EVERYBODY

EVERYBODY

Concert-performance of Sarah Murcia and Mark Tompkins

(2013)

 

extract 7’40 

EVERYBODY is a kind of UFO, situated somewhere between a concert and a musical theatre performance, with a repertory of original songs composed by Sarah Murcia and Mark Tompkins, and some covers. Improvisers, they enjoy mixing songs and improvisations to make a show that is both structured and open. Out of this confrontation an expression is born, constantly in motion.

Inspired by several icons of popular music like the Black American vaudeville artist Bert Williams, the folk singer Karen Dalton, and the extravagant Dalida…, they honor these artists who were both absolute stars and magnificent losers in their time.

The ambiance of the performance is rather minimalist, with few effects, excepting some unexpected and surprising costumes and props. While performing their repertory of somewhat melancholic songs, the mysterious and eternal question of the origins arises.

 

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

 

SARAH MURCIA 

Sarah Murcia is a double bass player, composer and arranger who studied with Jean-François Jenny-Clark before playing with many singers and improvisers. She plays regularly with flutist Malik Mezzadri (Magic Malik), saxophonists Steve Coleman or Sylvain Cathala, singers Jacques Higelin, Fred Poulet, Jeanne Balibar, Piers Faccini, oud player Kamilya Jubran, the rock band Elysian Fields (Jennifer Charles & Oren Bloedow). Sarah Murcia is a member of Las Ondas Marteles, with Nicolas and Seb Martel and Beau Catcheur, duo with Fred Poulet. In 2001, she founded the band Caroline with drummer Franck Vaillant, guitarist Gilles Coronado and saxophonists Olivier Py and recently Guillaume Orti. She works regularly as musical arranger for Paul Ouazan’s TV musical shows for Arte France. In 2011, Sarah Murcia and Palestinian oud player Kamilya Jubran premiered the project Nhaoul, mixing oriental and occidental improvisation. She also composes for the cinema and the dance. In 2012, she is the musical director and plays live with Seb Martel in Alain Buffard’s Baron Samedi.

MARK TOMPKINS

Mark Tompkins is an American dancer, choreographer and teacher living in France since 1973. After a series of solos and group collaborations, he founds the company I.D.A., International Dreems Associated, in 1983. Over the years, Tompkins’ unique way of fabricating “unidentified performance objects” has become his signature. Solos, group pieces, concerts and performances that mix dance, music, voice, video and text are steps of this journey initiated in the 70’s, and continued with the complicity of the set designer Jean-Louis Badet since 1988. His interest in improvisation and real time composition leads him also to collaborate, through teaching and performing, with many dancers, musicians, light designers and video makers. His recent performances evolve towards musical theater, inspired notably by music hall-ANIMAL, cabaret-kings&queens, operetta-LULU, minstrel shows-BLACK’N’BLUES, vaudeville-OPENING NIGHT and musical comedy-SHOWTIME. In 2008, he receives the prestigious SACD Choreography Prize for all his work. (Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers).