WATERVILLE, Maine (WABI) – The Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts at Colby College is debuting its first original work.
“So, tonight and tomorrow, we are premiering a project that’s called “Of This Place, and it is something that we call a community-based performance which for me means that it is a performance that can only be made for the people,” Cumbie said.
That includes students both past and present, faculty and staff, and the community.
Matthew Cumbie is the creative director of the performance.
“They can expect to see lots of movement and dance, coupled with spoken word, projection, original sound and compositions. There is a live band playing and a pianist, and some really incredible theater magic,” Cumbie said.
The story begins with a question. What does it mean to be of this place? Cumbie says he hopes the performances can bring some answers.
“We are really interested in this idea of bridge building. Bridges are really an important metaphor for us here in Waterville because of the Kennebec and all the bridges we have to cross daily, But particularly, as we think about the many communities that we maybe a part of,” Cumbie said.
“I bring in what it both felt like to be at Colby but also what it feels like to be me now,” Atkinson said.
Alexis Atkinson is an alumni from Colby and will be performing on stage.
“Giving permission to yourself that no matter where you go, whether it is Waterville, whether it is Colby, whether it is being in an artistic building, your profession beyond, show us as much as yourself as you can,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson’s piece will involve some dancing and poetry, and at the core is the freedom to express.
“We have a lot that goes on in our daily lives. We have our professions, our careers, our families, and we look different and we experience different things, but at our heart, there are things that we want, the things we need to live, love support community, you know drinking water, fresh air and all that, are all the same,” Atkinson said.
“I think art is part of our birthrights. Being creative is something that we all have innately in ourselves, so the art that I try to make is something that celebrates that birthright and that creativity that we all have access to. It is just a matter of giving ourselves permission to,” Cumbie said.
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