyn-based experimental theatre company, is "an opportunity to move on," disappointment is evident.
After all, when she and GAle GAtes co-founder Michael Counts set up shop in DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) in July 1997, the community was an artistic wasteland. Today, thanks in large part to the pioneering efforts of Counts and Stern and the presence of GAle GAtes, the neighborhood is an oasis for cutting-edge cultural outlets.
Stern estimates that there are now more than 30 galleries in the environs and a host of performance spaces, most notably St. Ann's Warehouse. The latter, previously housed in St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn Heights, was a cultural centerpiece of that community for a quarter of a century. What's significant is that it chose DUMBO for its new home.
So, what went wrong for GAle GAtes et al., a company that produced, co-produced, or presented over 60 works (including art exhibitions), and operated, not immodestly, in a 40,000 square-foot space on an annual budget of $450,000?
The answer, quite simply, is the economic downturn.
"A large part of our monies came from renting our venue for various purposes," notes Stern. "And that's what we lost. People are just not throwing the kind of parties they used to. BAM [Brooklyn Academy of Music] rented the space to do a gala here one night. That was terrific, not only because of the money, but because it introduced a whole new audience to what we do."
GAle GAtes et al. is best known for its large-scale multimedia installation performances, which are highly imagistic and nonlinear, says Stern. "Most of our pieces have been based on Michael's ideas, which are usually inspired by a classical story -- Dante's 'Inferno' or 'The Odyssey,' for example -- and then reworked in some way. It's usually a combination of found text and original text. And we may bring in special scenic and lighting designers.
"Our last piece, 'So Long Ago I Can't Remember,' was written by playwright Kevin Oakes, but based on 'The Divine Comedy.' Here, Virgil led the audience through 12 installations, each installation representing several rings of hell, purgatory, and finally heaven -- a bridge, with lots of fog underneath, leading out onto the street."
Some pieces are structured -- indeed, in a few, the audience remains seated in one spot -- but for the most part, GAle GAtes et al.'s theatrical signature is more fluid, with audience members either choosing what they want to see (not unlike viewers in a gallery) or being guided through the space. In either case, they are often trailing after actors, who dash about from place to place.
The performers are mostly of the downtown nonunion variety, says Stern, adding that they see themselves as part of an international dance-theatre-art movement. For GAle GAtes et al., the line between the various artistic disciplines has blurred, if not disappeared.
The theatre company was formed in 1995 -- originally inhabiting empty office space in the Wall Street area -- and was christened GAle GAtes in honor of Michael Counts' grandmother, whose name was, indeed, Gale Gates, but who was known as GAGA (thus the unusual spelling of GAle GAtes).
According to Stern, GAGA was a radical of her era, knew seven languages, and urged Counts and Stern "to give up our day jobs to pursue our art. How often does a family member suggest that? She and Michael had a very close relationship."
Looking back at the theatre's tenure in DUMBO, Stern takes special pride in the company's benefactors -- from the National Endowment for the Arts to the New York State Council on the Arts to a host of foundations. But, more important, she is pleased that close to 1,000 artists, of various stripes, served (and were served by) GAle GAtes et al.
And the future is by no means dim, despite the fact that GAle GAtes et al.'s curtain is coming down. "Right now Michael is talking with a number of producers to help him realize our next project," Stern points out. "And although we won't be here [in our current home], we're searching for ways to reach much larger audiences."