Identity, human connection (or disconnection), and growth are universal pieces of the human experience. In Attack Theatre’s upcoming show The Kitchen Sink, the audience will be taken on an exploration of these concepts led by a stunning collaboration of dance, live music and live vocals.
I sat in on a rehearsal with Attack and saw first hand the conversation between directors, dancers, musicians, and vocalist, communicating beautifully with each other to create a cohesive piece of art that is a must see.
Rehearsal for “The Kitchen Sink”
The Kitchen Sink will be bringing lots of exciting things to the New Hazlett stage November 15-17th; including live vocals by internationally acclaimed vocalist Rebekah Del Rio, who worked on multiple projects with director David Lynch including the famous cult classic Twin Peaks. Her voice is different from anything you’ve heard before, adding a beautifully haunting tone to the performance.
Fresh, bold, and unique choreography by directors Michele de la Reza and Peter Kope will tell three stories of identity that audience members will not only enjoy visually, but also will evoke thought, reflection, and emotion–perhaps about your own life. Although most of the show is new choreography, the show will end with a piece that Michele de la Reza and Peter Kope created and performed a number of years ago–which will be brought back to life–portraying two people unable to connect with one another, and a remembering of when they could.
(L to R) Michele de la Reza and Peter Kope in a 2004 staging of “The Kitchen Sink”
The concepts that Attack Theatre will explore in this show have been thoroughly thought out and played with to create The Kitchen Sink, rooted in personal inspiration from the artists own lives, from past works, and from the questions we all ask ourselves about identity.
Rehearsal for “The Kitchen Sink”
In rehearsal, director Michele de la Reza shared with me the process they undergo called “proof of concept,” which works through pieces and movements to ensure that the idea at the foundation of them comes across. I saw how effective this was, and how each movement, and each phrase of music is carefully and purposefully created and played with; something that comes across incredibly in all of Attack’s work, and specifically so in what I saw of The Kitchen Sink.
Music pulled from Attack’s over two decades of work will be performed by Grammy nominated cellist Dave Eggar, percussionist Luke Notary, and Andrew O’Connor on electric bass who have worked very much hand in hand with the dancers to bring these stories together.
Rehearsal for “The Kitchen Sink”
The Kitchen Sink will not only bring an extraordinary display of physicality and movement by dancers Simon Phillips, Genevieve Li, Michelle Yeh, Drew Lewis, Dane Toney, and Sarah Zielinski, but an extraordinary display of multi artistic collaboration, deep thought, and connection/balance both between artists and ideas.
The Kitchen Sink opens Nov. 15th. For tickets and more, visit Attack Theatre’s site.