Laurie Simmons

Jason took this picture four days after I shot Act 3 of my movie, The Music of Regret. These objects are the costumes, designed by the artist Bryan Crockett, which are worn by the Alvin Ailey II dancers in a scene called the Audition. The audition follows a group of huge objects on legs as they try out for an unspecified dance revue. The Gun does a tango, the Cupcakes dance à la Bob Fosse, the Book just crawls. The audition is abruptly over when a pink and white Birthday Cake Ballerina in toe shoes gets the part. The Pocket Watch, robbed of its chance to audition, does the dance of its life on an empty stage after everyone leaves. These characters are based on a series of still photographs I shot in the late '80s using miniature objects retrofitted with little plastic legs and then blown up to near life-size in 4-foot-by- 7-foot prints. This photo records my first close encounter with the costumes. I felt like a miniature visitor to the world of dancing objects that I first imagined nearly twenty years ago.