Selected Artists:

Dark Circles Contemporary Dance
Indique Dance Company
The Flame Foundation
Scott Zenreich
GiANT Entertainment
Teatro Flor Candela
Iv Amenti
Cry Havoc Theater Company

DALLAS – The nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center is pleased to announce the 2018/2019 season of The Elevator Project featuring the work of small and emerging arts groups performing on the Center’s campus in the Dallas Arts District. The Elevator Project’s new season will feature productions from eight Dallas-based performing arts companies. The five year-old project has been hailed for the resources the Center provides new artists, including top-quality stages, operations teams, marketing, ticketing and mentoring support.

“Elevator Project has become a passion for us here at the AT&T Performing Arts Center,” said Debbie Storey, interim president and CEO of the Center. “It lets us discover and partner with some of the new and emerging talent in Dallas, and provide them with meaningful resources and a platform in the Arts District. It is an impactful collaboration on a new level.”

The 2018/2019 season of The Elevator Project, produced by Dallas theatre veteran David Denson, will feature weekend and multi-week engagements from eight of Dallas’ smaller and emerging companies beginning October 2018 with Aladdin presented by Dark Circles Contemporary Dance. December 2018 brings SvaBhava presented by Indique Dance Company. The Elevator Project continues February 2019 with 88 Keys Unlock Joan Miró’s Flamenco Dancer’s Heart presented by The Flame Foundation. Pastry King, a new play by Scott Zenreich performs April 2019. May 2019 brings City Dionysia by GiANT Entertainment and SANADORA teatra presented by Teatro Flor Candela directed by Patricia Urbina. June 2019 features Felabration Dallas: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Afrobeat King, Fela Kuti presented by Iv Amenti. The final production of the season, Sex Ed, is presented by Cry Havoc Theater Company in July 2019.

Two of the productions will be staged in the Studio Theatre located on the 6th floor of the Wyly Theatre, five productions in Hamon Hall at the Winspear Opera House and one production in Annette Strauss Square on the campus of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. All shows are $25 general admission.

“The Arts District is the ideal spot for local artists to take risks, premiere new work and attract new audiences,” said David Denson, creator and producer of The Elevator Project. “And The Elevator Project is the ideal series for Dallas audiences to discover and experience the most engaging performances going up across North Texas."

This is the fourth season of The Elevator Project, which started in 2014 to provide much-needed performance space in the Arts District for small and emerging Dallas-based performing arts groups. Many of the artists involved say Elevator Project has become a critical partner for emerging arts groups.

“[The Center’s staff] were always eager to help and went out of their way to ensure my project's success,” said Jake Nice, whose production of We’re Gonna Die was part of the 2017/2018 season. “It was such a gift to have access to AT&T PAC's top-of-the-line spaces, equipment, and publicity team. This program is truly invaluable for emerging artists.”

“This project gave us a platform to not only showcase our talents but share our love and passion with a wider audience base,” said Ixchel Frierson with Bandan Koro African Drum and Dance Ensemble, also part of the 2017/2018 season. “The Elevator Project gives small arts organizations an opportunity to be seen and heard in an industry where they’re often overlooked.”

The Center presents this innovative series with support from the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, TACA, Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts

The 2018/2019 season of The Elevator Project was curated by a five-person panel of arts professionals and advocates. From a January call-for-entries from Dallas-based artists and arts groups, 39 proposals were submitted. Some of the guiding criteria included placing an emphasis on new works; diverse genres, artists and subject matter; unusual use of performance space; supporting groups without a home; and more.

2018/2019 Elevator Project Advisory Review Panel

• Lola Lott
• CEO/Owner of charlieuniformtango, Owner of Arts Mission Oak Cliff, CEO/Owner of Liberal Media Film and former Director of Marketing for Big Fish Films
• Lydia Mackay
• Actor (stage and voice-over), Adjunct Professor of Performance at TCU, teacher with Dallas Theater Center Public Works program, and Producing Artistic Director of The Drama Club
• Nycole Ray
• Dancer/Teacher/Choreographer with Dallas Black Dance Theatre
• Artistic Director of Encore!
• Lauren Smart
• Teacher (reporting and arts journalism), writer (D Magazine, The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Observer), faculty adviser of smudailycampus.com and programmer for The Wild Detectives
• Clyde Valentin
• Director (Ignite/Arts Dallas), former Executive Director of Hip-Hop Theater Festival, committee member of Latino/a Theatre Commons, advisor for New England Foundation for the Arts

Once the panelists curated the season, it was reviewed and approved by:

• John Paul Batiste
• Chair, Cultural Affairs Commission
• Mike Richman
• Executive Vice President, AT&T Performing Arts Center
• Jennifer Scripps
• Dancer/Teacher/Choreographer with Dallas Black Dance Theatre
• Director, Office of Cultural Affairs

Individual tickets for each Elevator Project production will be available beginning today, Monday, July 23 at 3:30 p.m. General admission tickets for each show are $25 each. With the purchase of five or more shows, the ticket price is $20 for each show. With the purchase of seven shows, for $140, the eighth show is FREE, representing a total savings of $60. Handling fees are additional.

Purchasers of five or more shows may also purchase a discounted parking option for only $5 per show.

Tickets will be available online at www.attpac.org, by telephone at 214-880-0202 or in person at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Winspear Opera House Box Office at 2403 Flora Street. The Box Office will open 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and before performances – closed Saturdays and Sundays.

THE ELEVATOR PROJECT – 2018/2019

Dark Circles Contemporary Dance

Aladdin (four performances)
Wyly Theatre – Studio Theatre Level 6

Synopsis:
Aladdin is an exciting and brand-new immersive creation by international award-winning choreographer and founder of Dark Circles Joshua L. Peugh, with score by SMU Meadows School of the Arts alumnus Brandon Carson, performed live. Inspired by the story of “The History of Aladdin, or The Wonderful Lamp”, this work explores how time and imagination have transformed the original tale of Aladdin and his magical lamp.

Performance Schedule:
Thursday, October 11, 2018; 7:30 p.m.
Friday, October 12; 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 13; 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 14; 2:00 p.m.

The Flame Foundation

88 Keys Unlock Joan Miró’s Flamenco Dancer’s Heart (three performances)
Hamon Hall – Winspear Opera House

Synopsis:
Imagine an evening in which an audience can witness the song, dance and story behind Joan Miró’s paintings of Spanish Dancers. This body of Miró’s work calls out for a seductive conversation between dancer, singer, musician, and spectator. The Flame Foundation's Dallas resident flamenco dancers Antonio Arrebola and Delilah Buitrón Arrebola, in collaboration with Spanish flamenco jazz pianist Alex Conde, and French Gypsy vocalist Jose Cortes, will perform flamenco tablao in response to projected images of Miró’s Spanish Dancers. Great for audiences of all ages.

Performance Schedule:
Thursday, February 14, 2019; 7:30 p.m.
Friday, February 15; 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 16; 8:00 p.m.

Scott Zenreich

Pastry King, a new play by Scott Zenreich (12 performances)
Wyly Theatre – Studio Theatre Level 6

Synopsis:
A husband and wife open a pastry shop in the North End, making the best cannoli in Boston. But upon meeting their neighbor the Pastry King, one of the city's most established restaurateurs, odd and terrible things start to happen. A play about blame, the strength of relationships, and the perfect ricotta recipe.

Performance Schedule:
Tuesday, April 23, 2019; 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 24; 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 25; 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 26; 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 27; 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 28; 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 30; 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 1; 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 2; 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 3; 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 4; 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 5; 2:00 p.m.

GiANT Entertainment

City Dionysia (three performances)
Annette Strauss Square – Winspear Opera House

Synopsis:
City Dionysia is a fancy-dress outdoor arts and music festival featuring dance, music, performance art, vendors, performers, and arts and crafts in honor of the birth of Theatre and its patron god, Dionysus. Step back into ancient Greco-Roman times and celebrate the sensual and the divine within us all. Spectators will be guided through various activities including mask making, choral chanting, and movement that will culminate into part of the storytelling of Euripides The Bacchae. A decadent, Bacchanalian experience set against the glittering and steely backdrop of the City of Dallas.

Performance Schedule:
Thursday, May 9, 2019; 7:00 p.m.
Friday, May 10; 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 11; 7:00 p.m.

Teatro Flor Candela directed by Patricia Urbina

SANADORA teatra (three performances)
Hamon Hall – Winspear Opera House

Synopsis:
This series of female-centric pieces is entitled Sanadora, meaning “healer” and will showcase the healing roles that women play in society. Inspired by Women that Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, by mythical figures like Ariadne and the Minotaur, or by the life and works of women artists these experimental works aim to heal the soul. The messages in this series reflect positive and timely shifts occurring in the Dallas area, where differences in gender, socioeconomic status, and culture are celebrated.

Performance Schedule:
Thursday, May 23, 2019; 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 24: 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 25; 8:00 p.m.

Iv Amenti

Felabration Dallas: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Afrobeat King, Fela Kuti (three performances)
Hamon Hall

Synopsis:
Felabration Dallas takes on Black Music Month with a spectacular celebration of famed Afrobeat Star Fela Kuti. This 3 night event will be filled with Fela's finest musical moments, as Afrobeat's new emerging artists. There will be music, there will be dance, there will be life!

Performance Schedule:
Friday, June 14, 2019; 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 15; 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 16; 2:00 p.m.

Cry Havoc Theater Company

Sex Ed (10 performances)
Hamon Hall

Synopsis:
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, conversations about sexual impropriety are front and center in our collective consciousness. Yet, we seem to have collective amnesia when it comes to our own teenage years and the lack of honest, accurate information we received about our bodies. How do we as a society frame conversations about healthy relationships and consent with young people when many among us refuse to discuss comprehensive sex education? Cry Havoc Theater Company's devised work discusses the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees.....and how "the talk" has become so politically divisive in our culture.

Performance Schedule:
Wednesday, July 3, 2019; 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 4 – holiday/no performance
Friday, July 5; 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 6; 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 7; 2:00 p.m.
Thursday, July 11; 7:30 p.m.
Friday, July 12; 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 13; 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 14; 2:00 p.m.