New Year, New Show! "Aspiro" Trailer

"Aspiro" by Deviated Theatre
at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in the Dance Theatre University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742




Friday, January 23rd @ 8:00pm
Saturday, January 24th @ 8:00pm
Sunday, January 25th @ 7:00pm
(runs for one weekend only!)

Runtime: 1 hr. 45 min. with a 15 min. intermission

"A quick look around the rehearsal room and it's clear that Deviated Theatre is not your typical troupe: One performer rolls away a unicycle while a couple of actors munch on carrots, an aerialist unrigs her crimson silks from the ceiling grid and a stagehand gathers assorted costumes and a basket brimming with maybe a hundred party masks."
-- Lisa Traiger, The Washington Post, 7/2008

"The opus was inspired by a 1998 painting by [Enoch] Chan of the Three Mythological Fates who spin, weave and cut the lifelines of human souls. Their sinewy bodies were reproduced on hand-painted unitards, and the painting's panels of red became red aerial fabric onstage. An enormous warping wheel through which dancers and actors enter aids the Fates in measuring each lifeline. Other characters of the underworld are imaginary: a girl with a white umbrella, a haggish keeper of the masks, and two hobo-like grim reapers. A flavor of circus and sideshow washes over the many souls of the underworld who hobble around with the burden of their histories and await reincarnation."
-- Kimmie Dobbs and Enoch Chan, "Aspiro" press release, 11/2008

"Aspiro consists of two acts and 15 scenes of modern dance and minor acrobatics set to a twisted story line reminiscent of Edward Gorey's children's books... What was most inspiring about this spot-on performance was not only the level of professionalism but also the sense of purpose in each dancer and in the show as a whole."
-- Ruth Reader, Baltimore City Paper, 10/2008

Please note that buying tickets in advance is strongly recommended.

Tickets:
$35 for adults
$30 for students/seniors/groups
(a group = 10 or more people)

You can purchase tickets here:
http://claricesmithcenter.umd.edu/2009/c/performances/performance?rowid=8461

Or call the box office at the CSPAC:
301-405-ARTS (2767)

For directions to the Clarice Smith Center, please visit:
http://claricesmithcenter.umd.edu/2009/c/about/directions

For production photos and further information, please visit:
http://www.deviatedtheatre.org

-Vaness.
www.vanessastrickland.net

Deviated Theatre: Fundraising

Photography by Enoch Chan, 2008

Previously, I mentioned an internet fundraising campaign for Deviated Theatre. Well now I can regale you with the specific details.


Here is the low-down:

-- The product is Magazine subscriptions/renewals sponsored by Reader's Digest
-- Over 650 different popular magazine titles, available at up to 85% off newsstand prices
-- 40% of sales go right to Deviated Theatre
-- A good idea for those of you who have yet to get someone a gift for the holidays! But worry not, the fundraiser won't disappear after the new year, so you can still make purchases past Dec. 31st, 2008
-- For further questions or if you would rather donate to Deviated Theatre directly, check out Deviated's "support" page or contact choreographer Kimmie Dobbs at kimmie[@]deviatedart[dot]com.

If you own or are a part of a company or business that may be interested in purchasing a program ad for our January or March shows or donating an item toward our silent auction at American Dance Institute in March, please download the appropriate paperwork below:

Program Ad Form

Paperwork and ad image due to Kimmie Dobbs by Jan. 10th, 2009 (for Jan. ad), Feb. 22nd, 2009 (for March ad)

Silent Auction Form

Paperwork and auction item(s) due to Vanessa Strickland by Feb. 22nd, 2009

After you have filled these out please snail-mail or e-mail them to Kimmie Dobbs and CC me as well (strickland[dot]vanessa[@]gmail[dot]com). Address information is indicated on the forms.
Please indicate in your mail that you found out about donating through me.

Thanks everyone, and have an awesome holiday!

-Vaness.
www.vanessastrickland.net

Anticipation

The first six months of 2009 are all lined up for me and I’m happy to say that my hard work is really paying off!

As I previously posted, my next show is "Aspiro" with Deviated Theatre. We have been rehearsing for the past month and I also accepted an offer from them for their brand-new original show in April: "LORE," which is playing at Dance Place in DC. Working in shows without dialogue have pushed me to be more specific not only in my character body, but with the actions I take as the character. I’m also working at keeping the physicality of my character in each show dissimilar, so I’m not playing the same character.

Rehearsals for Ma Lien and the Magic Paintbrush with Maryland Ensemble Theatre is fast approaching. We don’t begin until January, but I have been anticipating this show since I was cast back in September. I just heard from the director today and am eager about getting started.

My most recent casting has been for the Maryland Shakespeare Festival’s “Shakespeare Alive!” tour. The cast gets to tour middle schools in Maryland, performing a short “Best Of” Shakespeare presentation to get the kids interested, followed up by workshops dealing with Shakespearian monologues and scenework. I begin in February and wrap in June.

So visually:

Jan 12 – Ma Lien at MET begins rehearsals
Jan 23 – Aspiro runs for a weekend at Clarice Smith
Feb – Shakespeare Alive! begins rehearsals and training
Feb 14 – Ma Lien opens at MET in Frederick
March – Shakespeare Alive! begins touring
March 7 – Aspiro runs for a weekend at American Dance Institute
April 4 - Ma Lien closes at MET in Frederick
April 25 – LORE runs for a weekend at Dance Place
June 2 – Shakespeare Alive! tour wraps up

...Frankly, I’ll probably reward myself in the summer by taking a week’s vacation out of town, as I’ll be just too busy to skip town until then!

Also, Deviated Theatre has created a new way to fundraise via the internet. I’ll post more information about that on here once I set up the system for myself.

-Vaness.
www.vanessastrickland.net

Where is the bride?

The viral video I did with Brillhart Media for the Adventist Review has gone live! Click the photo below to check out the video on my brand-spanking new videos page.

The Brillhart site has a beautiful, hi-def version of the video. It was filmed with a Red One HD Camera, so the quality is really great.

Enjoy!
-Vaness.
www.vanessastrickland.net