By Marcus J. Hopkins 

Onyx director Michael Lentz spoke with FloMarching recently and provided some very intriguing insights into how the creative staff and members of Onyx built their identity and their 2018 production: "A Year from Monday."

FloMarching: What is the music Onyx uses in 2018, and what led to its selection?

Lentz: Onyx is re-exploring “Stella Maris” by Moby. Onyx 2018 is using the exact soundtrack, without edits, that Onyx used in 2013 when Onyx performed “Stella Maris” for the first time. The music is the only carryover from 2013, and as we celebrate Onyx’s 30th season, Stella Maris is the one piece that is iconic to Onyx. The ideas we have for the work will never run out and we could quite possibly use this music for 4-5 years each with a completely different take. Onyx 2018 is not a tribute show, not a throwback, but rather a nod to the brand Onyx has worked decades to build and now we re-invest, re-invent, and re-think.

What was the impetus and inspiration behind your show title and design?

“A Year from Monday” is the title of Onyx’s 2018 work.  A book of the same name by John Cage has been integral to the development of a way of thinking here at Onyx and we relate to him in a natural way by connecting past, current and future ideas.  The inside covers of the book, a Year from Monday features a text layout that inspired Onyx BizarreBAZAAR program notes and the announcement in 2017. Onyx’s “A Year from Monday” is not intended to tell the viewer how to think or what to think but rather create an open dialogue between audience and performer to create a multi-level emotional, aesthetic and adrenaline reaction based experience. As designers, we too are deeply involved in this emotion and we thrive on the ongoing conversation happening between the audience and Onyx. 

Is there a story behind your show that might help audience members better appreciate the overall performance? 

The way we think of it is as an ongoing story—a story we’ve been sharing with audiences for many seasons. We know how it began… we have 30 years to reflect. What we do not know is how the story will end. That is the exciting part. Onyx has many more seasons to come, and with each, there will be discovery, directions, and delivery of top-level performances and innovative design. Each program by Onyx is a response or next chapter to the previous work. Onyx allows our current experiences, feelings, and moods to influence the future works. As those ideas present themselves to us, we are open and we listen. What is happening now is as much a response to last year and a look where we are, what we think, and how our dance company experiences from the summer and fall have re-shaped us as it is an open door to what Onyx will bring to the floor in 2019 and beyond. 

Were there any specific influences that informed your design choices? Particularly the austerity of the uniform, flag, and floor designs?

Unlike previous Onyx looks that were developed as the programs came together, Onyx 2018's look was all designed at one time—flags, costumes, and floor with the soundtrack and of course concept as the motivator. A minimal look for Onyx is to be expected, but the splash of red illuminates the space and striking white and black moving lines of the costume work very well with the way we craft our staging and choreography. The concept itself is woven into the fabric of the design. There is much intentionally placed and hidden in the work itself just waiting to be discovered by the viewer.  

Are there any specific sections in the show you feel the audience should take a look at during a second or tertiary viewing?

Onyx loves to write big picture shows. Works that are all-encompassing and like a clock have many moving parts that work in harmony with one another to support one big idea. At a floor level, the experience can be very intimate and the many intricacies and nuances can be seen and discovered by the viewer, which does require more than one viewing.  We plan into the work that each performer in every space is working collectively to perform a show that can be viewed from any seat in the arena and seen a little bit differently from each one of those seats. Of course, viewing Onyx from up high gives much more information about the work itself and the total event that appears to be happening through multiple events. Maybe we view multiple events differently at Onyx? It is all one event with many parts. Each part or piece working in tandem with the others and each dependent on the other.

Marcus J. Hopkins has been involved in the marching arts as a performer and instructor since 1985. He majored in music education at West Virginia University and was a performer with Dobyns-Bennett Scholastic World Indoor Drumline (2000), The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps color guard (2001-03), and Ad Astra Per Aspera Independent World Winter Guard (2005).