'LUMA: Art in Darkness' coming to CLC April 6
A light spectacle that uses the dark as the canvas and light as the brush to create colorful illusions, "LUMA: Art In Darkness," will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, on the Mainstage of the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts at the College of Lake County.
In 1996 in a Madison, Wisconsin, warehouse, Michael Marlin set out to produce a show about light done entirely in the dark.
"Experimenting with light sources, building prototypes, teaching a cast how to perform in the dark with black bags on their heads was just a few of my challenges," Marlin said.
"When people join a dance company they know how to dance, when they join a band they know how to play. My original cast was made up of a masseuse, an office clerk, a bartender, a weaver and an organic farmer. It was literally from scratch."
When LUMA first began touring, one presenter said, "LUMA is not like STOMP and it's not like Mummeschanz, it's like nothing that has come before and neither were they."
The genesis of the idea came from Marlin's love of astronomy and the glow of an active lava flow near his home.
"I knew the whole world would want to see a show about light," Marlin says, "and I never gave up on my vision."
Marlin, a master juggler, began the journey of LUMA by juggling in the dark to classical music. Solo pieces became duets, then trios and now a cast of seven weaves 3-D illuminated illusions of light color and motion that has been seen in 15 countries, on five continents and coast to coast in 46 states at performing arts venues from 300 to 10,000 seats. LUMA's new production, "Art in Darkness," will tour in nine states this April.
To learn more, visit mindofmarlin.com.
Tickets are $43-$37 for regular admission; $31-$36 for seniors and CLC staff and alumni; $17 for CLC students and teens; and $14 for children (must be purchased with an adult ticket). Prices include a $2 JLC facility fee.
Tickets can be purchased at the Box Office in the James Lumber Center, Room P112, on the Grayslake Campus, 19351 W. Washington St.; by phone; or at www.clcillinois.edu/tickets.
For more information, call (847) 543-2300 (option 5). The Box Office is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour before the performance. To request a brochure, call (847) 543-2300 or sign up for the mailing list at www.clcillinois.edu/tickets.