Open Dance Project Embraces the Activism of Woody Guthrie in 'BOUT A STRANGER at MATCH Theater

Beyond the obvious parallels of migration and worker's rights, issues that are still relevant today, Woody Guthrie continues to inspire artists because of his "no apologies" style of activism. Artists looking to expand the dialogue around difficult political issues embrace his words as a way to find common ground. Just look at Lady Gaga singing "This Land Is Your Land" at Super Bowl LI. It is from this place-a desire to activate the public in social political discourse-that Annie Arnoult, the founding Artistic Director of Open Dance Project, has crafted "'Bout a Stranger."

The show, an environmental dance theater piece, allows the audience to physically follow Guthrie's travels by transforming the black box theater into a three dimensional mediascape that chronicles the "dust bowl troubadour's" dynamic personal and creative life in movement, text, song and video. Image, sound and text derived from original source material pepper the set, sound, and production design-guiding the unseated audience amongst the performers.

Arnoult was influenced by the musicians "simple and aggressively blunt" way of presenting ideas. "He never minced words," says Arnoult, who used Guthrie's "bold and raw statements" to provide the structure for "'Bout a Stranger." "Woody gave us this political platform via his songs that were direct reactions rooted in raw experiences." Ms. Arnoult brings these experiences to life in her choreography by putting the issues "in a body" through the use of gesture and task oriented movement derived from the repetitive labor of 1930s and 40s farm and factory workers.

Matchbox 1, MATCH, Midtown Arts Theater Center Houston. 3400 Main Street, Houston TX 77002. $20 Student/Starving Artist, $35 General Admission. Group discounts available: https://matchouston.org/events/bout-stranger and 713-521-4533

Annie Arnoult (Choreographer), Garreth Broesche (Music Director), Lauren Cascio (Props), David Deveau (Lighting and Projection Design), Bryan Ealey (Sound Design), Ashley Horn (Costume Design), Ryan McGettigan (Set Design), Laura Harrell (Company Management), Christina Maley (Stage Management)

Created and Performed by: Garreth Broesche, Joshua DeAlba, Brittany Deveau, Abby Flowers, Elizabeth "Nalley" Grossberg, Justin Grubbs, Emily Hardey, Tehillah Joy Hartmann, Zach Lacy, Taylor McAnulty, Seth McPhail, Alisa Mittin, Alonzo Moore, Stacy Skolnik, Joseph Stevens, Davis Stumberg, Juan Ventura

'Bout a Stranger is the centerpiece of Open Dance Project's second season of work and is supported by an Individual Artist Grant from the Houston Arts Alliance. Annie Arnoult is a recipient of an Individual Artist Grant Award. This grant is funded by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

Open Dance Project is a contemporary dance theater company whose highly stylized performance experiences break down conventional barriers between artist and audience to make dance more accessible and meaningful for both. Dynamic, three-dimensional architectural environments and the engagement of interactive technologies collapse the distance between the subject and the stage, live performance and new media, dance and theater. Open Dance Project's performance and education programs invite the audience to explore dance and dance making from their own self-determined vantage point - simultaneously demystifying dance and making dance matter.

Annie Arnoult is the founding artistic director of Open Dance Project where she directs the company's professional performance season and oversees the company's extensive dance education work. She is a proud recipient of a Houston Arts Alliance Individual Artist Grant in support of the premiere of 'Bout a Stranger, an immersive dance theater performance inspired by the life and work of Woody Guthrie premiering at MATCH March 17-23, 2017.

To post a comment, you must register and login.