NNW Profile: collective unconscious by Russ

Welcome back, my little art-addicted-aardvarks! ...art-varks...

Savage Umbrella central (aka SPACE) has been buzzing with so much activity lately. Movers and shakers and candle stick makers have been utilizing our humble home to take their new works to the next level. 

That's right! We're well under way preparing for our NIGHT OF NEW WORKS *cue fire works and cheering*

These next few weeks we'll be profiling the amazing creators and organizations that will be presenting their new works to you. So without further ado, here's our first NNW Profile:

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the sleeping beauty in the wood
by collective unconscious performance

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What's the story?

Cursed at birth by an evil fairy, Beauty is destined to prick her finger and sleep for 100 years at the age of 16.
But what were the dreams that Sleeping Beauty had before she woke up? Through her active dream-life, Beauty's fairy tale past is unspun from the deeply familiar and woven a-new, as she experiences
​love, loss, and the possibility of a waking life.

the sleeping beauty in the wood is a new, ensemble-created performance work that integrates puppets, masks, movement, and music to evoke Beauty's dark, sensual, and subversive world of dreams.

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Movers and Makers

Director & Designer: David Hanzal
Playwright: Katharine Sherman
Choreographer: Justin Leaf
Performers: Sarah Dewhirst, Russ Dugger*, Elyse Evans, Alana Horton*, Justin Leaf

Special thanks to the additional artists who assisted in the development of this new work: Matt Benyo, Bee Bletsian, Brian Coffin, Dan Dukich, Sofia Lindgren Galloway, Nate Gebhard, Jami Jerome, Mikey Johnson, Leif Jurgensen, Sophenia Marchant, Sarah Parker, Nico Swenson & Dustin Valenta

​* denotes Savage Umbrella company member

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Tell me more! Tell me more!

​What are the main themes in your piece?

We are using the many variations of the “Sleeping Beauty” fairy tale as a framework in which to explore the inherent issues of sexuality, romance, and gender hidden within mythology and our collective human experience. With this project, we are investigating the universal experience of human desire, and questioning how we may perform our gender, romance, and sexuality, in relationship with those that we love. 

What is your creation process like for your piece?

When we create new work, the stage action and visual imagery are partly written and partly developed through various devising exercises or guided improvisations with the ensemble. As our work takes shape, key moments of storytelling are sometimes found in the playwright's text, sometimes in the movement, and sometimes in the design; each plays an equal part. Everything in collective unconscious performance’s work tells the story: the performers, the puppets, the masks, the movement, the music, the costumes, and the props. 

If your piece was a cocktail or beverage, what would it be?

Pink champagne, with a sprinkling of edible silver glitter!

Learn more about collective unconscious performance and their past projects on their website and facebook page.

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NIGHT OF NEW WORKS
April 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 2016 at 7:30 PM
Reserve your tickets now!

** Pieces are presented on different nights. Please see the full schedule here.
the sleeping beauty in the wood performs April 7 & 14, 2016.