World Premiere of Ryan M. Luevano's DANCE PLAGUE to be Presented at CoCoSPA
Dance Plague is set in the futuristic world of 2120 when the dance plague of 1518 (yes this happened) resurfaces-this time on a global scale.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz May. 03, 2023
Contra Costa School of Performing Arts will present the world premiere of Ryan M. Luevano's new TYA play Dance Plague on Friday, May 19th in Walnut Creek, CA.
Dance Plague is set in the futuristic world of 2120 when the dance plague of 1518 (yes this happened) resurfaces-this time on a global scale. A group of tenacious young female dancers arranges to chat in secret to help each other cope with fear, anxiety, isolation, and an unyielding primal urge to move their bodies.
AeJay Mitchell (they/them) director of theatre at CoCoSPA, says, "Ryan's play brings [...] the 1518 plague into a post-contemporary lens-- centering femme bodies on the line against classist propaganda in the future. A system wishing to utilize their bodies for experimentation and exploitation. A system designed to scare the liberation of movement out of a vocal populace. I could not believe a text existed that explores one of my favorite phenomena in a play structure beyond realism."
According to Mitchell, Dance Plague proves a good fit for CoCoSPA's newly combined Department of Theatre and Dance, because "[...]this work provides a beautifully performative synergy for students of Dance and Theatre, especially students who spent a year and a half longing for their chance to be in community together in movement and exploration while a pandemic was politicized, often on their bodies. We have witnessed students fight their way back into the studio, under extreme odds!"
"I also love that this work centers on feminine energy and resilience! A perfect world premiere for this year's Mainstage."
Mitchell is "excited about exploring this intriguing and futuristic world the playwright has left us. What does it mean to disappear on stage? What does it mean to dance and dance and dance...? How can we invite the audience to find the rage and joy of dance with us in rebellion, resilience, and restoration? I want the world to dance with us in this play...Mars is not an option. Cycle Stopping Starts Now, here. Together. It's urgent! I'm excited about our young artists exploring this urgency and dancing the floor down stirring hearts into action."
Ryan M. Luevano (he/him) is an award-winning Latinx playwright, screenwriter, talent manager, and theatre critic in Los Angeles. He is also a board member of the Foundation for New American Musicals, a regular teaching artist at A Noise Within Theatre Company, and a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America. (www.ryanmluevano.com).
Most recently Luevano's musical 57 BUS was selected to participate in the Latine Musical Theatre Lab's Table Reading Series 2023. There he worked closely with dramaturg Amauta M. Firmino (dramaturg for the multi-Tony nominated production SLAVE PLAY). In 2021 he won the Full Circle Players' New Works Play Festival for his play La Lavadora.
Dance Plague will run from Friday, May 19th to Sunday, May 21st at the Contra Costa School of Performing Arts (2730 Mitchell Dr, Walnut Creek, CA 94598)
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