Lelavision presents ExperiMetal

 


January 23rd - 31st
Buy Tickets Here
Evening shows: January 23rd, 24th, 30th and 31st at 8 pm.
Matinees: Sunday, January 25th and Saturday, January 31st at 3:00 pm
School shows: January 28th at 11:30 am and January 29th at 10:00 am*.
*Morning performances through reservation only. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to arrange.

Coming to West of Lenin this January, Lelavision will mettle with mental and physical phenomenon as they perform theatrical experiments in sound and movement utilizing metal and other materials. Surprising discoveries will be made in the hitherto unexplored territories of physical theater. The results will touch on themes and ideas resonant with the challenges, ingenuity, humor and beauty of our modern times.  Metallic bones, boingy loops, giant wheels, stretchy bands, and long strings are the elements for innovative and surprising cause-and-effect relationships. Lelavision makes educated guesses on causality when they turn West of Lenin into their laboratory.



Hypothesis # 1 "Skelatone": Will a  dinosaur made from titanium spikes and aluminum resonators make a good pet and a gentle sound? No one has been able to clone a dinosaur, but perhaps a large musical puppet will shed some light on paleo music.  Warning:  risk of licks, smiles, and contagious tunes.  



Hypothesis # 2 "The Infinite Hyper Loop": Is it possible to transport an entire audience by bending time, frequency, and minds inside an energized spring steel loop? It might happen by adding #1 Infinite Loop (Google's address) to  the Hyperloop (Elon Musk's dream transport system) resulting in The Infinite Hyper Loop. Its source of sustainable energy might be the common violin bow.  We think it will make you think differently about the relationship between music, shape, and movement. Risk:  amusement and jaw dropping.  



Hypothesis # 3 "Wheel Good": Is the wheel better served as a musical instrument?  Think of all the problems that have been created by the invention of the wheel.  It has been used to transport disease, to cart away stolen goods and people, and to play jeopardy.  Lelavision will test new ways to reinvent this problematic and iconic form as a peaceful device for making pleasing sounds and mesmerizing motions.  Risk:  peaceful feelings.



Hypothesis # 4 "ContraBand":  Is it too much to view or hear the human body all at once? Will it be funnier and wiser to obscure the form behind long stretchy pulsating bands? We think so, and we think the sounds of said bands will be like nothing you have ever heard before. Risks:  ear & eye arousal and possibility stretching.



These and other experiments are based on the musical inventions of company co-founder/co-director, Ela Lamblin.  These sculptural objects are brought to life through the choreography of company co-founder/co-director Leah Mann and the compositions of collaborator Jason Staczek. The result is "physical theater at its best" (Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times).  The cast includes Lamblin, Mann, Staczek and polyrhythmic multi-instrumentalist, Aimee Zoe.  Directorial assistance comes from AJ Epstein, the founder and president of West of Lenin. Support for this new work comes from grants from 4Culture for the Arts and the Bossak Heilbron Family Foundation as well as a private donation with matching funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  Jack Straw provides the non-profit umbrella for Lelavision.
 


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