This Saturday, August 29, 2020 starting at 8 pm Pacific Time, THE JOY RIDE is inspired by theatre legacy. The project hails from echoes of Teatro Campesino’s short plays on flatbed trucks for the farm workers and in union halls birthed in 1965. It evokes the Federal Theatre Project’s LIVING NEWSPAPER, circa 1935, where actors would interpret current events to a popular audience. We roll out this show in the ancestral spirit of theatre as a call to social action.
The pilot performance being presented and filmed on August 15 is an opportunity to premiere the work. The show is also offered in different formats, including duo and solo work. The goal of the project is to offer it for bookings to any venue or organization that would like to bring live theater to their communities in a safe way while the theatre houses are closed.
At a time where it is unsafe to gather in theatre houses, The Roots and Wings Project delivers theatre to the people outside via an old-school convertible car. Working closely with a COVID-19 Safety Manager, the theatre company takes precautionary measures for artists and patrons alike with very small audiences, masks and physical distance.
This type of work is familiar to RAW. Though The Roots and Wings Project produces many shows in formal theatre houses, the company is also known for site-specific work. RAW recently mounted the DTLA Theatrical Tour LUMINOUS STREETS at several locations in the Historic Core including The Last Bookstore and King Eddy Saloon in Skid Row. The company has a deep understanding and impeccable execution of this type of work with exemplary logistics and artistic prowess, consistently awing audiences.
THE JOY RIDE is a multi-disciplinary show performed, in true RAW style, by a cohesive, world-class ensemble that delivers a piercing message, embracing joy as an act of political warfare.
During a time where people are separated from one another, losing jobs, facing a deadly pandemic and age-old racist government/societal structure that deals in violence—among other adverse dynamics, THE JOY RIDE offers a healing transcendence, opportunity for connection, and expression of solidarity.
This literally moving show amazes, uplifts, and inspires.
WHEN:
August 29, 2020 – Extended Trailer Released on Facebook Live The Roots and Wings Project page at 8 PM
WHO:
● Conceived & Directed by Jesse Bliss
● Produced by Jesse Bliss and Gabriela López de Dennis
● Poetry by Tobias Tubbs and monologue by Roger Q. Mason, with original choreography and dance by Ricardo “Boogie Frantick” Rodriguez, Jr., and original music on violin by Alma Cielo
● Starring: Alma Cielo, Boogie Frantick, Lee Sherman and Tobias Tubbs
● Presented by The Roots and Wings Project and artEquity