Five Fast Facts: Kinetic Light

November 27, 2020
Shadowy images of Rodin sculptures hang in a lilac-streaked sky. Laurel Lawson lifts Alice Sheppard onto her lap. Alice looks down at the shadowy lines on the deck of the ramp; her wheels hang and her crown of golden curly hair shines in the light. Laurel holds Alice and turns her chair.

Photo by MANCC / Chris Cameron

  1. Auguste Rodin’s sculpture Toilette of Venus and Andromeda inspired the love story within DESCENT. The artists wondered how these two women, from different mythologies and histories, came to share the same space. Alice Sheppard portrays Andromeda and Laurel Lawson portrays Venus.
  2. Michael Maag created the visual renderings of Rodin’s work, as seen projected on stage. As Laurel Lawson drove through windy mountain roads en route to their first company residency, Michael created the visual renderings of Rodin's work from the passenger seat.
  3. Laurel Lawson hand cut and painted the metallic leaves that adorn the costumes in the first half of DESCENT; every few shows, she has to retouch the undertone and highlight coloring.
  4. Engineering students at Olin College, along with professor Sara Hendren, created the ramp design. It measures 24-feet wide by 15-feet deep, with a 4-foot peak.
  5. Access is core to DESCENT. The film will include two audio described versions—one single voice and one multi-phonic—which, among other aural experiences, include sounds from microphones placed under the stage that captured wheels, frames, and the dancers’ bodies.