Roller Skating With My Cousin

Posted on January 15, 2010 by The LIDA Project

Chorus (a.k.a. The Large Hadron Collider) in Roller Skating With My Cousin. Photo: Erin Preston (2010).

Roller Skating With My Cousin
a devised work of The LIDA Project*

Part science lab, part disco, Roller Skating With My Cousin combines the mythology and archetypes of the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel with the sexual revolutionary act of roller skating, while simultaneously asking whether we can all create a custom-designed universe in our kitchen sink and, furthermore, why did Ronald Reagan fail as the anti-Christ? This mash-up of themes results in a lively, dark romp in which a synchronized chorus of roller skaters builds a tower under a star-flecked mirror ball sky.

“Roller Skating With My Cousin is a musical love letter from the future, on wheels, with utter disregard for logic and linearity…let LIDA be your guide… For sensible people, the 1980s have long been thought of as a time best forgotten…Then along came the delightfully whacked-out lunatics at the LIDA Project.”
-Kurt Brighton, The Denver Post

“It’s riveting, surprising, a beautiful cross…between theater and life.”
-Juliet Wittman, Westword

Production History
January 15 – February 20, 2010: BINDERY | space :: Denver, CO

Media Coverage
Rolling ’round the 80’s (The Denver Post)
Review: Bob Bows (Colorado Drama)
A Wheel Deal (Westword)

The Company
Direction: Brian Freeland / Tonya Malik-Carson
Stage Management: Tommy Sheridan
Asst. Stage Management: Ryan Gaddis
Lighting Design: Steven J. Deidel / Anna R. Kaltenbach
Projection Design: Steven J. Deidel
Sound Design: Brian Freeland
Scenic Design: Steven J. Deidel
Scenic Charge: Schuyler Burks
Costume Design: Julie Rada
Properties Design: Julie Rada

Ensemble
Ed Cord, Desiree Gagnon, Miriam Suzanne, Melanie Owen, Julie Rada, Matthew Schultz, & Crystal Verdon.

Chorus
Julie Adams, Gabrielle Begeman, Vicky Cruz, Danica Dalezal, Sara Downey, Allison Hakala, Heather Rae Johnson, Jessica Kolacny, Ariel Quigley, & Stacey Spaulding.

Images

Video

* Development collaborators: Ed Cord, Steven J. Deidel, Brian Freeland, Desiree Gagnon, Tonya Malik-Carson, Miriam Suzanne, Melanie Owen, Julie Rada, Matthew Schultz, & Crystal Verdon.

joseph k.

Posted on May 22, 2009 by The LIDA Project

Dan O'Neill (Joeseph K.) & Josh Hartwell (Kafka) in joesph k. Photo: Erin Preston (2009).

Dan O’Neill (Joseph K.) & Josh Hartwell (Kafka) in joseph k. Photo: Erin Preston (2009).

joseph k.
an original work by Martin McGovern

Based on the writings of Franz Kafka, joseph k. is a journey through the beauty and paranoia of one of the greatest literary minds in Western literature.

Production History
May 22 – June 20, 2009 : BINDERY | space :: Denver, CO

Awards
Best New Work (Martin McGovern) – Denver Post Ovation Award
Best Scenic Design (Brian Freeland) – Denver Post Ovation Award
Best Director of a Play (Brian Freeland) – Denver Post Ovation Award Nomination

Media Coverage
Review – The Denver Post
CULTURAMA: LIDA’s ‘joseph k’ throws gloomy shadows
Review – Colorado Drama

The Company
Direction: Brian Freeland
Assistant Director: Melanie Owen
Costume Design: Julie Rada / Annette Westerby
Lighting Design: Steven J. Deidel / Anna Kaltenbach
Master Electrician: Anshuman Bhatia
Projection Design: Steven J. Deidel
Scenic Design: Brian Freeland
Sound Design: Brian Freeland

Ensemble
Dan O’Neill: Joseph K
Josh Hartwell: Kafka
Brandon Kruhm: Franz
Doron Burks: Willem / Bloch
Lorenzo Sariñana: Investigator / Magistrate / Titorelli
Petra Ulrych: Frau Grubach
Elgin Kelley: Fraulein Burstner / Leni / Fraulein Montag / Urchin Girl
Julie Rada: Felice / Wife / Urchin Girl
Ken Witt: Huld
Mike Marlow: The Whipper / Ensemble
Elizabeth Parks: Ensemble

Images

RAIN/ of terror

Posted on February 27, 2009 by The LIDA Project

RAIN/ OF TERROR (2009)

RAIN/ of terror
Adapted from Georg Büchner’s Danton’s Death by Julie Rada

During the chaos of the Revolution, a man in isolation has left the political scene to languish in sensual delights. Another man at the zenith of power clings to virtue and a hunger for conformity…the citizens are easily roused and swayed…a culture of fear infects the city with the constant threat of execution. Through the lens of LIDA’s unique aesthetic and devised through collaborative process, Georg Büchner’s classic Danton’s Death, gets a new life in this story of the inevitable triumph of humanity and its insatiable lust for life, against the backdrop of sex, violence, corruption, and bloodshed.

“It’s theater of chaos. It’s smoldering, it feels a little dangerous and it’s completely unlike any other theatrical experience you’ll get in this town.” – John Moore, The Denver Post

Production History
February 27 – March 21, 2009: BINDERY | space :: Denver, CO

Awards
Best Lighting Design (Miriam Eric Suzanne), Denver Post Ovation Award Nomination

Media Coverage
“RAIN/ of terror”: A bloody good minireview – The Denver Post
RAIN/ of terror looks at social unrest – Life on Capitol Hill

The Company
Direction: Julie Rada
Stage Management: Frank Cason / Kenny Storms
Lighting Design: Miriam Suzanne
Scenic Design: Julie Rada
Sound Design: Brian Freeland
Original Music: Carrie Beeder / James Han
Costume Design: Julie Rada
Properties Design: Julie Rada
Production Assistance: Melanie Owen / Doron Burks

Ensemble
Nathan Bock, Kestrel Burley, Ed Cord, Eve D’Agosto, Kirsten Deane, Desiree Gagnon, Brandon Kruhm, Leroy Leonard, Elizabeth Parks, Lorenzo Sariñana, Matthew Schultz, and Todd Webster

Understudy: Jose Aquila

Images

RAIN/ of terror (2009). Photo: Brian Freeland

RAIN/ of terror (2009). Photo: Kate Conger

RAIN/ of terror (2009). Photo: Brian Freeland

RAIN/ of terror (2009). Photo: Kate Conger

Pussy + 6

Posted on December 4, 2006 by The LIDA Project

Pussy + 6 (2006)

Pussy + 6
Week 4 of Suzan-Lori Parks’ work 365 Days / 365 Plays

Week four in Suzan Lori-Parks’ 365 Plays/365 Days series. Each play received full production and was performed on the evening corresponding to its date. With no fixed seating, these short plays were treated not just as performances but also as mediations and installations. Though in some cases, dialogue lasted no more than one or two minutes, audiences stayed in the space for as long as 60 minutes, engaging with the scenographic environment in and around the downtown warehouse space in which pussy +6 was performed.

The eye of God opens and the eye of God closes, and that entire play world happens on that day. The next day, an entirely new play world is born. – Bonnie Metzgar

Production History
December 4 – December 10, 2006: BINDERY | space :: Denver, CO

Media Coverage
365 Days… 365 Plays – The Denver Post

Company
Direction: Julie Rada
Scenic Design: Julie Rada
Lighting Design: Jacob M. Welch
Sound Design: Paul Cure
Costume Design: Julie Rada
Properties Design: Julie Rada
Puppet/Mask Design: Sophie Nimmannit
Projection Design: Brian Freeland

Ensemble
Isaiah Arney
Jena Davis
Ashley Howard
Matthew Schultz
Karen Slack

The Works
Pussy (12/4)
House of Jones (12/5)
Blackbird (12/6)
The Carpet Cleaner on Pearl Harbor Day (12/7)
The View from Here (12/8)
The Presentation of the Grundig Majestic (12/9)
The History Lesson (12/10)

Images

Pussy + 6 (2006)

The Anonymous Mr. W.

Posted on December 1, 2005 by The LIDA Project

The Anonymous Mr. W. (2005)

The Anonymous Mr. W
a devised work of The LIDA Project* based on Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck

Inspired by Georg Büchner’s unfinished masterpiece, Woyzeck, The LIDA Project reinterprets the story of a young soldier returning from the horrors of war. Reality bends in the unsteady world of this soldier’s mind as he grapples with a society in which he no longer belongs. Originally written in the 1830’s and never finished, Büchner left modern literature with one of its first anti-heroes. This is the portrait of an Everyman who descends into madness and murder. The Anonymous Mr. W brings this story of war and loss with a vengeance into the post-modern dialogue.

It’s up to audiences to interpret for themselves the hula hoop, the vaudevillian routine, the dominatrix doctor, the autopsy on a ticklish cadaver with sand for blood. – The Denver Post

Production History
December 1, 2005: Mattie’s House of Mirrors :: Denver, CO
December 8, 2005: University of Colorado :: Boulder, CO
December 16 – 18, 2005: Stage Left :: Chicago, IL
December 12 – 13, 2008: BINDERY | space :: Denver, CO

Media Coverage
“Anonymous” hits the road – The Denver Post

Company (2005)
Direction: Brian Freeland
Scenic Design: Brian Freeland
Costume Design: Nissa Almquist
Original Sound Composition: Paul Cure
Sound Design: Brian Freeland
Projection Design: Brian Freeland

Ensemble (2005)
Catherine Duquette
Jacob T. Morehead
Cole Schneider
Matthew Schultz

Company (2008)
Direction: Brian Freeland
Assistant Direction: Miriam Suzanne
Scenic Design: Brian Freeland
Costume Design:Julie Rada / Matthew Schultz
Original Sound Composition: Paul Cure
Sound Design: Brian Freeland
Projection Design: Brian Freeland

Ensemble (2008)
Julie Rada
Matthew Schultz

Images

The Anonymous Mr. W (2008). Photo: Brian Freeland

* Development collaborators: Nissa Almquist, Robin Davies, Hart DeRose, Catherine Duquette, Brian Freeland, Jacob T. Morehead, Julie Rada, Cole Schneider, & Matthew Schultz.

Iphigenia Crash Land Falls on the Neon Shell That Was Once Her Heart

Posted on October 22, 2004 by The LIDA Project

Iphigenia Crash Land Falls on the Neon Shell That Was Once Her Heart (2004)

Iphigenia Crash Land Falls on the Neon Shell That Was Once Her Heart
by Caridad Svich

Blending sex, death, fame, drugs and love into a theatrical paste, playwright Caridad Svich’s work imagines a post-modern world that has changed little from the cold calculations and moral machinations of Greek society. Blending original text with modernist twists and stories of murder and mayhem south of the border, Svich creates mesmeric motion, pummeling every sense with dance-beat and drug-tinged escapism.

“Caridad’s impressive language is full of poetry with a grounded concrete quality that reminds me of the wonderful rootedness of William Carlos Williams. In the dramatic rules of the Svich universe everything is possible.”
– Matthew Maguire,
TheatreForum

Production History
October 22 – December 3, 2004: BINDERY | space :: Denver, CO

Awards
Best Sound Design (Brian Freeland) – Denver Post Ovation Award Nomination
Best Costume Design (Michelle Baldwin) – Denver Post Ovation Award Nomination

Company
Direction: Brian Freeland
Assistant Direction: Jessica Posner
Technical Director: Wolf Butler
Stage Manager: Sarah Hoover
Scenic Design: Wolf Butler
Costume Design: Michelle Baldwin
Lighting Design: Jacob M. Welch
Sound Design: Brian Freeland
Projection Design: Brian Freeland
Properties Design: Steven Gibson
Live Projection Mix: Robin Davies / Brian Freeland
Live Camera: Marcus Loftin

Ensemble
Nissa Almquist: Iphigenia
Jacob Morehead: Achilles
Terry Burnsed: General Adolfo/ Fresa Girl / Virtual MC / Soldier X / General’s Ass
Lisa Mumpton: Camila/ Hermaphrodite Prince
Hart DeRose: Violeta Imperial
Matthew Korda: Newscaster / Fresa Girl / Orestes/ Virgin Puta
Matthew Schultz: Fresa Girl

Images

Iphigenia Crash Land Falls on the Neon Shell That Was Once Her Heart (2004)

Bingo Boyz: Columbine

Posted on March 12, 2004 by The LIDA Project

Mike Holzer & Brian E. Lewis in Bingo Boyz: Columbine (2004). Photo by Eric Webber.

Bingo Boyz: Columbine
a devised work of The LIDA Project*

The trust among the ensemble is evident in the cohesive performances and their telling choices, providing a context for Harris and Klebold’s actions that de-sensationalize the event and re-sensitize us to the common, everyday toxic ingredients that created this explosive recipe.
– Bob Bows, Variety

Production History
March 12 – May 1, 2004: BINDERY | space :: Denver, CO

Awards
Best New Work – Denver Post Ovation Award
Best Younger Actor (Max Posner) – Denver Post Ovation Award
Best New Work of 2004 – Out Front

Company
Direction: Robin Davies
Dramaturgy: Tami Canaday
Scenic Design: Robin Davies
Costume Design: Ensemble
Lighting Design: Wolf Butler
Sound Design: Tyler Potts
Sound Composition: Paul Cure
Properties Design: Steve Gibson
Projection Design: Brian Freeland
Research: Jen French

Ensemble
Jackie Billotte, Heather Day, Hart DeRose, Mike Holzer, Mike Jones, Kate Lauer, Brian E. Lewis, Amelia Mauro, Phil Newsom, Jessica Posner, Max Posner, Sue Rock, Matthew Schultz, Ashley Scott, & Ken Witt

Images

Bingo Boyz: Columbine (2004)

* Development collaborators: Jackie Billotte, Tami Canaday, Robin Davies, Heather Day, Hart DeRose, Brian Freeland, Jen French, Mike Holzer, Mike Jones, Kate Lauer, Brian E. Lewis, Amelia Mauro, Phil Newsom, Jessica Posner, Max Posner, Sue Rock, Matthew Schultz, Ashley Scott, Jadelynn Stahl, & Ken Witt