Summer overall performance brings together college students, college, and alumni.
Fluidity, beauty, electricity. These phrases seize the splendor of the Colorado River, which converges with the Gunnison River in Grand Junction. Colorado Mesa University students, college, and alumni added the power of the Colorado River to the degree in the performance “River of Angels,” — which embodied the spirit of the river thru dance, movie, track, and poetry.
Melding each the metaphorical and literal, 13 pieces have been achieved during the show, which ran from Aug. 1-3 within the Mesa Experimental Theatre at CMU. Each of three nights bought out, and earnings for the production went to the nonprofit Forever Our Rivers Foundation.
The production changed into pushed by using Rebecca Fleishman, a river enthusiast, and alumna, who worked with Fruita filmmaker Cullen Purser to create the documentary I am the River, which featured during the overall performance.
Fleishman’s goal is to educate people approximately the river and “spark something of their hearts, to care about the river and feature an entirely new angle of how stunning and important they are.”
Fleishman had by no means made a movie or helped to coordinate manufacturing like this before, so she grew to become Mo LaMee, head of the theatre branch, and other network individuals to prepare this formidable overall performance.
“We started conversations well over a yr in the past,” LaMee stated, “She had this idea. She talked to me early in the technique and asked if I’d be interested in taking part in a few ways.”
LaMee becomes a “river manual” for the performance and narrated components of the documentary I am the River. Associate Professor of Theatre Arts Jill Van Brussel sang, done, and designed costumes for “River of Angels.” She also narrated abstract components of the film.
“She despatched me a number of the raw pictures that they had shot. And it was honestly compelling and exciting,” Van Brussel recalled approximately the narration procedure, “and then I might kind of freeform riffs, some sort of reaction that they could report. It went through a big evolution method.”
Assistant Professor of Dance Amanda Benzin completed, and Assistant Professor of Scenic Design Matthew Schlief designed lights and sound for the manufacturing.
The performance verified the course of the river from which it begins at the headwaters to wherein the rivers converge and exit to the sea.
“I designed the complete show, the subjects of every piece and tried to train the audience about rivers and unique parts of the river and one-of-a-kind river currents,” Fleishman said about her vision. I am the River has been decided on for the Grand Junction Film Festival and might be shown for the duration of the pageant at the Avalon theatre downtown on Oct. 6.