The Reading Theater Project and JCWK Dance Lab have partnered for 2024 In Nature’s Studio, an outdoor performance event at the Reading Public Museum Arboretum, 500 Museum Road in Reading.
The performance will take place Sunday, July 21, 2024, from 4:00pm to 5:30pm, and is free to attend, thanks to grant support from the Reading Musical Foundation and the United Way of Berks County. More information can be found at: readingtheaterproject.org
“In Nature’s Studio flips a typical theater experience, stationing the performers outside and in one place while the audience moves from piece to piece. It’s welcoming to all,” says Vicki Haller Graff, Artistic Director of the Reading Theater Project. “We’ve had an audience of all ages, and even dogs, deer, and geese!”
There is no cost to attend, though donations are welcome to support the work of local performing artists. The performance features new dance works by Jessica Warchal-King of JCWK Dance Lab, musical performances created by chanteuse Tamara Black, oboist Jill Haley, and saxophonist and composer Chris Heslop, and new theater featuring Jeanette Fotis, Matt Fotis, Erick Goldsmith, Joel Gori, Emily Hannon, Andrea Kennedy Hart, Kimberly Patterson, Adam Richter, Megan Rose, Rob Weidman, and Amy Young. Kayla Laucks is the Stage Manager.
The park already has a wheelchair accessible path with a route that takes about 10-15 minutes to walk. The audience, rather than sitting and watching, walks and stops to see the micro performances stationed along the path, with each performance lasting about five minutes.
All performances use pieces of art and exhibits from the Lost World of Dragons and Scales of Gold, Wings of Jade exhibits at the Reading Public Museum as inspiration and are appropriate for all audiences. The audience can choose to wander on their own or follow a guided path (which ensures they will see all performances). Along the way, plein air painters from Art Plus Gallery will be painting the park and performances.
Audience members are encouraged to visit the Reading Public Museum exhibits before the performance (regular fees apply).
The Reading Theater Project is a locally-focused, professional theater company, based in Greater Reading, valuing collaboration and creative challenges and believe theater is an inclusive experience that can reveal our shared human condition.
JCWK Dance Lab combines education/ outreach, physical dance practice, and performance to investigate the ways that dance can be a vehicle for non-violent, positive social change. JCWK Dance Lab works to create Joy, Connection, and Wellness through Kinesthetic stories in Berks County and the surrounding communities. For more information, visit jcwkdancelab.org.
