STREB brings New York's 'Action Heroes' to Purdue
March 18, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Award-winning daredevils STREB will perform their show “Forces” at 8 p.m. on April 4 at Purdue University's Elliott Hall of Music. This performance is presented by Purdue Convocations.
Elizabeth Streb and her Extreme Action Company have teamed with theater luminaries to give action a voice and story in "Forces." It's the theater of flight and impact, physics and courage, powered by pure adrenaline. "Forces" is co-directed by Robert Woodruff, with music by longtime STREB collaborator, David Van Tieghem. It features a book by Jim Lewis ("Fela!").
The nonstop action includes "Fly," in which a dancer is harnessed into a giant spinning claw that has a hefty counterweight at its opposite end. The company helps the dancer in the claw gain velocity while attempting not to get clocked by either end of it in the process.
In "Slice," a steel beam descends from the ceiling like an elegant shark; it spins at greater speeds while the dancers perform any number of remarkable moves with it and avoid its deadly, fleeting embrace. "Turn" features a spinning floor with which the dancers negotiate winning combinations and attempt not to get hurled into space.
In "Bound," the dancers don harnesses and navigate a wall with such grace that we wonder who's vertical here, the dancers or the audience? This white wall becomes a steep hill for "Tumult" and the dancers scramble, surf and ski all over the surface of this brand new planet. The grand finale contains the Whizzing Gizmo, a gorgeous hunk of metal like a huge hamster wheel, 12 feet in diameter and weighing 3,500 pounds. STREB raises the stakes for the performers with this constantly spinning, specially created funhouse ride.
Tickets are $22-$45 for adults and $22-$32 for children 18 years and younger, Purdue students and Ivy Tech Lafayette students. Tickets are available at the Elliott Hall and Stewart Center box offices at 765-494-3933 or 800-914-SHOW. Group discounts are also available to groups of 10 more. Call 765-496-1977 for more details or visit http://www.convocations.org/group-sales/
Initiated in 1902, Purdue Convocations was one of the first professional performing arts presenters in the United States. Each year, Convocations offers the region 20-30 performances of widely varying genres. Purdue Convocations aims to promote frequent exposure to and familiarity with human cultural expression in a multitude of forms and media.
Source: Abby Eddy, Purdue Convocations director of marketing, 765-494-9712, aeeddy@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: Publication-quality photos are available at http://www.convocations.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/nik7617.jpg
