RiverStars Performing Arts, a program of the Illinois Valley Community Development Organization, presents our 4th holiday show, SuperReal, Saturday, December 9th at 7:00 PM and Sunday, December 10th at 5:00 PM in the Lorna Byrne Cafeteria. Tickets are Pay-What-You-Can and there will be a talkback with the artists after the show. Don’t miss your chance to see our town, onstage in this hilarious holiday romp about Scroogia, the Texas carpetbagger who has come to put our local economy asunder. Fortunately, Scroogia meets her match in Tom and Jerry, the local cartoon and comics shop owners. Now if they can just get her to laugh, they will free Cavetown from a villainous takeover.
SuperReal brings Cavetown’s own superheroes and villains under the lights in a delightful comic book format. You’ll meet RiverRock, HotJock, MoneyMaxer, G.A.S. (Generic Attractive superhero) and the Guacamole Man. Most powerful of all….Sparkwoman ends up saving the day! The performers get real as they dance through Act 2. A mysterious grandpa intervenes in excessive texting binges and introduces the philosophies of folk hero Utah Phillips. The performers ultimately end their powerful journey of self-realization that lands them in the dance “I,” by Kendrick Lamar.
The process to create this show began in April 2017, when RiverStars performers began drawing comic strips about their town from their own imaginations. Throughout the summer, they gathered comics from visitors at the Cave Junction Farmer’s Market. Using these as research, the group then participated in two expansive weekend development sessions workshopping the comics, re-writing and editing. Finally, this work was crafted into an original script by RiverStars performers and teachers, influenced by their town, for the stage show of SuperReal.
Arts Educator, Lindsey Gillette comments, “the work of the program participants and community members has been impressively detailed. The inside jokes and winks to the audience are all locally sourced. If there’s one thing the residents of the Illinois Valley can agree on, it’s that we value our autonomy and the sense of belonging in this place. This show brings that to the stage.” Lead Educator, Gina Angelique adds that, “What is most awesome is to see how the RiverStars performers have grown, and become their own source for heroic potential. There is something magical and powerful about witnessing their hard work culminate in a solid and moving theatrical product. Watching them dance and act brings deep pride and confidence that the future is in good hands.”
RiverStars Performing Arts is in its 4th year of providing dance and theatre classes and performing opportunities to Illinois Valley youth. The program’s success feeds from its dynamic partnership with Three Rivers School District, the Illinois Valley Community Development Organization and dancefarm. SuperReal was was made possible in part by a grant from Oregon Humanities (OH), a statewide nonprofit organization and an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which funds OH’s grant program. Additional funding was provided by the Oregon Community Foundation and the Collins Foundation.
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