The Magic of Ten31
People yearn, often without recognizing it, for the remembered spontaneity of early childhood, when it seemed that magical events occurred quite naturally. One evening at WaterFire Providence, magic happened for hundreds of Rhode Islanders when two RIC alumni, Joe Pari ’94 and Eric Auger ’92, transformed into human statues for the first time.
It was the year 2000. Like tribal members gathering for the evening ritual, a mass of people converged on the river basin for WaterFire Providence. Created by RIC honorary degree recipient Barnaby Evans ’00, WaterFire Providence comes alive in the evening with 100 bonfires lighting up the downtown river. The event has lured over 10 million visitors who come to stand along the river edge to see the basin in full blaze amidst a background of enchanting music.
On this night, crowds were walking, as usual, in either direction along the river. However, at the foot of the stairway leading up from the basin they began to stop short and stare. Squatting on ladders on either side of the steps were two life-size gargoyles – living statues – poised as still as stone.
On their lofty perches, they were frightening, particularly in the falling dark. Their masks featured horns, fanged teeth and deeply recessed eyes. Their wings were monstrous, while their clothing was painted a lifeless grey. As the visitors eyed the medieval creatures, the creatures stared back at them.
Some people looked on in awe, others glowed with glee, unsure of what to make of them; however, they did notice that when the gargoyles were offered a dollar they slowly came to life, gestured for the patron to place the bill in an urn, drew back upon their perch and turned to stone once more.
Finally, a WaterFire employee pushed through the crowd wondering, “What the hell is going on over here? Why can’t people make it down the riverwalk?” When he pulled up and saw what was keeping the crowd spellbound, he smiled and told Pari, “You guys are great, but we’ve got to position you somewhere else. You’re creating a traffic jam.”
Thus began the remarkable history of TEN31 Productions, a performing arts company founded by Pari and Auger, the first to bring a living statue performance company to Rhode Island.
“That day was literally the start of our company,” Auger said. “We’ve never missed a WaterFire since.” At the time, Pari and Auger were ages 28 and 30 respectively.
Both men are multifaceted artists, though it was Auger who majored in art at Rhode Island College, with a concentration in photography. He followed up his degree with a 14-year career as a visual merchandiser. Pari majored in psychology and was employed for nine years as a clinical social worker at various mental health and rehab facilities.
While a student, Pari studied abroad at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. There, he witnessed living statues for the first time. Though popular in Europe, these performances are less common in the United States. Later, in Montreal, Canada, Pari and Auger attended an art festival that would change their lives forever.
“Joe and I watched a human statue street performer capture the attention of a crowd in the middle of an intersection,” Auger said. “We both had the same experience. We felt as if we had been struck by lightning.” Both men knew they were meant to create their own platform for the same kind of mass human interaction between performer and audience. By putting their trust in the cosmic thunderbolt that struck from the heavens, they were able to leave their day jobs within three-to-five years and begin performing professionally full time.
With Pari as executive director and Auger as creative director, TEN31 has seen almost two decades of change and growth. Overseeing bookings and interfacing with clients is Pari’s forte, while Auger loves performing. Together they’ve created a collection of living statues that reflect ancient time periods and iconic figures of American history.
Their repertoire then expanded to include “living paintings,” artwork that comes to life, which they performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among many others.
Their clients range from private wedding parties to corporate giants like Pepsi, Bloomberg, Reebok, the Celtics and the Red Sox.
One high-profile client, Bryan Rafanelli, one of the country’s leading event planners who designed Chelsea Clinton’s wedding, commissioned TEN31 to create non-statue, speaking characters from “Alice in Wonderland.” This initiated an expansion of the company’s collection to include these characters as well as others from the “Wizard of Oz” and other great fairy tales, many of which are performed by RIC theater majors.
Performance highlights over the years include commissions by President Barack Obama for a United Nations conference and by Harvard University to perform in China for Harvard’s alumni global conference series.
“We’ve performed for the world and the reception has been global,” said Auger.
Currently, a Web series on TEN31 is in the works, called “Make Pretend.” Produced by a local filmmaker, footage of their performances are being edited and will be viewable online.
Pari and Auger’s successful partnership really began in childhood. They grew up in the small town of Burrillville, Rhode Island, and met when Pari was in seventh grade and Auger in ninth grade. Pari’s backyard was a forest while the front of the house was not far from a river with an island and a tree bridge. Every day after school, a community of kids would meet up to build forts, climb trees and catch crawfish. But what really bonded Pari and Auger was laughter. They simply made each other laugh. Over the years, they’ve established a seamless rapport, often building on each other’s thoughts, and consulting with each other on every aspect of the business.
“We were cut from the same cloth,” Auger said. “As kids, we were both misfits. We were artistic, class clowns and enjoyed being the center of attention. I think everyone who’s cut from the same cloth gravitates toward each other.”
They also had moms who indulged their imagination, like sewing elaborate costumes at Halloween. Auger’s earliest memory, he said, is of his mom asking him in early summer, “What do you want to be for Halloween?”
“We’d always talk about it first,” he said, “and it would be a family affair.”
At TEN31, all of the costumes are handcrafted by Pari and Auger, while the name of the company is based on the day and month of Halloween.
At their WaterFire premiere, they chose gargoyles because they were drawn by its mythology. “In mythology, gargoyles were protectors,” Pari explained. “You’ll see them on gothic cathedrals in Paris, like the Cathedral of Notre Dame. They were meant to scare away evil spirits, sort of like a scarecrow scares away crows. We also wanted to become something that wasn’t human.”
“When we started, we didn’t want to disguise the human form,” Auger added. “We wanted to remove the humanness through our stillness and our mannerisms. The costume, now, is very fantastical and there’s no trace of human left.”
“Though they’re monstrous, everyone loves the gargoyles,” said Pari. “Little kids are especially drawn to them. Some children will be fearful, yes, but when they break through their fear, the gargoyle becomes very much like the family pet. A child will come up and the gargoyle will give them a little pat on the head or take their hat and place it on its wing, and all of that fear will go away.”
It’s not surprising that living statues would fill children with a sense of wonder. What’s truly magical is that they also put adults in touch with the magical feeling they once had as a child.
Pari and Auger stated that if there was a message TEN31’s living statues could relay it would be that it’s okay to play. “Somewhere along the line between the time we were children and became teenagers we decided that it wasn’t cool to play. Yet the child in us never goes away,” said Auger. “It just gets buried. When I’m performing a role and interacting with an audience member, I’ll see the hesitation and embarrassment in their eyes, the worry in their eyes that people are watching or judging them. But eventually they come around. They’re able to tell themselves, ‘It’s okay to play.’”
Equally important to the business owners is connecting with audiences on a deeply personal level, which they urge all of their performers to do.
One of their performers is RIC Conference and Events Coordinator Kathy Bacon ’05, who was “discovered” by Auger at a cocktail party 10 years ago. She said, “He walked up to me and said, “You’re my next Statue of Liberty!” And I said, [with raised eyebrow], ‘Okay.’ I went in for a costume fitting, and the rest, as they say, is history.”
Between applying make-up and getting into costume, preparation time for becoming a statue is about two hours, she explained. “Once you have on the make-up and costume, it’s almost like a switch that happens in your head and you just become the character. I don’t really have to work at remaining still,” she said.
Bacon concurs with Pari and Auger on the personal connections performers make with audiences. “At WaterFire, in particular, people will come up and I can tell they’re looking for some spiritual connection,” she said. “I might put my hand gently on their head or I might hold their hand for an extra minute. They really seem to get something from us. They really are having some kind of mystical experience, which makes the work that I do really awesome and very rewarding. Not every gig is like that. But a lot of times we are something special in that moment and we’re able to give something special as performers.”
Much of what people feel is untranslatable, which is perhaps why a mute living statue is able to reach people at the nonverbal level, the feeling level. Pari and Auger urge their performers to be open to whatever the audience brings.
When they’re not performing, TEN31 tirelessly gives back to the greater Rhode Island community. Two years ago, the company moved into a new studio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, which they named the REVEL Factory. There, they offer behind-the-scenes tours; classes and workshops that explore dance, theater, costume design and painting; and provide rental space for local artists to showcase their work. The studio is also available for private rental.
As for the future, Pari and Auger have no finish line for TEN31. One of the keys to their success, they said, is following their inner intuitive guidance and staying in the cosmic flow, knowing that their effect on others is the most valuable gift they can give the world.