Time-traveling, time-deaf twins. Try saying that five times fast. More than just a tongue twister, this is also a brief summary of the plot of May These Changes Make Us Light, a show by the US LIGHT Collective.
The artists’ collective is hosting the multimedia, all-ages show on December 12 at 2720 Cherokee. Each year for the past five years, the collective has created a show titled May These Changes Make Us Light. These shows have only been similar in title, however. Each year, the collective comes up with a different storyline to perform, with an emphasis on collaboration between the collective’s members. This year, Rebecca Rivas, co-producer and one of the performers in the show, said their story was inspired by the combination of an old Sioux tale of the creation of the Earth with the theory of last year’s Nobel Prize in Physics winners, who discovered that time is actually speeding up.
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The show will be multimedia, combining the skills of many different kinds of artists. A combination of dance, aerial performances—including acts by a pole dancer—and live music will be set to the backdrop of custom video animation.
The US LIGHT Collective, started in 2007, was created for the very purpose of artistic collaboration. The founding artists wanted to find a way to combine their unique talents in a show together, but could not find the conventional means to do so. Thus May These Changes Make Us Light was born, and each year the collective continues to combine their unique talents into a show so atypical it is not to be missed.
“When we all come together, it’s just a phenomenal show,” Rivas said. “It really allows us to express ourselves in ways that we may not be able to on our own.”
Rivas will be playing the part of one of the time-traveling twins. Sonia Martinez Orozco will play the role of the other twin, and the two will perform a dance together that will be reminiscent of a Mexican folklórico dance called, “La Bruja.” The animations of video artist Sarah Paulsen will compose the backdrop, while a harpist and a Tibetan Singing Bowl player provide the soundtrack. Indy Lou, an aerialist, will play the role of “la bruja” ( the witch), who attempts to help the time-deaf twins in their struggle to understand the concept of time.
“The whole show is them learning how to understand time, through looking at different human memories,” Rivas said. “And what time means to people. So it’s kind of like an exploration of time and an expression of what’s important to different people about time.”
The title, May These Changes Make Us Light, is actually the name of a song written by FIRE DOG, a band who is also part of the collective. FIRE DOG will perform the song live. Celia’s Yuletide Express, a 40-person holiday choir will perform for the close of the show.
For the first time, the collective is collaborating with three other organizations for this year’s production. LOVE-O-RAMA Records, the HEARding Cats Collective, and the Community Arts and Movement Project all had a hand in putting together this year’s show.
The show is all ages, and admission is $12. A copy of the handbill, however, has a $5 off coupon attached. Show times at both 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. December 12.
For more information on May These Changes Makes Us Light and the US LIGHT COLLECTIVE, visit uslight.wordpress.com.
