Online ticket sales end at midnight prior to the show. Tickets available at the door until 10 minutes prior to the show.
Choreography: Ellen Deutsch, Dungeon Master: Joshua Stafford
"Up To Chance" explores the world of Tabletop Role Playing Games (or RPGs) such as Dungeons & Dragons through the lens of modern dance. As a group of seasoned Players explore a new adventure created specially for the project by Dungeon Master Joshua Stafford, the dancers of Geeksdanz translate the Players' actions and choices into a dance that changes with every roll of the dice. Events that unfold at the game table are reflected on the stage, and no two performances are ever the same as the dice rolls direct the action and the choreography is left up to chance. Chance games are not unknown in modern dance, with such greats as Merce Cunningham popularizing their use in randomizing the presentation of set material. But in most cases chance is used as a cosmetic enhancement, invoked to determine which dancer takes the solo tonight or which piece of music will accompany the performance. Up To Chance takes this concept one step further, using the dice rolls to change the very choreography itself. Just as a lucky roll in Dungeons & Dragons could grant the players the opportunity to question the surly cook and learn of a secret back entrance to the castle, so a successful (or unsuccessful) dice roll at just the right moment causes the choreography to veer off into a completely different direction.
About the Company
Geeksdanz is about reaching out to people who might not normally consider dance as an evening's entertainment. Our “MO” is to create a dance work based on a topic people are passionate about, and then present performances of that work in places easily accessible to that specific community. In 2013, we accomplished this twice. First, in April, we reached out to video gamers with “Challenge Mode.” Two weeks before the show, Geeksdanz presented excerpts of this new work at the Tekkoshocon Japanese Culture Convention, a place where video gamers gather. In addition to presenting the excerpt on the convention's mainstage, Artistic Director Ellen Deutsch led a panel discussing her views on the “video-games-as-art” debate, encouraging attendees to think critically about what makes a game feel “artistic” and where and how video games might fit into the art world. We had a spirited discussion spanning violence in games, visual storytelling, and art direction, and many of the attendees made great observations. As a result of these activities our audience increased and we had several people come to see the full show specifically because they saw our work at Tekkoshocon. As summer ended, we targeted a new audience: fans of traditional storytelling. Working with professional storyteller Alan Irvine, Geeksdanz created our chilling Halloween show “Manifestations,” melding dance with live tellings of traditional ghost stories. We presented the creepiest of these stories, “I've Got The Keys,” to close out the Ghost Stories concert that ended the 2013 Three Rivers Storytelling Festival. Late at night, on an outdoor patio, with pale blue lighting, we scared the pants off the audience and sent them home shivering! Through this performance we increased interest in the full show among storytelling enthusiasts and sold out our main performance in October. "Up to Chance" will follow a similar process. We intend to reach out to Tekkoshocon again, as well as to other RPG-centric conventions and gaming bookstores in the local area. This time, we will be offering to present an excerpt guerilla-style in their gaming rooms, planting the Players at a table ahead of time and introducing the dancers without warning to surprise an unsuspecting roomful of Role Playing Game enthusiasts. Imagine, you're minding your own business, exploring your own adventure, when suddenly the combat at the next table is coming to life in a complex dance-fight! In this way we aim to increase interest in the project among the RPG community, thus increasing attendance at our full performances