How Many Licks
year created: 2003
length: 35 minutes
number of performers: 5 dancers, plus 7 extras (can be community members, see below)
technical requirements: Minimal. The masks are hung from the ceiling or grid.
costumes by: Olek
Masks can be created as part of a Racoco Productions laboratory, see below
music by: Barry Russell and The Yorkshire Classic Brass (recorded; can also be played live)
lighting by: Sarah Sidman
summary: A slightly twisted suite chronicling the exhilaration and desperation inherent in birthdays. Using masks, whimsical costumes, and a variety of traditional dance forms, 5 performers explore the darker side of parlor games, peeling through layers to illustrate that the packaging and the contents are sometimes difficult to distinguish. If your head were a piņata, what would you find inside?
"laboratory" workshop options: How Many Licks can be accompanied by a workshop in which community members create their own piņata masks, play with mask technique, and learn a section of the choreography, then perform in the finale with the cast. Good for all ages.
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