“Good art reflects truth back to us and allows us to see beyond the walls that we’ve set up for ourselves. Bad art can’t be bothered with such a task because it’s mired in triviality, self-importance, profit margins, and the like,” said Jayme McGhan, Director of ”Light Chasers. Photo by Casey Jowers.
The School of Stage and Screen at Western Carolina University is ending the fall semester with a production like none other done before by the department.
“Light Chasers” is a brand-new production conceived and created by Stage and Screen Program Director, Jayme McGhan and dance faculty, Ashlee Wasmund and Liz Borom. It is the ending show for this semester of the Mainstage Season.
“Light Chasers” will make its premiere in WCU’s Hoey Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018 and runs at the same time each night through Saturday, Dec. 8. Tickets are $10 for students, $15 for guests 65 and up, and $20 for general public.
What separates this production from any previous is that it is presented solely through devised dance, image, and lighting and set to the complete album of the same title by orchestral rock band Cloud Cult, who collaborated with the school on the project.
“We forget that we can also speak with our bodies…There are other ways to speak and communicate in this world and I think that dance is super powerful for that,” said Liz Borom, an adjunct dance professor in the School of Stage and Screen.
The storyline follows a married couple from the beginning of their relationship, through the trials faced after the death of their young daughter, and even past the end of their own lives. It honors two of the members from the band Cloud Cult who lost their son as a toddler and created the album as a part of their ongoing grieving process.
“The beauty of this piece is that regardless of what your life experiences are, or are to this point, there’s this overarching idea of connection and energy and light and how we exist together,” said Ashlee Wasmund, program director of musical theatre and dance. “The work that interests me most is the work that affects me as a person and makes me think deeper about myself and my actions and my experiences, and forces me into uncomfortable, challenging spaces of reflection.
Tickets can be purchased in advance online at arts.wcu.edu/lightchasers, or at the Bardo Arts Center box office or calling 828-227-2479.
