New website on its way...

We're working on a new website to share our upcoming projects and news with you! Until then, visit blakebeckham.org and dancetruck.org to learn about our work and past success.

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New Work Premieres Summer 2014

The Lucky Penny presents

Dearly Departures

a new work by choreographer Blake Beckham

July 24 - August 3, 2014
DramaTech Theater
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA

More details coming soon...

blakebeckham.org

Check out the work of Lucky Artistic Director, Blake Beckham
www.blakebeckham.org

HIDDEN AWAY continues at the Decatur Library

6 MORE CHANCES TO EXPERIENCE THE LIBRARY AT NIGHT!

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6th at 7:00, 8:30 and 10 pm
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7th at 7:00, 8:30 and 10 pm 

The performance lasts 30 minutes, and takes place across the entire first floor of the Decatur Library. Audiences will be invited to enter through the library's front doors when the show begins, and there is no late entry allowed. 

This is a free, un-ticketed performance but capacity is limited to 100 per show. Arrive early and stand in line to get a wristband to secure your spot. Patrons must have a wristband in order to enter.  We begin distributing bands to those waiting in line at...
6:15 for the 7:00 pm show
7:30 for the 8:30 pm show
9:00 for the 10:00 pm show

We strongly recommend arriving early. 
There are no reservations. 
Wristbands are given out on a first-come, first-served basis. 

The Lucky Penny wishes to thank the DeKalb County Public Library, the enthusiastic crowds that have already joined us, and the generous sponsors who have made it all possible. Check out our supporters and learn more about the artists at www.nicolelivieratos.com

Opening Weekend // HIDDEN AWAY // Aug 31, Sept 1

HIDDEN AWAY, the library at night

Created by Nicole Livieratos & Phillip DePoy

Opening Weekend: August 31st & September 1st

Shows begin at 7:00 pm and 8:30 pm each night

The Decatur Library, 215 Sycamore Street 

Arrive early and gather outside the library's front doors

FREE Admission | Facebook event HERE 

GETTING THERE:
Opening weekend corresponds with the Decatur Book Festival. Patrons are strongly encouraged to use MARTA, carpool, and allow extra time to park in neighborhood lots. Click here for more info on downtown Decatur parking.

PERFORMANCES CONTINUE:
Thursday, September 5th at 7:00 and 8:30 pm
Friday, September 6th &  Saturday, September 7th at 7:00, 8:30 and 10:00 pm

ADDITIONAL DETAILS:
Performances last 30 minutes and are suitable for all ages. This production is wheelchair accessible. Use of cell phones and/or cameras strictly prohibited during the show. 

THE AMAZING ARTISTS INVOLVED:
Performances by Beatrix Clark, Phillip DePoy, Erin Weller Dalton, Jacqueline Dougherty, Juana Farfán, Timothy Hand, Timothy Harland, Andre Lumpkin, Kimberly McCloud, Joy Peace, Bella Smith, and Lori Teague | Lighting design by Brent Glenn | Art direction by Jane Garver | Costuming by Shay Buckley | Installations by Susan Williams | Artists' books by Elizabeth Lide, students at the Paideia School, Ruth Laxson and other Nexus Press book artists  | With guest performances by students from the Decatur School of Ballet | Poetry by Dan Veach with members of Poetry Atlanta

BIGGEST THANKS:
To our partner, the DeKalb County Public Library

Up Next: HIDDEN AWAY, the library at night

Save these dates: August 31 - September 7

and visit 

nicolelivieratos.com 

The Lucky Penny's First Intern!

The Lucky Penny is excited to introduce our first Arts Administration Intern, 

Sarah Freeman!

 Sarah Freeman is ecstatic to join The Lucky Penny, especially when she compares this internship to her last job seeing old peoples’ skin cancer at her father’s dermatology office. She is a rising junior at Emory University where she is a double major in Dance/ Movement Studies and English. After choreographing musical theater for several years in high school, Sarah has enjoyed the switch from Broadway to modern by performing with the Emory Dance Company for two years. Recently she presented her solo composition “The gilded creature strains and spins” at the American College Dance Festival in Tampa, FL, where it was chosen for the final Gala Performance. In the fall, Sarah will be traveling to London to study abroad for the semester and change her status of “never moved out of Georgia”. Working with The Lucky Penny is her first foray into the larger Atlanta dance and art world. She hopes that all the amazing people she will meet and experiences she will gain this summer will help her decide what to do after graduation, but suggestions are always welcome. In addition to helping Blake and Malina this summer, Sarah also hopes to find inspiration for her next piece, which will feature Mrs. Dalloway and a Kit-Kat bar. She is so thankful to The Lucky Penny for giving her this amazing chance to learn about all the aspects of production and running a dance company!

Breaking Ground

This week, The Lucky Penny is delighted to join Breaking Ground, a laboratory for new works hosted by Theater Emory. We are bringing a dynamic mix of artists into Emory's space to work, test ideas, and create. 


Nicole Livieratos and Phillip DePoy will workshop their newest movement theater piece, HIDDEN AWAY, the library at night. Choreographer Helen Hale will create Sanity Ceremonies while Blake Beckham returns to the studio to explore new solo work. And, we are happy to bring back Melissa Dyne and Khaela Maricich of The Blow, as they develop a new performance premiering at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's TBA:13 Festival. 

Join us for an informal showing on Saturday, July 13 at 4:00 pm in the Theater Lab at Emory's Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. FREE Admission. Park in the Fishburne Deck and enter on the north side of the Schwartz Center, by the Business School.


Learn more about our Lucky artists
www.bdancing.com
www.nicolelivieratos.com
www.helenhale.com
www.pica.org/artists/the-blow

Lucky Truck, Breaking Ground, Hidden Away

This summer, The Lucky Penny turns two years old. 

We're excited to share these highlights of our upcoming season:

JUNE

Dance Truck Returns 6/28

With local choreographers, BEATRIX, Kala Seidenberg and Erik Thurmond. 

Featuring special guests tEEth via Portland, OR and New Orleans, LA.

Including specialty trucks by ASIFA-Atlanta (animation), Whitespace (gallery), and The Good Food Truck (poodles). Check out the evolving details at dancetruck.org.

JULY

Breaking Ground

Theater Emory has invited The Lucky Penny to a residency in July for their inaugural summer session of Breaking Ground: New Works Series. A space for exploring and generating with Nicole Livieratos, Helen Hale, Blake Beckham, and The Blow.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

HIDDEN AWAY, the library at night

A new performance work by Nicole Livieratos and Phillip DePoy.

Prepare for a whirlwind that will leave you breathless and re-engaged with one of our nation's treasures: the public library. Sneak into the Decatur Branch with us, August 31 - September 7. More at nicolelivieratos.com

Lucky! Lucky! Lucky!

Heads Up, Lucky Pennies. Some incredible things have been happening...

In an astonishing act of generosity, The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation surprised us with a 3-year, $30,000 operating support grant from their SEED Fund. We are so humbled, thrilled and encouraged by the news!

Creative Loafing gave us two honors in their Best Of 2012 Issue: Best reason to hole up in a cardboard box (Threshold) and Best Dancer (Blake Beckham).

In recognition of the ambitious vision behind Threshold, The Lucky Penny received Spotlight Recognition from The National Endowment for the Arts.

This fall, Lucky's Blake Beckham received a Community Impact Award from Emory's Center for Creativity & Arts.

Our deepest thanks to these fine folks, along with Lucky's supporters, sponsors, volunteers and audiences.

Check out the video by Room Eleven Media

Threshold from The Lucky Penny on Vimeo.

We'll be screening more footage, and giving an artist talk on Tuesday, October 9th at 7:30 pm, in Emory's Schwartz Center Dance Studio. Come experience insights from the design team, discover more about our creative process, and learn about the choreography, imagery and concepts driving the work!

Threshold - the reviews are in!

Photo by Bobbi Jo Brooks.  Email media requests for photography to blake at theluckypenny.org

Check out the reviews in BurnAway and ArtsAtl

Plus a photo slide show at Creative Loafing

Can't get enough? Save the date for an artist talk on October 9th at Emory University. For this Threshold Redux, we will share some gorgeous documentation by Room Eleven Media plus dig in to the ideas, imagery and collaborative process behind the work. 

Finally, we want to say: THANK YOU, ATLANTA. The Lucky Penny feels incredibly grateful for the many ways our community came together to support Threshold. It was an outrageous idea, a profound effort, and a very special piece to create for Atlanta audiences.  Here are some of the incredible numbers…

Days to build the cardboard house: 28
Hours to complete construction and technical production: 2,000
Lucky Penny artists, crew members and staff employed: 30
Volunteers: 70
Volunteer hours logged: 900
Supplies: 800 pieces of hexacomb and corrugated cardboard plus over 100 gallons of wood glue, hot glue and liquid nails
Average cups of coffee consumed per day by the crew: 50

Buy your tickets to Threshold HERE
$14 students and artists | $25 general
Thursday, 8/16 @ 8pm
Friday, 8/17 @ 8pm-SOLD OUT!
Saturday, 8/18 @ 2pm + @ 8pm
Sunday, 8/19 @ 2pm

Advanced ticket sales are strongly encouraged due to limited seating capacity at each performance. Walk-up transactions by cash or check only. GA Tech students may pay by Buzz Card. The box office opens 1 hour prior to show time. Please plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early. Late seating is strictly prohibited due to the distinct nature of the production and set design. 

Performances take place at DramaTech Theater, located at the northeast corner of the Ferst Center, on Georgia Tech's campus.

Threshold: Kickstarter Campaign

The Lucky Penny is proud to present Threshold, a new work by Atlanta choreographer Blake Beckham, noted for her recent works American Muscle (Eyedrum, Emory University and Dance Truck at PICA's Time-Based Art Festival) and PLOT, a critically acclaimed production at The Goat Farm Arts Center, named Best Dance Performance of 2011 by Creative Loafing.

This summer, Beckham challenges a community of architects, engineers, paper scientists, sculptors and theater technicians to design and build a two-story home made entirely out of paper products. Sponsors so far include Idea Capital Atlanta and Possible Futures. As we seek further support from other cultural institutions and corporations, we ask YOU to pitch in a little. Your donation will go directly towards paying our artists. Thank you for your genuine support and enthusiasm for our work and the artists we believe in.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1042894430/threshold-3?ref=live

The Lucky Penny Turns 1

Birthday Party

Join us for dancing, drinks, cake and cardboard

Thursday, June 28, 7 to 10 pm
MASS Collective, 364 Nelson St SW

MASS Collective offers a perfect spot for celebrating The Lucky Penny's first successful year of advancing artistry and cultivating community in Atlanta. $15 for drinks*, cake, and a special preview performance of Threshold, Beckham's new work for a house made out of cardboard, designed by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects. Bring your heaviest bag of pennies for a chance to win free tickets to the Threshold premiere in August. Then hit the cardboard dance floor with guests DJ Git 'Em Gurl and Brigitte Bidet. Admission by cash, check or Lucky Pass.

* Drink quantities limited and ID required
Special thanks to our hosts, MASS Collective, a multi-disciplined group of makers, creators, artists and engineers. www.masscollective.org

The Lucky Pass
Admission to 5 Lucky Events: $50 artists or $75 general

Your pass grants you discounted admission to our 2012 season, featuring distinguished national guests and local talent who make contemporary art with intention, rigor and grit. Events include: 

-our Birthday Party on June 28
-priority seating for the August premiere of Threshold August 16-19
-our apocalypse art party on 12.21 at The Goat Farm Arts Center
-2 other eligible performances, workshops or presentations
-plus, invitations to private events with our community of Lucky artists

Artist Talk

Artist Talk:  RE: Performance 

On Wednesday, April 25^th at 7:00 pm, a powerful trio of performance artists will reunite in Atlanta for a discussion about contemporary practices of re-performance that have gained increasing popularity amongst curators and institutions of visual culture. Los Angeles-based artist, Adam Overton and New York-based performer Anya Liftig will join Atlanta’s own Andy Ditzler for a talk moderated by Lucky Penny Artistic Director, Blake Beckham at The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center.

ANDY DITZLER, Atlanta, GA | frequentsmallmeals.com
Andy Ditzler was trained as a percussionist at Indiana University and is a composer, performer, and curator living in Atlanta. He is a founding member of the Artadia award-winning art collective John Q. He has curated over one hundred programs in the ongoing series Film Love, which presents historical avant-garde and experimental cinema to general audiences. Currently he is a doctoral student in Interdisciplinary Studies and a George W. Woodruff Fellow in the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts at Emory University. As a musician, Ditzler has performed in contexts ranging from classical and jazz to free improvisation and rock. As composer and performer, Ditzler has explored video, audio phonography, performance art, and other forms. His one-man theater show Yes and No was commissioned by Clayton State Theater and premiered there in 2002, later running in Atlanta. In 2006 he released his first music CD, Songs From Yes and No. This was followed by the single Solstice in 2008, with a music video directed by underground film legend George Kuchar. Ditzler released Closet Studies, his latest collection of songs, in 2011. In 2012 he will revive the performance art work Desirium Probe by the New York artist James Nares – the work’s first presentation since 1978.

ANYA LIFTIG, New York, NY | anyaliftig.com

Anya Liftig’s work has been featured at TATE Modern, Highways Performance Space, Exit Art, Panoply Performance Lab, Surreal Estate, Eyedrum, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Center for Performance Research, Chez Bushwick, Grace Exhibition Space, Yale University, INCUBATEChicago, [performance space] london, Performance Art Institute San Francisco, Performer Stammtisch Berlin, OVADA, Roves and Roams, University of Wisconsin, University of Chicago, Mess Hall, Joyce Soho and many other venues. Her piece,  “The Anxiety of Influence,” was an intervention into Marina Abramovic’s “The Artist is Present” retrospective at MOMA. Liftig dressed as the elder artist and sat across from her all day. Her work has been published and written about in The New York Times Magazine, Bomb, The Wall Street Journal, Emergency Index, The Art Life, Vogue Italia, Marie Claire Italia, Heeb, Loser, The Other Journal, Flavorpill, Hyperallergic, Mix Magazine, Next Magazine, Now and Then, X-tra, Stay Thirsty, New York Magazine and many others. She is a graduate of Yale University and Georgia State University and has received recent grant and residency support from the University of Antioquia, Casa Tres Patios-Medellin Colombia, and Flux Projects in Atlanta.

ADAM OVERTON, Los Angeles, CA | plus1plus1plus.org

a abilities — acknowledgment, action — adam am, and angeles artist awareness, based between bodymindperson by challenges — [co]existence — composer contact continually depths distance, experimental experiments fascinated: fueled, I, in individuals intimate is living — los maps massage music — my — of overton performer playfully plumbs practices, presence radical rhythm, subjects teacher — the therapist — through transformative various with work.

Family Day, Sunday March 11

The Lucky Penny partners with The High Museum to present Family Day performances and workshops by dance artist Lilli Ransijn.

Sunday, March 11, 2012 | 12:00 to 5:00 pm

Family Day | The High Museum of Art

1280 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

Free for members

$18 adults | $11 children ages 6-17 | Free for children ages 5 and under

Consider purchasing a family membership. For $90, you receive 12 months of unlimited access to the museum for 1 to 2 adults plus your children or grandchildren.

LUCKY choreographer and dance educator, Lilli Ransijn will give performances at 2:30 and 3 pm, with short movement workshops at 3:30 and 4 pm. Embody the works of modern masters featured in the High’s current exhibit, Picasso to Warhol.

Welcome to Atlanta, Christi Denton and Danielle Ross

Christi Denton (Composer) is a Portland based sound installation artist who works with found sounds, electronics, and homemade instruments. Her works have been performed throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. Her music is included as part of "Six Seconds Around Me" in the CAM_Casoria Contemporary Art Museum in Italy. She studied at the Centre de Creation Musicale Iannis Xenakis in Paris and at Mills College in Oakland. In 2011, her work was performed in the Electrogals Festival, and her collaboration with Ross was shown in the Time Based Art Festival’s Ten Tiny Dances. Her laser MIDI controller was accepted into the 2012 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition.

Danielle Ross (Choreographer/Director) is a Portland bred and Bay Area trained dancer and choreographer. She is interested in how we perform for one another. Ross holds a BFA in Dance and Performance Studies from UC Berkeley. In 2010, her work Make the Air Thick premiered at Launch Pad Gallery and her installation Home/Body was shown at Appendix Project Space. In 2011, she curated San Francisco’s Fact/SF into Performance Work’s Northwest’s Alembic Series. She has performed at TBA’s Ten Tiny Dances with Composer Christi Denton and with Zoe/Juniper for their 2011 installation at Lincoln Hall. She is currently dancing for Linda Austin, and her latest work To Remember Is To Jump Around There premiered at the Headwaters Theatre in January, 2012. She is also a founding member of FRONT, a Portland run publication dedicated to contemporary dance.

The Lucky Penny welcomes Christi Denton and Danielle Ross, who are in town for the Margaret Guthman Musical Instrument Competition at Georgia Tech. We will be presenting an intimate performance and artist talk with them on Thursday, 2/16.

Idea: Threshold

Idea Capital has awarded Lucky Duo, Blake Beckham and Malina Rodriguez, a grant to support the creation of their upcoming performance work, Threshold. Premiering in late summer, the piece is designed for a house constructed out of cardboard, and examines the home as both a sacred and profane space. The Lucky Penny is currently recruiting architects, designers, and artist volunteers. Contact blake@theluckypenny.org for more information.

11.11.11 Photography by Bobbi Jo Brooks