SECOND HAND Members of The Second Hand describe themselves as physical humorists.

Irreverent acrobats combine
choreography with odd props,
costumes and rhythm

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By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.com

So, Andy Horowitz, long-haired guy with the Second Hand, could you describe your show to your neophyte Honolulu audience?

"Ah, I've always loved and dreaded this question," he said by phone from his Waikiki hotel room. "We're funny -- we like to call ourselves physical humorists -- and we're also very athletic because we lift each other. We use odd props, clackers, dance with white Velcro balls (like we did on David Letterman's show two years ago) and sometimes have whacked-out rhythm jams, playing frying pans on our butts by kicking them -- our own butts, that is, not each other's! We're irreverent and happy acrobats!"

And those going to the trio's performances this weekend at Leeward Community College Theatre can expect a bit of audience participation as well, in a show that marks the last performances (for the foreseeable future, anyway) of the original trio including Greg O'Brien ("the bald guy"), and Paul Gordon ("the other guy"). They have danced together since 1987, when they were students at the State University of New York at Binghamton, where they are now artists-in-residence. Horowitz and O'Brien will carry on with Venezuela-born Marlon Torres, who Horowitz said works well in Gordon's place.

The Second Hand: A Dance, Comedy & Theatre Extravaganza Where: Leeward Community College Theatre When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow and 2 p.m. Sunday Admission: $20 and $15 advance/$25 and $20 at the door Call: 956-6878

The troupe's name came from the material and props found in trash bins and thrift shops. Horowitz is still a thrifty costume and prop assembler.

"We're different from other dance companies in that we break down the fourth wall and use volunteers from the audience," Horowitz adds.

So you got three guys a-leapin' and a-liftin', occasionally intertwining their muscular bodies, making quick costume changes and using a clever assemblage of props, both edible and inedible, including O'Brien blowing on a shofar, the horn of a Yemenite mountain goat that's considered a sacred instrument in Judaism.

Horowitz said the troupe heeds Doris Humphreys, a pioneer in modern dance, whose advice to choreographers was to "cut out the unessential, and what you have left, cut that in half! We make it a choice to be concise, where if a piece can be done in three minutes, so be it. It also allows us to protect our artistic integrity."

He claims no one has left disappointed after a show. "When we played Russia -- where audiences are usually very formal and the male dancer is revered -- to get bravos at the end of our performance was simply exhilarating! We've also done some rock festivals where beer-fueled audiences were just as crazed in response as a band would get.

"One audience in particular that just went nuts -- a kind of group hysteria that we've felt fewer than 10 times over the 2,000 performances that we've done -- was one in South Korea. When we came out for our curtain call, this screaming crowd rushed the stage. It got to the point that the tech crew had to form a human barricade. The wooden walls of our dressing room backstage were shaking! Now I understand how someone like Paul McCartney feels when he plays to fans!"

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