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dynamics of its source, performance becoming some sort of ultímate poetry ¡theater reading. The collective method also had a specific influence in the translation. The actor’s awareness of the work and his relation to it, and ideas from all relating to style and motivation played a part. Particularly, football as basic subject matter presumed a given unity of style. Performers were provided with a familiar technique that allowed sophisticated elaboration of the idea. Another important contribution was an extension of the personality presence, which adds personalized but group-oriented elements to any collective work. The piece calls heavily on the fantasy realization inherent in football for both players and viewers. The transforming power of football mythology began with the use of complete uniforms, real sports energy and moves, » positions « within the team. This brought diverse attitudes into the singular relationship of » the team«. Blank uniforms emphasize the obvious: individual players perform only in service to the common purpose. One team of eleven men works together throughout the performance. Occasional separation (line ¡back, offense ¡defense) intend more a sense of cooperation than of competition. Inter-squad »scrimmage« shows different, personal skills through controlled opposition, in order to demonstrate the group’s performance as an entity. This team operates as a unit, reaching for the peak(s) implied in the source-poem. Composer Philip Glass, who has previously written music for Mabou Mines, was asked to contribute » calling pieces « using football patterns and terms. The results were three short works alluding to countdowns, signal calling, player and school names. Adapting the rhythm inherent in football situations, he constructed the piece in accord with principles developed in his own music. Basic characteristic include a steady pulse and rhythmic differentiation of that beat, shifts in the sequence of units, exchanges of emphatic lines, rising and falling punctuation. Particular to these calls was the use of numbers and words, a » code « that suggests in a connotative way rather than in a musical mode (notes). Glass further related to this extra-music aspect with effects not possible, in his opinion, in pure music. The overall impact of his addition is entirely in keeping with the method of the performance: football as the base for an elaboration which indicates something more than that source. Intricate, evocative calls, learned and performed by musically untrained players, refer to the special qualities of the subject. I was really into doing a dance, a dance that was not derivative in terms of not being applicable to certain kinds of dance styles that I like very much and appreciate. But since I’m not a dancer or choreographer I wanted to choose a very theatrical movement and I wanted to find out what movement that was inherently external, in other words belonging outside, was like in an inside space. Most of the times I’ve seen this done before, the image (sports, staged fights) was a metaphor of the exterior movement once it was put inside, You got it textured with style, changed around, cut up, fragmented to a point where it was safe inside. You got the illusion of what fou were talking about. But essentially the movement

began outside as unsafe movement, The experiment here was to see how much energy a piece could hold and retain form. This energy is pure, external sports with as much form needed to make a formal statement without losing the energy. And it was tricky to hit the balance, because h could have blown itself open into a game. It could have been just an inside football game, or a demonstration of style, football formalities. Lee Breuer Where possible, the audience sits in an auditorium balcony, a position comparable to the view at games as well as to the angle of the poem’s images. Those who sit above see clearly the various shapes (formations, path) while viewers at floor level get more of the kinetic qualities (force and impact, speed). The performance space, though not marked off as a field, suggests an actual playing area by its size. Players assume the opening formation, a classic »/«. Dim fluorescent lighting and dingy white uniforms refer to the faded quality of the Xeroxed images. Arranged into effective channels, the implicit force of the team’s assumed play designates football’s specific method. Paths (on an imagined diagram) delineate the shape of power. An imminent explosion is promised in the shouted calling piece which alludes to an extended signal calling. But as if satisfied by the vocal demonstration of energy, no one moves except the center, who delivers a slow hike. Referees (played by small women) immediately set about their regulatory functions, efforts to bound the event with whistles and gun blasts. They sweep the field with two chains ; length and width are scanned, measured, defined. The team attempts to ignore this activity and retain its focus, its singular purpose as a formation members try to hold stances as the chains pass under them. Contrasts between these activities get to be basically humorous, indicating a method of this piece. Familiar football elements are present but their relationships have been rearranged. Normal expectations are called on, then diverted. A dual impression alternates throughout ; football’s beauty and power (the moves, the mature physical effort, the raw energy and violence), and football’s essential absurdity (the illusion of making progress, the exaggerated seriousness, the heroic gestures). The performance ultimately conjures both awe and laughter. In blackout the players move to an even more primal arrangement. Two rows of linemen, offense and defense, face each other. A sequence of violent contacts results, actual football energy working in the required basic moves of impact and follow-through. Pivots of the scrimmage line occur, dictated by the logic of blocking assignments. Double-teams (two on one) and shifts (movements of positions within the line ) swing the opposing lines in a series of angles. Techniques of aggression are elaborated: dynamic of force into space equals changed shape. Human physics operate too, equations of a) size b) technical ability c) motivation yield the moved and the mover. Individual losses and wins determine the new line of scrimmage as the team works to define its space and direction. In a final effort, it fulfills that purpose with creation of a hole through the line. This achievement marks the end of its principle; the necessarily primitive shape