A Noise Within Announces New Cultural Initiative - NOISE NOW!

A Noise Within (ANW), California's acclaimed classical repertory theatre, is proud to announce the launch of its new cultural initiative, Noise Now, with its inaugural event on Monday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. Noise Now will present Lineage Performing Arts Center's Ceiling In The Floor on its main stage along with the opening of the art exhibit, "Cosmotarrayas," by Los Angeles artist Carolina Caycedo in ANW's lobby. Noise Now will partner with local arts organizations, artists, and the community to attract new audiences and better represent the diverse population living in Greater Los Angeles. A Noise Within has hired Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx as the nonprofit arts organization's first Director of Cultural Programming to lead the initiative.

"With Noise Now, we aim to illuminate and activate underrepresented populations, communities of color, young people, and all others not equitably represented at the theatre," said ANW Artistic Producing Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott. "Through partnerships with local organizations, Noise Now will go beyond our traditional programming and open up our campus to dance, contemporary theatre, art exhibits, music, and more. These performances and presentations will activate non-traditional or underutilized spaces throughout the A Noise Within campus."

Noise Now's first partnership will be with Lineage Performing Arts Center (LPAC), also based in Pasadena, Calif., for Noise Now's Feb. 25 launch event. LPAC will present a life inspired dance-theater piece on ANW's main stage titled, Ceiling In The Floor, directed by Marisa Echeverria and choreographed by LPAC Artistic Director Hilary Thomas. Ceiling In The Floor explores the true story of a friendship bound up in art, music, and mental illness. Through journal entries, songs, dances, letters, and a manual for suicide risk assessment, we learn about Hilary and Brandon's devoted friendship, their mutual love of music, and their struggles to grow together and apart as they balance the pressures of college, life, and Brandon's increasingly apparent manic depression. The performance will be followed by a question and answer session with mental health professionals, Artistic Director Hilary Thomas, and members of the Lineage Dance Company.

Following the performance, Noise Now will celebrate the installation of a contemporary art exhibit, titled "Cosmotarrayas," by LA artist Carolina Caycedo in the theatre's main lobby. "Cosmotarrayas" is a series of hanging sculptures assembled with handmade fishing nets collected during the artist's field research in riverine communities affected by the privatization of water. The nets are intertwined with a variety of objects that Caycedo acquired in a range of locales or that came from her personal archive. Some of the nets were given to the artist by friends or acquaintances in the sites she has visited, while others were purchased in local markets or commissioned by the artist. The "Cosmotarrayas" works are an embodiment of the people the artist has met during her travels and their stories of dispossession and resistance; the series operates as a connector between Caycedo's activism and community involvement and her studio practice.

ANW Director of Cultural Programming Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx said, "Our February launch will be a celebration of community. It will be an opportunity for individuals and peer organizations to come together to celebrate storytelling. Noise Now is our biggest commitment to inviting everyone into the building and offering everyone a 'seat at the table.' All are welcome here - this is YOUR theatre."

Since his hire in October of last year, Muñoz-Proulx has been meeting with numerous cultural organizations and artists throughout the Greater Los Angeles community to invite feedback and ideas, and establish a diverse offering at ANW.

Future Noise Now events have already been scheduled and added to the 2019 calendar, including Keith Hamilton Cobb's award-winning solo play, American Moor, shedding light on black identity in America - performed on the set of ANW's production of Othello on March 27 at 7 p.m., a night of music and spoken word with the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles (TCLA) and Celebration Theatre on April 24 at 7 p.m., and a contemporary dance performance that explores the expressive presence of diverse bodies by Ate9 Dance Company on May 20 at 7 p.m. More events are still in development and will be announced as they are scheduled. In addition to main stage presentations, Noise Now will activate non-traditional or underutilized spaces throughout the ANW campus for its events.

Muñoz-Proulx explained, "If you build it, they will not necessarily come. Yes, classics are universal. And yes, free tickets are attractive. But most important is an engaged relationship with our community. The most powerful way to demonstrate commitment to a new partner is to ask them what they want. Let us put your voice onstage, and help us tell this story with you, as opposed to for you."

Noise Now events are designed to be accessible to all audiences. Tickets for Noise Now events will be "choose your price" and can be reserved at ANoiseWithin.org/NoiseNow.