Making Music

A member of the touring company of Stomp says every show is different.

By Neil Cohen

Photo: Junichi Takahashi

Stomp On Stage

Member of touring troupe acknowledges LGBT family during performances

If you're talented enough, music can be made of anything — from a push broom to a metal garbage can to a toothbrush.

That's the philosophy behind Stomp, a show known for blending rhythm and performance, which will be on stage Dec. 28-31 at ASU Gammage in Tempe.

"The show starts out the same every night and it ends the same, but stuff in between that is what changes," said cast veteran Carlos Thomas.

"Every single night is different," he said. "We don't have lines to recite, so we kind of live the moment of what's happening every night. If something funny happens, we go with it, and the next night it doesn't. It keeps us on our toes."

Improvised bits may get a laugh, but Thomas said the cast never writes them into the show because it affects the freshness and spontaneity.

For his part, Thomas said he isn't afraid to "pull out my queen card" every once in a while on stage to let audiences, especially the LGBT audience members, in on the fact that he's gay. "Just a little bit to let them know, and to get a reaction," Thomas said.

"The show has no politics in it whatsoever. Everyone can enjoy it, so hopefully while people are watching it, they forget about divisions like who's gay and who's straight."

Stomp was started 20 years ago in Brighton, England, as a high-octane percussion show that pushes its cast to do acrobatic and synchronized routines using props.

Sometimes, the troupe's comic relief character will produce a prop like a vacuum cleaner and suddenly the cast is doing a number full of vacuums.

Professional drummers are shocked when they join the show to find that their skills don't always translate, Thomas said.

Thomas, who was a member of the Las Vegas production, has been a part of Stomp for 13 years.

"It takes at least two years to get good (in Stomp), and then you just keep getting better," he said. "Most people won't leave unless they really have something else come up, or they have a family."

Even then, Stomp performs specialty tours in Australia and Malaysia, as well as a huge show called "Pandemonium," and cast members will return for those.

"We're like brothers and sisters," Thomas says of the cast. "People are really passionate about what they do, so sometimes they bicker, but we all get along really well. You have to in this show." -E

VITAL STATISTICS

Stomp
Dec. 28-31
ASU Gammage
1200 S. Forest Ave., Tempe
Tickets: $20-$55
480-965-3434; www.asugammage.com