LIGHTNESS HAS A CALL THAT'S HARD TO HEAR Comes to square product theatre

Boulder-based square product theatre returns to the Colorado live performance scene for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic closed theatres and performance venues, with the World Premiere of Elle Hong's "lightness has a call that's hard to hear," presented in collaboration with Art Gym Denver. Tickets are free, and available by advance reservation only.

Utilizing dance, text, and sound, Hong (they/she) crafts a psychospatial performance reckoning with daily realities of their gender transition, asking an audience to consider the role of "lightness" in rewiring towards continual self-care, ease, and possibilities for embodiment and liberation. Through multidisciplinary performance, the artist aims to demonstrate the difficulties of separating lightness from darkness; how in the pursuit of lightness, there exists an ever-looming reckoning with the dark forces that prevent individuals from actualizing self-determination. In part an exploration of coping strategies, "lightness has a call that's hard to hear" asks us to consider the ways in which different bodies cope with their social worlds, and how coping may be made less possible for certain individuals. In this performance, Hong demonstrates the ways in which dance might serve as a venue for reparative healing, vulnerability, and transformation in real-time.

"I've admired Elle's work for some time," says Emily K. Harrison, square product theatre producing artistic director. "Their blending of contemporary dance practices with text and multimedia manages to convey meaning in ways that are unique and incredibly moving. They often feel like a shapeshifter of sorts in their performance work - as if they are constantly in a process of both becoming and unbecoming. Combined with performative moments that are absolutely virtuosic, their ability to turn on a dime and defy expectations makes their work feel surprising and thrilling - even transformative. We're delighted to be able to partner with them on this new piece, and to be able to share it freely with our community as we emerge from what feels like a very long, and at times very fraught, artistic hibernation."

The piece is about "trying to transform into something beyond a body or a legible gender, but also trying to actually find a gender embodiment that feels good, and free, and powerful," says Hong. "I'm working in a way that is both queer and poor - putting together whatever I have to make something meaningful." This way of working lends a DIY, collage-like feel to the work and as Hong notes, "highlights that a person needs to be many things, and in trying to become many things maybe, eventually, becomes nothing at all." Ultimately, Hong says, the piece asks "at what point do you let go of trying to prove yourself to anyone or anything and instead, just live or be."

Performances are Thursday, April 21; Friday, April 22; Saturday, April 23

Tickets available at:

April 21: https://www.artgymdenver.com/event/lightness-has-a-call-thats-hard-to-hear-performance-by-elle-hong/

April 22: https://www.artgymdenver.com/event/lightness-has-a-call-thats-hard-to-hear-performance-by-elle-hong-night-2/

April 23: https://www.artgymdenver.com/event/lightness-has-a-call-thats-hard-to-hear-performance-by-elle-hong-night-3/

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