A&E

AcA presents ’Dancing with Aurora Borealis’

Acadiana Center for the Arts will present an original play by local artists Brian Schneider and Kelly Clayton Jan. 12-14 in the James Moncus theater. The play, Dancing with Aurora Borealis, is a collaborative work, written by Kelly and imagined by Brian, a professional lighting designer. The duo, while married in real life, embarked on the journey of creating this original play after recognizing the similarities of long-term couples around the world.

Asherah and Yahweh, developed from the original biblical couple, act as the main characters in this story about the troubles of communication, children, and everyday challenges all couples face. Asherah, the female being and only human character in the play, will be played by Clayton, while Yahweh, the male being, will appear only in the form of Light. Like children who hide and listen to parents argue, the audience will learn to comprehend Yahweh's silent language; a vocabulary of light through the lens of Asherah’s words.

Dancing with Aurora Borealis is a product of Clayton and Schneider’s hard work throughout their time in AcA’s Residency @ The Center program. This program helps to build and strengthen the creative community, giving local artists the space and resources to develop unique work for three to six months at a time. Created in 2012, the Residency program coincides with AcA’s belief that there is value in art making, as it is an essential component of a vibrant, engaged, and healthy community.

Additional collaborators on the project include Clare Cook, director; Brittney Pelloquin, makeup artist; Frances Barker, choreographer; Cody Cassard, composer; and Jackson Schneider, student videographer.

Dancing with Aurora Borealis premiers on January 12 at 7:30pm. Additional showings will be Friday, January 13 at 7:30pm, and on Saturday, January 14 at 7:30pm during January Art Walk. To learn more about the play, visit DancingwithAuroraBorealis.com. Tickets are $10 for AcA members/$12 for non-members and can be purchased by visiting AcadianaCenterfotheArts.org or by calling 337.233.7060.