Basura. Photo by Susan Collard
Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre (ACDT) and White Dog ProjectX International will open the 2017-2018 season with the premiere of Death by Plastica, a piece inspired by the abuse and use of plastic and how the substance is affecting our lives. Death by Plastica will be performed at The BeBe Theatre on Friday, October 27, and Saturday, October 28, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, October 29, at 6 p.m.
“My inspiration came from the recognition of my own abuse of plastic in my home and city and also seeing a similar problem abroad,” says ACDT artistic director Susan Collard. “We have a strange addiction to anything plastic and addictions can kill. It sounds dramatic, but it is a universal problem and we can collaborate with each other to find solutions.”
White Dog ProjectX is the international component of ACDT. The project has made it possible for members of ACDT to collaborate with dancers and choreographers from Cuba (Nelson Reyes, Diana Cabrera) and Mexico (Eduardo Sosa, Fanny Ortiz). “Plastic pollution crosses borders,” says costume and set designer Eduardo Sosa, “so the performance provides different perspectives about the same environmental and social issue.”
The performance will be “at times humorous and at times terrifying,” says Collard, “as the audience interacts with performers to find solutions to this global problem.” Death by Plastica coincides with ACDT’s annual Sugar Skulls Day of the Dead celebration and a plastic altar will be on display “to honor our loved ones,” says Collard.
Tickets for Death by Plastica are $18 for general admission and $15 for students and seniors. The BeBe Theatre is located at 20 Commerce Street in downtown Asheville. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit acdt.org.
