I grew up in Texas, reared by midwestern farmers who didn’t believe in anything you can’t see, taste, smell, hear or touch (except God, of course).
So imagine my reaction to last year’s Lullaby Moon, a mystical and magical performance I happened to stumble upon at Gas Works Park.
To set the scene: the south side of kite hill was covered with people sitting on blankets and nibbling on picnic fare. They faced the green space between the hill and the water, as if the grass would become a stage (it would!). A small live band played classical tunes while dressed in top hats and tails. And then all these 6 foot tall moon drunk bunny people took the “stage” and acted out some sort of mime performance to the musical accompaniment. Young children who couldn’t sit still ran toward the actor bunnies & started dancing with them. The bunnies just worked the improvisational dances right into their performance, no big deal.
And the audience — they acted like this whole thing was NORMAL. Did everybody get ‘shrooms but me? I mean, there were 6 foot ball BUNNIES dancing around and giving one another big white gift boxes wrapped in shiny bows, and nobody acted like this was a weird at all! At one point, a big paddle boat docked near the stage and other similarly-clad characters emerged to join the show. There was some juggling, and lots of dancing. There was a queen, I think. And followers. A row boat appeared, and a few more characters joined in. But no words, no language, no script. The music cued the mime-dancers with some unspoken narrative. It was so weird, so surreal. So completely phantasmagorical… and yet, totally engaging.
You’re just going to have to see it for yourself if you don’t believe me. Check out Lucia Neare’s website and browse through pictures from past performances. Or experience Lullaby Moon in person!
What: Lullaby Moon 2010 is a free, large-scale, site-specific public performance celebrating the new moon. Lullaby Moon celebrates our precious place in the Milky Way galaxy and the promise inherent in everyone’s dreams.
When: Friday, Sept 10th 7pm
Where: Gas Works Park, south side of the hill
Yes, yes, make every attempt to go see this if you can! I went to the one put on at Golden Gardens last year and it was just magical and surreal, for children and adults alike. At first I tried to figure out what the “story” was that was being put on, but then noticed that the kids around me could care less about the “plot” and were just chortling with glee and entranced by these strange figures dancing around at dusk. .
We got there a little early and brought a picnic dinner to nosh on while we waited, and enjoyed chatting with others who had come early. Suggestion: bring bubbles and blow them before the show for the kids to run around and catch . . . . . . . it’d be a cool sight to see bubbles wafting around the hill.
Bubbles! Great idea! Thanks! Also, last year, there were a lot of hula hoops on hand to keep the kiddos occupied before the show started.
Rainbow City Band (www.rainbowcityband.com) will be the live music in the performance for the 2nd year. We are very excited to be included again.
Thank you Karla! I hadn’t figured out who the band would be yet! See you there!
Just to be clear, I’m not trying to get any free advertising or anything. Just a group a neighbor is proud to participate in. 6 years of participation in this group makes it hard to not brag at times. I don’t want to violate any comment policies 🙂
Oh no, no worries! More detail is always better, and I love the Rainbow City Band (just didn’t know it was them last year)!
And please feel free to brag here any time!