ABOUT THIS SHOW:
In Rink Life, Lucky Plush brings its highly integrated approach to dance-theater into a communal space that nods to the visual aesthetics and social dynamics of 1970’s roller rink culture, where relationships and storylines are as transient as the world that contains them. Rink Life’s staging and choreography are built from the rink’s spatial rules and social codes, and its script-turned-libretto—created from passing conversations, distant whispers, pop-song earworms, and found scripts—is entirely spoken and sung live. As the ensemble sings full-throatedly to score their experiences, they demonstrate through effort, risk, beauty, and failure that they—and we—are utterly dependent on one another.
Created and Directed by Julia Rhoads
Devised in collaboration with the ensemble: Kara Brody, Michel Rodriguez Cintra, Elizabeth Luse, Jacinda Ratcliffe, Rodolfo Sánchez Sarracino, A. Raheim White, Meghann Rose Wilkinson
Collaborating Director: Leslie Buxbaum Danzig
Vocal Collaborator: Bethany Clearfield
Lighting Designer: Rachel Levy
Costume Designer: Patrick Burns
Production Stage Manager: Rachel Damon
Audio Engineer: Bradford Chapin
Special thanks to contributing artists, including: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for their early contributions in Julia Rhoads’ Cadence, and Ethan Kirschbaum and Enid Smith for their contributions to Rink Life’s excerpt in Tab Show.
Rink Life is one of eight projects to receive a 2018 New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project Production and Touring Award, with lead funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and additional support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Development partners for Rink Life include Door Kinetic Arts Festival (Bailey’s Harbor, WI), the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Due to the high volume and wide breadth of work we present, we are often not able to proactively offer content advisories for individual performances. However, if you have specific concerns about stage effects (such as strobe lights or fog/haze) that might have a bearing on comfort or well-being, or if you would like to know more about the age appropriateness of the performance, please contact the box office at 312-335-1650.