UMO Ensemble goes RAMPANT!!

"RAMPANT"

Uncensored raw works from UMO

Show dates:

December 2-5, 2004 — 8:00 PM
Freehold East Hall Theatre
1525 10th Ave Seattle
Tickets: $15

Advance ticket purchase is highly recomended! For tickets, call (206) 463-2128 or e-mail: info@umo.org.

UMO Goes RAMPANT!

Watch out - The NorthWest's favorite physical theatre company, UMO Ensemble is running loose. In fact, they've gone RAMPANT! Between December 2-5 Seattle area audiences have a chance to see UMO Ensemble presenting a concert style evening of uncensored new works. Performances are scheduled for December 2-5 in Seattle at the Freehold East Hall Theater, 1525 10th Avenue, in the Capitol Hill district of Seattle. Showtime for RAMPANT II is Thursday through Saturday at 8 P.M., and Sunday December 5 at 7 P.M. A special"pay-what-you-can" night is being offered on Thursday December 2nd at 8 P.M. Tickets and information are available by calling UMO at 206-463-2128.

What, then, will audiences see at RAMPANT II? UMO members have created eight pieces for debut that cover a wide range of styles and thematic content. Esther Edelman is presenting an early peek into UMO's next full-scale work, a retelling of the myth of Rapunzel that will debut next Spring. The piece, a trio accompanied by live music, includes aerial performance on the&Mac226;"tissue", a suspended vertical cloth. Janet McAlpin is creating an aerial solo on the hoop, based on the myth of the Phoenix rising from the ashes, as well as a clown duet touching on the challenges of having a baby in the house. David Godsey is presenting two clown pieces, a solo that explores the democratic institution of voting, and an eccentric dance duet with partner Janet. Martha Enson is presenting a clown aerial solo on Spanish Web, as well as a first study for a new solo, the Magdalene Diaries, which explores hidden blood lines and leaps of faith.

"RAMPANT is designed to give UMO's artists a place to try out new ideas on a regular basis without the pressure of a full-scale production," reports project director David Godsey. "It has been 12 years since Midnight Comix (1992) and New Quirx (1993) when the Ensemble members last took the opportunity to explore new ideas in such a pure, unfettered format," he notes. "In creating RAMPANT each UMO artist was given an equal amount of stage time to use as they wish, with complete freedom from censorship." Of course, he points out, this means the show has some adult language and content. "It's UMO unleashed" he smiles, "what a wonderful thing!"

Godsey also notes that RAMPANT will be intentionally low budget and low tech. "It helps us to keep focused on the essential, core ideas each Ensemble member wants to explore" he says, "without getting distracted or seduced by technical wizardry."

This evening of new pieces from UMO is the result of a loud request from UMO's Seattle area audiences to see more of UMO, more often. A new full-scale piece every two years did not seem to be enough for UMO fans and supporters. So the company decided to offer an evening of shorter, new UMO explorations on alternate years, between the premiere of full-scale works. RAMPANT II is the second in this series.

Godsey, who is also Chief Artistic Officer of UMO, says the company began planning and fund-raising thfive years ago to support the creation of this biannual new works series. "We were fortunate to receive very early support from the Kreielsheimer Foundation to establish a New Works Fund" he says. Since then several other funders have participated in supporting RAMPANT including The Allen Foundation for the Arts, and 4Culture.

Why RAMPANT?
UMO Ensemble is committed to creating original works of the highest caliber. The company is equally committed to creating in a true "ensemble" structure, which includes rotating the artistic leadership role for full-length works. A result of these two vital commitments is that each Ensemble artist must currently wait six to ten years between opportunities to lead the Ensemble in the creation of a new work. For the artists, the organization and the local audiences, it is important for UMO to establish a program that allows for more frequent explorations and presentations of new works by UMO Ensemble artists.

For the Artists:
For the individual artists of UMO Ensemble, a new works format provides an absolutely essential opportunity to explore and present their visions and inspirations at least once every two years. More frequent creative opportunities also allow the UMO artists to respond more immediately to cultural issues and events.

For the Board and Staff:
The desire for more frequent UMO performances in the Seattle area has come from both the Board of Directors and the staff, who share the goals of establishing a more consistent Seattle presence and more frequently serving UMO's local community.

For UMO's Audiences:
The current and future Seattle area audiences also stand to benefit from an UMO "New Works Series". It would provide them the opportunity to experience new, original works from UMO Ensemble at least once every year, exploring an even wider range of the challenging and inspiring styles, themes and artistic expression that have become UMO's trademark.

RAMPANT is currently scheduled for Freehold Theatre in Seattle. Pre-Purchased tickets will be available at 206-463-2128.