“Where am I and how did I not know about this before?”
For those who are new to Nordo, and those who have been with us since we were spring chickens, here is our story.
In 2009, Nordo co-Artistic Directors Erin Brindley and Terry Podgorski worked for Circus Contraption. When the one-ring Seattle circus closed its doors, Erin and Terry knew they wanted to continue working together.
Inspired by a short story Terry had written called The Distressed Chicken and utilizing Erin’s experience directing theatre, the pair conceived of an immersive theatrical spoof of fine dining and the culture of the celebrity chef. Simultaneously, it was a love letter to food well-made and well sourced.
Witness the birth of Chef Nordo Lefesczki (Terry’s lead character) and our Carnal Food Movement here.
The Circus’ accordion player Annastasia Workman was hired to be the composer. The stage manager, Opal Peachey was cast as Nordo’s put-upon young Sous Chef. Maximillian Davis, an acrobat and actor in Circus Contraption’s final show, brought his considerable actor/server experience cast as the Maitre’d.
The owner of Theo Chocolate, who had leased performance space for the Circus, was convinced not only to let his empty warehouse be used as the dining room playing space, but also his confection kitchen for a dinner theater show disguised as a trendy pop-up restaurant named Café Nordo. The show was called The Modern American Chicken. Featured was the titular Chef Nordo. He was a fanatical celebrity chef, with the most innovative cuisine Seattle had ever seen. He also didn’t exist, (Erin Brindley designed and cooked the menu) but our first patrons didn’t know that.
We had no idea what we were doing.
The audience had no idea what we were doing.
Peruse our first four course menu here.
And watch a scene from our dining room, the funeral for Henrietta the chicken here.
To our surprise, they looked past the humble bathrooms, (Honey Buckets dressed up with velvet curtains), our insistence that they not sit with the friends they came with to increase the “adventure” (we learned to stop doing that), and saw what we were: a group of artists full of mirth and heart that wanted to integrate food, music, and service into storytelling. And they, (you?) asked for more.
We didn’t know then we were brick by brick creating an artistic institution that has no comparable rival in the US or the world. A show that integrates food, wine, and storytelling seems to crop up every so often in New York or Chicago, but there is no other company working to perfect the Immersive Theatrical Dining Event as a new form of performance. We were Seattle’s first Immersive theatre company, a term that is just now coming in to fashion. To our knowledge there is no other chef creating food dish after dish, show after show, to help tell a story. There is no other composer writing music to score a menu, or restaurant designer completely changing the look of a restaurant eight times a year. (Although some have tried).
We are foremost theatre artists. Our working relationship grew out of a mutual interest in breaking theatrical convention to create a spectacle that thoroughly entertains, educates, and transports. Our individual artistic paths crossed at Circus Contraption, where we saw bright-eyed audiences return to show after show because the spectacle captured their hearts and imaginations. Furthermore, Circus Contraption taught us the viability of a non-profit production company, how to run one, and what to avoid. With this practical knowledge we founded Café Nordo as a single platform for our skills in storytelling, scenic design, directing, and the culinary arts to make the best dinner theater Seattle has yet to see.
You’re watching us grow up, growing in to our role in this community, growing in to our beautiful venue, and gathering the courage to go deeper.
We’ll be using this blog to delve into the juicy curiosities of our Nordo community. Particularly those that embrace the written word, and archival history, creating thoughtful content that will make you raise your hand and say,
“More, please!”