[NEohioPAL] The Sky is Melting - a one-woman honors project at Oberlin College's Warner Main Space

[Theater and Dance]

Inspired by the Book *Go Ask Alice*

*The Sky is Melting*

Created and Performed

by Elizabeth Woodbury '09

in Oberlin College's Warner Main Space

December 12 & 13, 2008

*OBERLIN, OH*— Inspired by the haunting anonymously written novel *Go Ask
Alice*, this one-woman show going up this December at Oberlin College uses
original music, movement, dance, and theatrical narration to address the
complicated issue of youth addiction. Through the creation and performance
of her original socially-conscious piece, honors candidate Elizabeth
Woodbury '09 aims to spark questions and dialogue about the ways in which
government, culture, and individuals have approached this problem over
several decades. A frank and honest portrayal of one individual's wrenching
struggle with addiction, *The Sky is Melting *tells a story that is both
individual and anonymous and that testifies to the power of theater and art
as educational and social tools.

*The Sky is Melting *will be performed at Oberlin College's Warner Main
Space, Friday and Saturday, December 12 & 13. This production is sponsored
by the Oberlin College Theater and Dance Program. This is a free event.

*Production Notes*

The piece chronicles the journey of *Alice *(Elizabeth Woodbury '09), a
normal teenage girl who gets involved with drugs and whose life, as Woodbury
puts it, "snowballs out of control." Woodbury herself conceived of the
project and adapted the script, with the addition of original music and
dance to better narrate *Alice's *story. "I wanted my honors project in
theater to showcase everything I've learned here at Oberlin," says Woodbury.
"I've had a chance to study dance, to do tech work, to act, so I wanted a
way to combine all that. I also wanted to focus on theater outreach, because
the idea of social theater as an educational tool is really exciting and
something I want to pursue professionally."

To help realize her vision, Woodbury has drawn on the talents and experience
of her peers and faculty members including Associate Professor of Theater
Caroline Jackson Smith, who serves as Faculty Advisor to the project, and
Visiting Instructor of Dance Holly Handman-Lopez in the role of Dance
Advisor. Each of *Alice's* drug trips is represented in the form of a dance
piece choreographed by one of seven different choreographers—an idea
brainstormed by Woodbury and Handman-Lopez. "We wanted to make sure to find
a distinct voice for each trip," explains Woodbury. "Each drug is different,
so each dance is different."

Original electronic music was created by Ben McFadden '09 and overall sound
for the piece was designed by Hunter McCurry '09, both students in the
Technology in Music and Related Arts (TIMARA) program in the Oberlin
Conservatory. Sarah Frank '09 lent her experience and skills directing
student plays at Oberlin to the role of Artistic Director for the piece, and
Mike McGee '08 serves as Technical Director and Lighting Designer.

Speaking about her inspiration for the piece, Woodbury remarks, "Reading *Go
Ask Alice *as a young teenager had a profound effect on me. It stayed with
me and personally had a lot to do with the way I reacted to [the idea] of
drugs and addiction throughout my young adult life."

In the future, Woodbury hopes to develop *The Sky is Melting *into a piece
that can be take on the road and performed at area high schools. "I think
oftentimes we sell young adults short," she says of her dissatisfaction with
anti-drug campaigns and programs such as DARE. "Something I want to do with
my life is empower young adults through the performing arts, and to enable
them to share their opinions. I want to make dialogue okay. I think as a
society we need to talk more about difficult topics, and so my hope is to
make this one topic of addiction easier to discuss."

*Elizabeth Woodbury '09 (Honors Candidate) *is a fourth-year theater major
from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Oberlin theater acting credits include the
ground-breaking production of Arthur Miller's, *"Death of a Salesman" (The
Woman*) with guest artist Avery Brooks. Other Oberlin Credits include *Vieux
Carre* (Mary Maude), *Anton in Show Business* (Lisabette), *The Heidi
Chronicles* (Susan), *Major Barbara *(Sarah), *OMTA Musical Theater Showcase
'08 *(Ensemble), *The Vagina Monologues*, and the First and Second Year
Showcase '05 (*Always*). She was the technical director for the Theater 101
Showcase '07*, How I Learned to Drive, The Heidi Chronicles*, and the OMTA
Musical Theater Showcase '06, and served as lead construction hand and set
decorator for the latter three productions. She also spent five semesters
working in the scene shop at Hall Auditorium.An employee of Oberlin
College's Center for Leadership in Health Promotion, Elizabeth serves on the
office's Theater Outreach Committee. CLHP projects include the development
and leadership of an after-school theater program at Southview High School,
and Oberlin College's orientation performance piece, *The OC *as a performer
in 2006 and 2007, and as Assistant Director and Artistic Coordinator in
2008. She has been a teaching assistant for Oberlin College's Theater 101
class during Fall Semesters 2007 and 2008, had the lovely opportunity to
direct a stellar group of first-years in a portion of *Vietnam 101: The War
on Campus *as part of the course's final showcase. Elizabeth has also been
an assistant director at Bucks County Community College's Kids on Campus
Theater intensive program and summer workshop program for the past six
years.

*Production Team*

Elizabeth Woodbury's collaborators include Sarah Frank '09 (Artistic
Director), Holland Hamilton '11 (Assistant Artistic Director and Stage
Manager), Mike McGee '08 (Technical Director and Lighting Design), Caroline
Jackson Smith (Faculty Advisor), Holly Handman-Lopez (Dance Advisor and
Choreographer), Jessica Barber, Zoe Barton, Neva Cockrell, Dana Kelley, all
'09, and Ian Rhodewalt and Alesandra Zsiba, both '10 (Choreographers), Ben
McFadden '09 (Music Composition), Hunter McCurry '09 (Sound Design), Julia
Reisen '09 (Art Installation), Caitlin Prillaman '09 (Assistant Stage
Manager and Light Board Op), Grace McCants '09 (Sound Board Op), Jael
McCants '12 (Run Crew), Nora Schuchat '09 (Silkscreen Poster Design),
Barbara Kessler (Box Office) and Rebecca Balmer '09, Alexander Birnie '10
and Emma Louise Rodriguez '11 (Publicity).
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