FirstWorks Frontier Series Finale April 7 Features Multimedia Performance Innovators Manual Cinema at Moses Brown Woodman Center
Public and school performances of immersive coming-of-age story ‘Lula Del Ray’ mark FirstWorks Frontier Series finale at Moses Brown’s state-of-the-art theater
PROVIDENCE, RI – FirstWorks, a Rhode Island non-profit dedicated to building community through world-class arts, announces the finale of its three-partFirstWorks Frontier Series with Chicago-based performance collective Manual Cinema in “Lula Del Ray” on Saturday, April 7, 8:00 PM at the Moses Brown School Woodman Center (250 Lloyd Avenue, Providence, R.I.) Tickets are available online now at http://first-works.org for $30 advance general admission ($35 at door) and $15 for students or by calling the FirstWorks Box Office at 401-401-4281. The performance is presented by FirstWorks in partnership with Moses Brown School.
The globally acclaimed performance collective Manual Cinema expertly weaves together the high and low-tech arts of shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, multi-channel sound design and live music to create haunting, immersive stories. Their performance “Lula Del Ray” is a mythic reinvention of the classic coming-of-age story, set in the mid-century American Southwest and inspired by the music of Hank Williams, Roy Orbison and Patsy Cline. A New York Times “Critic’s Pick,” “Lula Del Ray” tells the story of a lonely girl living with her mother on the outskirts of a vast satellite array in the desert. After a chance encounter over the radio, Lula becomes obsessed with The Baden Brothers, a soulful country music duo, and is inspired to run away from home and into a world of danger, deception, and disappointment.
The FirstWorks Frontier Series features performances and arts learning opportunities with internationally acclaimed artists curated from around the globe. This spring’s three-part series carried a theme of women’s strength and resilience across the genres of music, film and new media theatre. March 2018 performances included Qyrq Qyz (Forty Girls) from the Aga Khan Music Initiative, and Betsayda Machado “The Voice of Venezuela.”
“This spine-tingling finale to our FirstWorks Frontier Series explores themes of youth, longing, and media culture – spun from a magical combination of high and low-tech performance techniques,“ said Kathleen Pletcher, Executive Artistic Director of FirstWorks. “We are thrilled to introduce our Rhode Island audience to these innovative creators who have taken the performance world by storm.”
This immersive evening of arts experience kicks off in the Woodman Center lobby at 7:15 PM with a FirstWorks JumpStart performance from the Rhode Island-based youth dance company JUMP! Early birds will get a chance to witness ten dedicated young artists performing a highly sophisticated, 30-minute dance choreographed to the music of Patsy Cline.
After the 8:00 PM performance of “Lula Del Ray”, audience members are invited to explore the set in a FirstWorks Artist Up Close where they can meet the artists and discover the puppets, materials and techniques that have earned the collective cult status at major art venues and festivals around the world. These include Brooklyn Academy of Music, Chicago International Music and Movies Festival, The Kennedy Center, International Festival of Arts and Ideas, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, among others.
As part of the FirstWorks Arts Learning program serving over 4,000 students annually, Manual Cinema will also perform two sold out daytime student matinees on Monday, April 9 for twelve schools including Central Falls High School, Jacqueline M. Walsh School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Pawtucket), Moses Brown School (Providence), Rhode Island School for the Deaf (Providence), Trinity Academy of the Performing Arts (Providence), and Oakland Beach Elementary (Warwick).
School representatives may contact Kathleen McAreavey, FirstWorks Education and Community Manager at 401-421-4278 for more information on FirstWorks Arts Learning opportunities.
About FirstWorks
FirstWorks is a non-profit based in Providence, Rhode Island whose purpose is to build the cultural, educational and economic vitality of its community by engaging audiences with world-class performing arts and education programs. Since 2004, FirstWorks festivals, performances and programs have attracted more than 400,000 participants. The FirstWorks Arts Learning Program reaches more than 4,000 students from public and charter schools across Rhode Island with transformative arts-based learning experiences. FirstWorks is Founding Partner for PVDFest, collaborating with the City of Providence to produce an international arts celebration held each June that draws tens of thousands of visitors to Providence to experience music, art and spectacular performances. Visit http://first-works.org to learn more.
Listings Information:
WHO: FirstWorks Frontier Series presents Manual Cinema “Lula Del Ray”
WHAT: A haunting, immersive coming of age story spun from shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, multi-channel sound design and live music.
WHEN: Saturday, April 7, 2018 at 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Moses Brown School Woodman Center (250 Lloyd Avenue, Providence)
TICKETS: $30 advance general admission / $35 at door / $15 students
PURCHASE: Tickets are available at http://first-works.org and at 401-421-4281
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