Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 84

13-4 PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1996 Keeping up with Jones Jeannette native's career starts to take hold in Hollywood Troupe is up to new twists and old tricks at 25 DANCE FROM PAGE G-3 more abstractly physical, kinetic and in your face," Wolken recalls. "Then there was a transitional peri od where some of these things were softened. A lot more complexity, depth and quality changes entered in." Still, in reaching its 25th anniversary, the troupe has elected to-revisit a lot of those early touchstones. "In some ways, we look back with a certain amount of envy at Ac 3 y-: By Marylynn Uricchio Post-Gazette Film Critic er purple manicure matches her purple pant-suit. Her strappy stiletto heels are a cool 4 inches high.

Angela Jones has gone Holly- film. It's called "Curdled," and it opened in Pittsburgh this weekend. Jones plays Gabriela, a young Colombian woman who has a fascination with murder in general and with the Blue Blood serial killer in particular. He's played by William Baldwin, and it's a match made in black comedy heaven. Reviews for the film have been positive, and Jones, eating a chocolate yogurt sundae, seems poised for stardom.

How will she adjust? She laughs. "I think I'll adjust just fine. When I'm working I'm happiest. All that other stuff I think it sounds good, it's kind of cool, that stardom thing, but it doesn't really affect my life. I look forward to it, I guess." At the moment, Jones is auditioning for other roles and trying to become established in Los Ange- wood in a big way, and it goes beyond her movie-star attire.

At 26, the Jeannette native is starring in her first feature film. Hollywood Reporter calls her performance "deliriously entrancing," which is not something they say about everybody. Quentm Tar-antino-was so taken with the actress after seeing her in a student film that he gave her a role in "Pulp Fiction." She played Esmerelda, Bruce Willis' taxi driver. He also went on to produce the expanded version of that student to make touring possible. Pilobolus still operates collaboratively, rare in an artform rife with artistic directors.

"Most organizations are single-mindedly artistic," explains Wol-ken. "So the vision, and therefore the success of the company, rides the waves of this person's ups and downs. At our best moments, we manage to work in ways that reinforce each other. If I don't have an idea in my head, I can pretty much guarantee that my cohorts will." But collaborations can have a down side. Pendleton felt a need to express his individuality and left to pursue other projects.

Still, Bar-nett, Wolken, Chase and Michael Tracy, who joined in 1974, have successfully stuck it out. "It requires extra work," Wolken says. "It requires extra consideration. There are times when people get impatient or wish to participate that way. It continues to kind of bend one's will for you in a way that can be good and bad." But they've made it to their 25th year, the silver anniversary.

"We got out of the bronze, and we're looking for the gold," Wolken quips. The early Pilobolus was unlike the present Pilobolus. "Old Pilobolus might have been An Autumn Celebration HAYDAY at HARTWOOD Road Performance Saturday, Oct 1 1 1am 3pm CLOWNS MAGIC MUSIC MINI-HAYRIDES CIDER PRESS DEMONSTRATION CRAFTS AREA PACE PAINTING! PETTING ZOO CARICATURISTS REPTILE EXHIBIT FOOD FREE to the Public Spinoff is history for the taking 1 I I I 3 .1 for Ki 2, MOONWALK PONYf 412-767-9200 Gr Rates ana Student Matinees Available 263-2560 0 tmas 12 price for children 3-14. Agesf avtS I ft I SI I I KI CARMEN FROM PAGE G-3 Before committing to a second year, PBS is waiting to hear how the show fares with viewers and critics. "All of the signs at the moment seem to be positive," Rayvid says.

"Based on what we're hearing, we're optimistic." Shinick, an actor who appeared on Broadway in "The School for Scandal" and "The Seagull," isn't looking down his nose at educational TV. He knows that Morgan Free- teail Make this Halloween a i MkDh MiE Smm the early, very ingenuous pfiysicali- Sr" he says. "But the next-layer oesn't go over the same territory. It piles up in some kind of wonder ful way on top of it perhaps-like a fabulous sandwicn. Pilobolus will perform in Pitts burgh this week.

The twaprograms at the Byham win include walk-lyndon" from the early days and "Empty Suitor," a Chaplin'esque solo, and "Shizen" can pro nounce it any way you like0 from the middle period. New since 1990, when the group last appearecj jn here, are "The Doubling Cube," a "kinetic, romping type of "Duet," a rare opportunity for two women; and "Sweet Purgatory1' (or "Sweet as Wolken calls it "our most curious Both programs will feature the group's latest work, "Aeros," specifically designed to celebrate the 25th anniversary. "It's kind of like an like Hawaii," Wolken notes. "It's separated from the mainland. It's looking back (a great distance to 1971) and perhaps looking forward to whatever far horizons we may envision.

It's a wonderful and very sweet story." man was once the Easy Reader on "The Electric Company" and Michael Keaton worked on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" as a member of WQED's production crew. "As an actor I hope to be around for a while," Shinick says. "I'm starting with the youngest audience possible, and I hope to take that audience with me." And Bush bumbling contestants are very smart, he says. "I was listening to theoi chat. I swear I was going to hang out and listen for stock tips." safe and Frfencls lab796 and dttartj Charge at w.

les, a place she has called home for the past two years. But it's become a very different place since her work in "Pulp Fiction." "It was great. It was exciting. I was nervous and everything, but once we got to working, Bruce was very down to earth. I only worked three days on it, so I was in and out," Jones explains.

"I thought it was going to be an art-house film. I knew it was good before it opened, but I was very happy with the success of it. "I couldn't do anything until people saw the movie. Once it was released, I was able to get a manager and agent and meetings." Jones' mother, Dee Smartnick, and stepfather Alfred Smartnick still live in Jeannette, as does her brother Patrick Jones and stepbrother Mark Smartnick. They're all proud of her success, and of the ambition that took the Point Park College graduate all the way to Florida State.

She was attending graduate school at the Oslo Conservatory of Performing Arts in Sarasota when she made the student film for director Reb Braddock that Tarantino eventually saw. Though it took four years to bring it to the big screen, Braddock held fast in wanting Jones to play the lead. "A lot of it they wrote for me, character things: her curiosity, her asking questions to find out what she wants." (416)872-2222 HIS DAT. 7 DAYS WffK KUDNtt). i i i in mttiii II THt (IIHI IAI it 100 H) till CIVK nncNn cue TO BUY TICKETS: CIVIC ARENA BOX OFFICE (no service charge) and all jrcxmumr OUtlCtS including Kaufmann's and Select Giant Eagle (senlce cbarge of 1 1.7$ per ticket; li 5(1 service cbarge per ticket on Klngslde Seats) CHARGE BY PHONE: (412) 323-1919 (senilce cbarge of 1 rtfl per ticket, SH IK) maximum per order plus tl.M handling cbarge per order; U.

50 service charge per ticket on Klngslde Seals plus $1M handling cbarge per order) EXPERIENCE R1NGL1NG ONLINE! Keyword: Kinglinfi If you have a 1-800-653-4488 HI inniwBHiiim North America's Most mmmm i 1 Angela Jones has -her first starring role in a feature film in "Curdled." II 1 In the film, Gabriela works for a service that cleans up after violent crimes. Braddock insisted that she attend an autopsy, and he connected her with a real crime-cleaning service. "This man has a van, 1-800-AU-TOPSY, and you call him up. I al- most went on a clean-up with him. From what he says, it's very gruesome.

The smell and everything. There are a lot of maggots, espe-cially in the heat. He said you can't get the smell out. You have to throw everything out or burn everything. He was great to talk to about the job." Jones admits she is fascinated by murder, but notes that the film gave her a reason to be.

She adds that the O.J. Simpson trial was going on when they prepped the film, which revealed that the entire na-. tion had the same fascination. "The details he decapitated her that was accessible informa-. tion because it was so public.

There, were pictures on the Internet of the crime scene. "No movie is going to appeal to -everyone. But I think 'Curdled' is more for everybody than people may think. It's a black comedy, and people will look at the humor in it." While she waits for the next big thing to come along, Jones says her life is living proof of the Point Park slogan: "You can get there from here." )nna with ipeclal guttt: Ty Herndon Nov. 8 A.J.

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