Susan M. Voyticky
Artist of Many Facets
Years of movement and theater studies culminated naturally in the practice of movement theater at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq. After spending a frantic year learning French and the components of physical theater, Susan uncovered new possibilities of expression in music. Creating the group Strate with Ayel Lambert Ramos gave her the opportunity to mélange improvisational voice and movement in performance. Continuing the expansion of her movement vocabulary in France brought her into contact with classical dance, Capoeira, and inevitably circus, where she discovered the creative possibilities of movement without the floor.
Fascination with the world above led Susan to seek intensive training in London at The Circus Space's BA Theatre Practise program. At the BATP program she had many opportunities: to study the components of traditional and new circus, to experience and understand the physical demands of a circus artist, to explore safely a variety of equipment—and, most importantly, to create and perform. She emerged from the program a fluent aerialist and a versatile performer.
While in the UK, Susan's creations for performances included: The Garden of Eden, a piece made with Daniel Lechner including dance, acrobalance, doubles aerial work and the fall from grace, performed at the Stratford and Hackney Marsh Festivals; Crossed Stars, an act made with Max Haverkamp combining juggling, cerceau, acrobalance and emotion, performed at Festisis and the London Juggling Convention; Abandon, a solo for swinging cerceau with live singing, performed at the International Mime and SkyDancers Festivals; and finally, Transposed, a comic duet for cradle created with Nick Litton, exploring the fear within. Always relishing a challenge, Susan's ability to work as assistant director (as well as perform) was tested with director Deborah Pope on Tick, a two-week creation for Project Ellipse at the Auch Festival.
In February 2002, Susan returned to the Bay Area to create innovative movement theater in the United States. In her first major project, she worked with Keith Hennessy in developing a new circus company called Circo Zero, which premiered at Artaud in June 2002. She has also performed with the company in several other local events and festivals around the country. Most recently, Susan performed with San Francisco's venerable New Pickle Circus, taking on the principal role in Circumstance, a piece played throughout the Bay Area during the 2002-03 holiday season.
