Spectacle Based Drama Presentation

Acrobatic Stiltwalking & Spectacle Based Drama as a tool for Community Engagement and Cross Cultural Collaboration

In this hour-long presentation, Carpetbag Brigade director Jay Ruby and performer Helen Goodrum will share stories, videos and slides and answer questions about their unique, pioneering ensemble theater work, and about the intent of spectacle based drama as a form of contemporary ritual.

The Carpetbag Brigade creates  spectacle-based dramas which combine acrobatic stilt walking, butoh dance, contact improvisation, musical composition and physical theater. They have developed their unique aesthetic approach and technique over the past 18 years, resulting in 10 original performances and tours to Europe, Latin America, Canada and the U.S. For five years they were the host group of the Tsunami on the Square festival in Prescott, Arizona, and in 2007 they were the company in residence at the Universal Forum of the Cultures in Monterrey, Mexico. Since 2013, they have produced the Global Stilt Congress, an international gathering combining movement education and site-specific performance. The Carpetbag Brigade’s mission is to increase the quality, scope and impact of live performance culture through performer training, community outreach and aesthetic presentation. By utilizing performance art and its pedagogy as a tool to transcend language, class, and genetic heritage, they seek to create bridges of understanding by sharing their craft in diverse geographic settings.