... Come A Long Way
Theatre Workshop's seventh production. Presented in December, 1998.
With this production, subtitled "an experiment in movement", TW attempts something quite different. Our goal this time is to create a show which uses music, dance and very little dialogue to show how all humans are on their own personal journeys. Journeys determined by movement and expression. It is this concept of movement that can tell the story of who we are and where we are going. For this production, the class decides to bring the audience back close to watch, sitting on platform sin the orchestra pit. Later we realize that because the program is now so large, we will never again be able to present something as intimate. The standing room audiences, and those turned away at the door, probably agree with that decision. Off-track practices become mandatory for those in the advanced section of TW. Highlights from this show include: "The Ribbon Dance" an intricate weaving and flowing of ribbons creating tableaus and patterns of startling creativity accompanied by Middle Eastern music, choreographed with the help of Jose Vences, a well-known folklorico instructor; the evocative use of rolling platforms, scaffolds, and a bicycle; "Rosa Parks" our most intricate and advanced technically hip hop dance yet; "Paranoid Android" an emotional and harrowing movement piece that puts 22 people (including 8 brave teachers) in a room and shows them negotiating their escape; and "Birth"- an interesting look at the process of birth, in this case dancers emerging from an enormous blob of stretchy material.
For the third year in a row, a half hour version of the show is entered in the annual University of LaVerne high school theater competition, winning two major awards "Outstanding Production" and "Outstanding Ensemble".