"Without a Word"

E X C L U S I V E !!!

This page features many photographs taken from the various "Without A Word" filming locations, along with comments from Winnipeg crew and publicity leaders. This information and the photos are intended solely for the use of The Unofficial Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi Home Page, and the Official Patrick Swayze International Fan Club. If you see these photos and quotes elsewhere, they were taken from this site, or the fan club, without permission.

My sincere thanks go to the following for their assistance in making this webpage unique: Wendy Hunter of SwayzeMania, who compiled the information, visited the locations, and made the contacts; Darrel Loof, superintendent of the apartment building where some of the scenes were shot of the character's living quarters; Dave Sherlock of Sherlock Printing; Rick Rogers, Director of Property Services of the Women's Tribute Building which served as the dance studio for the character named Orestes; Greg Klassen, Publicity Manager of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, where rehearsals took place for "Without a Word"; the owners of the Mondragon Bookstore and Coffee Shop, where some restaurant scenes were filmed; Alex Archbold, Manitoba Film & Sound, Locations Coordinator, who assisted with photos of the Walker Theater and Steinkopf Gardens; Carmen Lethbridge, Locations Manager in Winnipeg, who was instrumental in assisting Wendy in getting in touch with several location site representatives; Kenny Boyce, Director of Film & Cultural Affairs, Winnipeg, who again was instrumental in the success of this project, having stayed in touch with Wendy and putting her in touch with Carmen; and finally, Gregory Tackaberry, who visited all the sites with Wendy and took the photographs shown on this page.

Thank you so much to the above for allowing visitors to this page to gain an inside glimpse into the filming of "Without A Word". Please see the links at the bottom of this page to visit some of the official websites associated with these locations.

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Patrick and Lisa danced together for a Mountain Dew commercial in 1987.
Patsy Swayze correographed the barn dance.

In an interview during the shoot, Patrick passionately mentioned how much he wanted to world to know how wonderfully talented Lisa is. He was gushing with pride!

For years, fans of Patrick and Lisa Swayze have heard about their award winning play, "Without a Word" and how they hoped to turn it into a successful dance film. The process has taken a decade to become a reality, but now, after many false starts and incarnations, "Without a Word" is reality, having wrapped production on April 28, 2001, and finished post-production in April 2002. On April 9, a private screening was held for family, friends, colleagues, and industry leaders in Los Angeles. Next up: release to the public! Let's hope it's soon!

"Without A Word" focuses on a dance company fighting for survival. One synopsis details the basic plotline as follows: "The fate of world renowned dance company Dance Motives rests on the final performance of their three lead dancers who must reconcile their differences in order to perform a crucial show. When the company's artistic director has a massive stroke, its continuation is threatened. The thought of recreating Alex McGrath's finest work, abandoned seven years earlier and never performed, is the only thing that offers Dance Motives any hope for the future. Battling time, mixed emotions and memories of Alex, the three original dancers have to reunite to save their company."

Cue cards from the filming left at the Women's Tribute Center in Winnipeg.

A Bit of History

Onstage at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, Patrick Swayze hurls himself through a difficult sequence where he ricochets off the proscenium wall, slides to the floor, and ventures a number of balletic and gymnastic challenges.

The solo is "about the pain, anger and confusion in having to quit dancing right as I was getting to the top," he says -- and the emotion shows.

Swayze is tall, with massive arms and shoulders. Indeed, in his layers of leg warmers over a black leotard, this Texas-born dancer, actor and athlete looks something like one of those powerfully built Bolshoi dancers of the late '50's.

Remarkably, he moves rather like one, too -- his scrupulous concern for the niceties of ballet technique (pointed feet, carefully placed arms) matched, though nearly eclipsed, by a feral intensity that he never learned at any barre.

Nicholas Gunn was a former Paul Taylor principal dancer whom the Swayzes met at an acting workshop. Milton Katselas, who ran the workshop, sponsored the original tryout run of the play in July 1984.

Patsy Swayze provided additional choreography for the play, and also of note is Stacy Widelitz (who would co-write "She's Like the Wind" with Patrick as well) who composed and performed some of the show's music.

Lewis Segal's article in the LA Times continued, talking about the initial meeting of the Swayzes and Gunn:

We started talking about our lives as dancers and, as we talked, we realized how much pain was held down and could only be released among the three of us. And this bond formed because things we had suppressed and hadn't talked about for years were finally coming out."

...Swayze calls the show "very scary to do. It's our souls on the line."

"It's amazing," he continues. "I feel like the picture of Dorian Gray. I'm 32. My body should be hurting. I've broken more things than you can imagine. I've torn muscles, pinched nerves, had back problems over and over again. But I've kept myself together as a dancer over all these years since Feld, and it feels better for me to dance now than at any time in my life."

"I suppose it comes down to the process of becoming an artist," he says, "of finally finding out what artistry is and how to achieve it."

"Without A Word" stars Patrick Swayze as "Travis McPhearson, Lisa Niemi as "Chrissa Lindh", George de la Pena as "Max Delano", Matthew Walker as "Alex McGrath", Audra Ford as "Bree", and Nicolas Gunn. Below are some photos from Winnipeg locations which served as the interior and/or exterior living quarters for "Travis, Chrissa, and Max".

The Hargrave apartment building is a beautiful older building in the Exchange District of Winnipeg. While some interiors were filmed at another penthouse location, the building, lobby, and stairwell were used. This is also the case for the Sterling Cloak building, where the staircase is apparently featured prominently as "Travis" goes up and down the stairwell. Another site, pictured below, is Sherlock Printing, though the printing materials inside the locale are different than what was present at the time of the shoot.

Comments from Alex Archbold:

The office building mentioned at right.

"I began work on 'Without a Word' almost a month before filming, in that time I did a tremendous amount of scouting for this project. The Art Designer, Tim Galvin, has an excellent eye, and had very specific locations in mind. I recall I spent nearly a week looking for an apartment with an adjoined livng/dining room; it had to be character, and on the main level so the electricians could light the set easily. Patrick had an office four doors down from mine. ... He had a great deal of musical equipment in his office, and was very involved in the soundtrack of the movie. I remember walking past late at night and hearing a mix of heart pounding Latin music, moving on to classic Pink Floyd. Both Patrick and Lisa were wonderful, down to earth people, who both had a solid idea of what this film should be. I'm sure the final product will reflect their ability to come together and make a film that is meaningful to them, and will look beautiful thanks to Tim Galvin, and our hard working crew. I spent 14 hours a day working along side Lisa and Patrick, and had a thoroughy enjoyable experience on this shoot..."

Rehearsals and auditions for "Without a Word" took place at the prestigious Royal Winnipeg Ballet. The RWB even allowed the Swayzes to bring their dogs to the locale, an act that was not permitted at many other sites.

The Mondragon Bookstore and Coffee Shop should be visible "as is" in the film as nothing was changed or moved for the shooting, which was done on a Sunday when the store is normally closed.

The big performance of the Dance Motives company
was shot at the Walker Theater.

More filming was done at the Steinkopf Gardens, as well.

Various women's groups In Winnipeg built the Women's Tribute Memorial Lodge in 1931 after a 15-year struggle to produce a recreation centre for soldiers of the First World War. Sadly, this building has suffered from decay and has been unoccupied and unused for over a decade. The Swayzes saw the site, however, and felt it would be perfect to serve as the dance studio for Orestes. Local government then invested some money to make the building useable (safe) for the shoot, and now there is a fundraising attempt to upgrade the building (including the addition of heating).

New shutters were one of the things added for the film,
and are still there.

This is where some cue cards were found,
left behind by the crew.

The backdrop added for the film is still present at the location.

I think that the project was quite stressful for Patrick & Lisa, Lisa being a first time director and all. It was also an endeavour that they have been working on for some time and had a very special place in their hearts. It took 10 years to come to fruition and that creates a great deal of stress.

The setting was New York and a small part in New Jersey so the challenge was creating those scenes in Winnipeg in early spring. We had a marvelous Production Designer from Philadelphia whose vision working with the available locations in Winnipeg created a completely wonderful look for the film.

Patrick and Lisa were more than dedicated to the film and responded to the public graciously and always with a smile. Autograph seekers and curious folk alike, they always took the time to do the walk around and all the usual chatting and connecting to the community we were in filming in. They understood the importance of that and the fact that Winnipeg is a small town and not used to stars of that nature. They were always patient and agreeable whenever those situations occurred.

Patrick & Lisa were very connected to the film crew and we were all on board in terms of doing more than 100% to make the film a success. It was a great project to work on and it was a pleasure to get to know them.

(A little sad anecdote for you) ... They are serious animal lovers and brought two of their pets with them, a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Gabriel (Lisa's dog) and a Standard White Poodle named Bohda (Patrick's dog). Unfortunately, in the middle of the show, Bohda who was 14 years old, became ill and had to be put down. That of course was extremely hard on both of them; the dog was loved dearly and to deal with the pressures of making a film plus the added stress of the loss of Bohda was really difficult but they got through it.

On my part, it was an extremely interesting project to work on, Patrick in particiular created quite a stir in the city while filming and it certainly worked to my advantage to be able to use his name while negotiating location deals for the film. During the prep portion of the movie, it seemed that every time I turned on the TV "Dirty Dancing" was on and that certainly helped in bringing his name forward. Everyone, especially women were very excited that they may have a chance to get a glimpse of him. I had several opportunities to watch Patrick & Lisa dance while we were filming and it was truly magical."

The wrap party was held the evening of April 28, 2002 at the Press Club in Winnipeg, and then the Swayzes headed back to the United States to begin the long and difficult post-production tasks, including Lisa focusing on the editing, and Patrick completing the film's soundtrack.

Speaking to the media yesterday at Winnipeg City Hall, Patrick Swayze's wife Lisa Niemi mentioned she had discovered a Winnipeg park that would substitute nicely for a park in New York City, where their film Without a Word is set.

"Is it all right if we cut down this one blue spruce?" Niemi innocently asked Mayor Glen Murray, who joined the Swayzes at the press conference table in a committee room across from the Murray's office.

Fortunately, Niemi was kidding, making a mischievous reference to the Exchange District tree controversy that derailed plans to shoot a sequence from the Brad Pitt film Legends of the Fall here in 1993.

Contrary to that disastrous precedent, it was all peace, love and joy as Swayze -- producer and star -- and Niemi -- director, scriptwriter and star -- enthusiastically praised Winnipeg as a film production centre. Murray, referring to himself as an "unabashed Patrick Swayze fan," responded by making Swayze, 48, and Niemi, 44, honourary Winnipeg citizens.

The Swayzes have been in town since late January in pre-production on their personal project, which Niemi says is budgeted at "under $5 million." They've nurtured it since Without a Word was first produced for the stage in Los Angeles in 1985. The seven-week shoot is scheduled to begin Monday at the Walker Theatre.

"There is no way we could have done this without the people of this town," Swayze said.

"It's not like Hollywood with people phoning it in and waiting for a paycheque" he said. "People here really really care about their craft. People have just opened their hearts and their doors and their talent and their skill for us on a level that we could never have imagined," he said. "And I thank you for that."

Swayze affirmed, that, yes, there are parts of Winnipeg that would easily pass for New York's SoHo district.

Niemi rhapsodized about driving home in the city at night and "the best East Indian food I've had since we left India."

Both praised the local dance community and its support of their film set in the New York's dance scene.

"The (Royal Winnipeg Ballet) have been incredibly supportive on many levels" he said.

"They couldn't give us a lot of dancers because they keep taking them out on tour but in every other way, in terms of space and allowing our dogs to hang out with us during rehearsals ... There's a different quality here."

Niemi said she first came to town a year ago to audition dancers and was surprised to discover the depth of talent here.

"I thought we were going to get maybe 10 people," she said. "And 175 or 200 showed up.

"We went to Toronto, too, and I thought the attitude and the spirit of the dancers here was far more exciting than it was in Toronto," she said.

"So there, Mel," interjected Murray, taking a shot at Hogtown's Mel Lastman.

If there was a downside to the project, it would be that the couple have taken on a gruelling performance regimen at a stage of life when most dancers have abandoned performance altogether.

"It would have been nicer to have got this done when I was a little rubber person 12 years ago," Swayze said, adding that his personal regimen includes: "Lots and lots of dancing, lots of anti-inflammatories ... some voodoo worship, a lot of prayer. And Tiger Balm."

Swayze admitted the cold weather aggravates the titanium rod in his femur, the result of a 1997 horse-riding accident on the set of a movie that left him with two broken legs. He shrugged it off with the machismo expected in the star of such films as Dirty Dancing, Ghost and Road House.

"Pain is my friend," he said.

"We've invested in the Advil company," he added.

Swayze reserved his highest praise for his wife of 25 years.

"She's a huge inspiration," he said. "She's never lost the vision, and I did. I got beat down by the business and the world and ... does anybody really care about doing a film that could really make a difference and really touch people's lives?

"And she's like a pitbull and never quits."

Some WAW Facts and Notes

"Without a Word" is produced by Franchise Classics, WAW Productions, and Minds Eye Pictures with executive producers being Ashok Armitraj and Kevin DeWalt, plus producers Elie Samaha, Andrew Stevens, and Patrick Swayze. Lisa Niemi makes her directorial debut.

Additional casting includes Bambi Swayze as dancer #3, Yosuke Mino, Chad Brock, Stephanie Slater, Marie Stillin, Desmond Richardson (male dancer #1), Rasta Thomas (who became the youngest dancer in the world to win the senior men's division gold medal at the 1998 USA International Ballet Competition) as "Timmy", Timothy Webber, plus Heather Thompson and Tai Jimenez as dancers 1 and 2, respectively. Jamie Bishton and Kathryn Bradney do some of the doubling as "Travis" and "Chrissa" as does Igor Piovano as "Max".

Choreographers include Doug Varone, Dwight Rhoden, and Alonzo King, who is a former dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem and who has a rich history in ballet having performed and worked with the School of American Ballet, the American Ballet Theater School, and the Harkness School of Ballet Arts. Patsy Swayze, of course, also worked on the production!

The movie has been an on again-off again project for years. At various points, start dates were even announced. In 1992, while on a promotional tour for "City of Joy", Patrick even stated that Roland Joffe would be directing. However, something always seemed to interfere and WAW would disappear. On May 14, 1998, however, the Hollywood Reporter ran this notation: "(LOS ANGELES) - Realizing a longtime goal, Patrick Swayze and his wife Lisa Niemi will star and dance together in Franchise Pictures' "Without a Word." Niemi will also make her feature directorial debut from her own screenplay. The film, which rolls in August, is based on a play by Niemi, Swayze and Nicolas Gunn. All three will star in the film version, a drama about the fate of a dance company that rests on a final performance by three former dancers who must reconcile their differences in order to perform the show."

The August 1998 start date for production was pushed back to January of 1999, then to Summer then to November. Production continued to be set back to April 2000 and beyond as the couple reworked their project until finally the Swayzes dream became a working tangible in 2001 in Winnipeg, Canada. The Swayzes arrived in Winnipeg early in February and the shoot began on March 12 and continued through April 28.

Lisa had finished a repolishing of the screenplay in May 1999, and during that summer, Patrick and Lisa ventured to Canada to scout locations and extras. In addition, the couple continued to prepare physically as well. In a 1993 article in the Houston Chronicle, Nanciann Cherry quoted Patrick as saying, "We're working real hard to get our bodies together and our minds and hearts together to jump into that film...When you're going to do a dance film, there's a lot of physical preparation just to be able to do it take after take after take."

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Some basic facts about "Without a Word"

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• FYI Winnipeg - Numerous articles by Randall King and others!
• Do You Hate Ballet?
• Royal Winnipeg Ballet
• Women's Tribute Center Memorial Lodge article
• Mondragon Bookstore and Coffee Shop
• Walker Theater production
• Walker Theater sound article

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