Event

Speak Easy

Artifact Dance Project is proud to present Speak Easy, making its world premiere in March 2014. Set in the Prohibition Era, this full length concert offers a glimpse into the speakeasy culture of illicit liquor sales in NYC nightclubs through the eyes of American female journalist for The New Yorker Magazine, Lois Long (pen name "Lipstick). Hired to review her nightly escapades of drinking, dining and dancing, the stage scenes showcase her encounters with agents, bootleggers and flappers, breaking rules, lively jazz and spirited dance of the roaring twenties. In the words of Lois Long, "tomorrow we may die, so let's get drunk and make love." Artifact co-artistic directors Ashley Bowman and Claire Hancock have taken a period approach to designing all costumes, sets and choreography and work in collaboration with Don Fox as the company's resident lighting designer. This historically based concert features eleven dancers including Bowman and Hancock, and music director Ben Nisbet has assembled a dynamic group of musicians. Artifact has always relished the opportunity to collaborate with composers, and for this concert, the company is thrilled to welcome Chris Black and Naïm Amor. Together, Nisbet, Black and Amor have created a wild, evocative, and novel score for this show, played live by the band.