When Getting a Nissan Hardbody Truck on Stage at Raue Center, All Hands on Deck - Northwest Herald
How do you dance with a one-ton truck. Unless you’re Mike Vandercook, head of production at Raue Center for the Arts. and Williams Street Repertory’s newest production, Hands on a Hardbody. “The weight reduction allows for the ease of the performers’ movement and to incorporate the choreography,” says Vandercook. The Hardbody is mounted on a cushion of air, allowing the performers to dance with the truck as though it were another character. The musical centers on a contest in which the contestants’ hands are required to stay in contact with the truck. Last one with their “hands on the hardbody” drives away with the prize. How far would you go if a truck was more than a truck, but also a prop. Mike Vandercook seems to think the answer is in the details, saying, “The truck is the most mechanically complex piece of scenery in a production of an impressive scale. ” Noting that despite the challenges of putting a one-ton truck on stage, the pay off of seeing this “mechanically complex” prop will be well worth it. Hands on a Hardbody is in rehearsal now, and being staged at Raue Center for the Arts November... Source: www.nwherald.com
