{"id":457487,"date":"2026-09-08T20:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T20:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/457487\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T20:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T20:10:11","slug":"mccann-alights-becketts-words-l-a-dance-chronicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/457487\/","title":{"rendered":"McCann Alights Beckett\u2019s Words | L.A. Dance Chronicle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beckett\u2019s 1979 novella \u201cCompany,\u201d conceived and performed by the multifaceted Valerie McCann<\/a>, challenges the speaker, the listener and the narrator, on all sides.\u00a0 Presented through special arrangement with Georges Borchardt, Inc<\/a>. on behalf of the Estate of Samuel Beckett, Typewriters Anonymous<\/a>, the tucked away Arts Lofts at the Brewery presented this adventure on Friday, September 4, 2026.<\/p>\n

Welcoming, as if like old friends\u2014 scholars, movement experts, wandering insomniacs and the curious were greeted equally. \u00a0We were directed into the antechamber dotted with antique typewriters of various colors on pedestals lit with diffused spotlights to emphasize the writing purpose of the group.<\/p>\n

\"Valerie<\/a><\/p>\n

Valerie McCann in \u201cDevising it all for Company\u201d \u2013 Photo by Heather Seybolt.<\/p>\n

Through the curtain, and into the black box theatre; darkness, with a single diffused spotlight, set just off center, gave a hint of the evening.\u00a0 The audience, limited in size, was allowed the comfort of lying or sitting on large round pillows or chairs, or standing\u2026even moving throughout.<\/p>\n

Settling in, a tall slim body, shaved head, in light grey draped pajamas, accentuated the moonlit ambience. At first lying, then rising into the light, one could not shake how this version brought to mind the 1928 silent film \u201cThe Passion of Joan of Arc\u201d juxtaposed against concentration camp photos of inner agony transcended.<\/p>\n

\"Valerie<\/a><\/p>\n

Valerie McCann in \u201cDevising it all for Company\u201d \u2013 Photo by Heather Seybolt.<\/p>\n

Company, by Beckett, is done most often with a singular unmoving body affixed to the words, ideas and images of scattered unfinished stories experienced in the dark, in the night.\u00a0 However, with McCann it has found a new invention that holds attention for nearly two hours with sense driven movement and words.<\/p>\n

Her full commitment to her task of honoring Beckett\u2019s words and intention in a new way created effortless fascination.\u00a0 The piece, as a ritual, seemed to call for attention that countered the unexpected bursts of voice and action, and with full reverence, called only for attention.<\/p>\n

\"Valerie<\/a><\/p>\n

Valerie McCann in \u201cDevising it all for Company\u201d \u2013 Photo by Heather Seybolt.<\/p>\n

McCann\u2019s voice, sometimes soto voce, sometimes haunting with warning, sometimes with bursts of tone seemed not to belong to her person.\u00a0 It flowered with a kind of musicality that proved supple, in some cases frightening\u2026a kind of warning of a sleepless night, and what it will bring in its feeling of aloneness.<\/p>\n

McCann played the symphony of Beckett\u2019s words, sometimes stretched, at other times machine-gun quick, and countered her body movement.\u00a0 Often, she appeared the puppet master, at moments moving into positions nearly foreign, or air-born and lifted as though with a giant hand.\u00a0 Then back to a simple walk or standing position with an other-worldly voice, that came from an unknown mystical place.<\/p>\n

\"Valerie<\/a><\/p>\n

Valerie McCann in \u201cDevising it all for Company\u201d \u2013 Photo by Raquel Bell.<\/p>\n

McCann\u2019s passion, interests and training span her collaboration with artists across the US, UK and EU and bridged her interest in classic text and postmodern choreography.\u00a0 Her experience, enhanced by her yogic discipline, clearly focuses her passion and intellect for theatre and movement.\u00a0 Strongly rooted in Mary Overlie\u2019s non-hierarchical Six Viewpoints materials (Space Shape Time Emotion Movement Story) \u2014 and Deborah Hay\u2019s mentorship, McCann was inspired to create her own solo performances.<\/p>\n

The development of the piece was assisted over some years with the help of London Performance Studios and New Theater Hollywood with CultureHub LA residency (Raquel Bell and Jared Marshall-Galecstasy).\u00a0 Jeanine Durning added dramaturgical research expertise.<\/p>\n

\"Valerie<\/a><\/p>\n

Valerie McCann in \u201cDevising it all for Company\u201d \u2013 Photo by Raquel Bell.<\/p>\n

Beckett is known for instigating questions, McCann adds to the complexity.\u00a0 Never apologizing, working with nearly impossible endurance and commitment, she has added a new light to the masterful simplicity of his words, yet with infinite possibilities.<\/p>\n

This immersive experience intrigued, with hope not to miss any nuance between word, singular relationship, hope for peace and letting go.\u00a0 It challenged and played back as it danced across the mind in the dark\u2026in the night.<\/p>\n

For more info: https:\/\/www.typewritersanonymous.com\/calendar\/devising-it-all-for-company-46483-w2rs5-z2yg<\/a><\/p>\n

Written by Joanne DiVito for LA Dance Chronicle.<\/p>\n

Featured image: Valerie McCann in \u201cDevising it all for Company\u201d \u2013 Photo by Heather Seybolt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Beckett\u2019s 1979 novella \u201cCompany,\u201d conceived and performed by the multifaceted Valerie McCann, challenges the speaker, the listener and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457488,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-457487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}