New Explorations: Journeys and Legacies with Laura Rikard – Guest Artist. “A Shaker’s Path: a theatrical exploration based on the life of Mother Ann Lee” and “The Pink Ribbons are Choking Me: – Laura’s personal exploration of returning home to care for her mother” – a world premier performance.
March 25, 26 @ 7pm Central School Ben Mount Theatre

Devised Theatre is a contemporary form of theatre performance growing in popularity across the nation and this project brings two devised performance pieces by professional guest artist with workshop on creating devised performance work. Devising empowers the theatre artists to explore the creation of theater and gives the theatre artist the skills to create theatre without being dependent upon the commercial theatre. The theatre is recognizing that devised theatre is the catalyst for finding new forms and inspiration for making theatre.

 

A Shaker’s Path: a theatrical exploration based on the life of Mother Ann Lee

A devised drama based on the life of Mother Ann Lee, the founder of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, also known as the Shakers. After studying with Odin Teat ret in Denmark Laura Rikard creates a devised, abstract performance using theatre techniques based in Commedia dell’Arte, Viewpoints, Suziki and Meyerhold’s Biomechanics in order to explore the life and times of Mother Ann Lee, the founder of the Shakers and the woman that lead the group from persecution in England to finding a peaceful homestead in Upstate New York.

Most of us are familiar with the exquisite workmanship of Shaker furniture, but the actual people themselves may be more of a mystery (abstinence does not lend itself to passing a belief system down between generations, for obvious reasons). A Shaker’s Path is the perfect opportunity to gaze into that world through the life of its founder.

In addition to the two performances of her devised pieces, Ms. Rikard will be teaching a workshop on Saturday March 26th, available for the community to participate and learn to create devised performances from their own stories and interests. The experience will be informative, creative, and educational about an up and coming art form that is spreading nationwide.

 

The Pink Ribbons are Choking Me – Laura’s personal exploration of returning home to care for her mother.

This one- woman show chronicles Laura’s journey as she leaves behind her life in New York and moves back home to care for her mother. Laura grew up in small one-horse town in South Carolina, part of a working class family. She believed her parents had the perfect marriage and that her mother was an elegant Southern belle. Laura is a budding actress in New York City, when her mother is diagnosed with Stage IV Breast Cancer. Rikard plays the different characters in her life as she reacclimatizes to living in a small southern town as she is learning how to care for her mother. Laura soon learns that she and her mother had much more in common than she ever thought possible. But as their relationship grows family secrets become exposed leaving Rikard to wonder, who her parents truly are? Filled with humor and heartache this story explores how we cope with our past, present and future. Rikard portrays an array of colorful characters as she guides us through a journey of discovery, grief and then forgiveness.