CoPAC Celebrates 22 Years Of Barking Legs Theater With Day Of The Legs Oct. 24

  • Thursday, October 8, 2015
Contemporary Performing Arts of Chattanooga celebrates the 22nd anniversary of Barking Legs Theater on Oct. 24 with eight performances by Chattanooga artists in the theater, four seasonal altars created by visual artists in the lobby, and a bonfire out back with a few more performances.
Contemporary Performing Arts of Chattanooga celebrates the 22nd anniversary of Barking Legs Theater on Oct. 24 with eight performances by Chattanooga artists in the theater, four seasonal altars created by visual artists in the lobby, and a bonfire out back with a few more performances.

Contemporary Performing Arts of Chattanooga celebrates the 22nd anniversary of Barking Legs Theater on Oct. 24 with eight performances by Chattanooga artists in the theater, four seasonal altars created by visual artists in the lobby, and a bonfire out back with a few more performances. 

Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and performances start at 8 p.m. Admission is $22 in advance — one dollar for each of the theater's 22 years — or $25 at the door. Note: This is not an age-restricted performance, but CoPAC gives performers unlimited freedom to create their art. There may be adult themes and controversial content on stage, said officials. 

"Taking inspiration from the themes around Day of The Dead, Halloween, and other traditional harvest festivals, we want to invite patrons of Barking Legs Theater and supporters of COPAC in for an evening of entertainment, food, and community," said Marcus Ellsworth, chairperson of the event and also a long-time performer and event organizer at Barking Legs and a board member of CoPAC. "The theme for the first hour will be ancestry, exploring what has come before. After an intermission, performances in the second hour will explore fear, death, and the morbid glee that art can find in those themes." 

Each performance onstage will pair artists in different disciplines, such as dance and drumming, poetry and music, storytelling and dance, improv comedy and musical improv. More performances will be outside at a bonfire in the backyard. Most performers are part of the extended family of artists CoPAC and Barking Legs Theater have been nurturing for 22 years. 

The theater lobby will be dressed in the style of Day of The Dead, the Latin holiday that honors the dead, with four artistic-scary altars created by visual artists where guests will be encouraged to take a sweet treat, maybe a sugar skull or a pumpkin tart, and leave a small offering to support CoPAC. 

"This is CoPAC doing what we do best—providing a unique and eclectic experience, working with local artists in creatively collaborative ways, and creating a sense of community among artists and audiences," said Ann Law, dancer/choreographer and co-founder co-artistic director of CoPAC and Barking Legs Theater with her husband, Bruce Kaplan. 

"The evening isn't just about the artists. It's about the community around CoPAC — this space, these people, the legacy of Barking Legs and CoPAC. We've always been an eclectic gathering place," said Ric Morris, who was hired this summer as CoPAC's executive director, and began his artistic career with CoPAC and Barking Legs in their early years. 

"CoPAC has a long history of putting on eclectic, collaborative performances," added CoPAC board chair Ann Cater. "We're throwing new artists together and asking them to work as a team to create something new for the audience, take the audience on a journey with them through these ideas."

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