Atlanta's Art on the Beltline - Water Is Life:Hidden Springs, Atlanta

To View Performance Photos Click Here.

Water is Life: Hidden Springs, Atlanta is an outdoor site performance designed, written and directed by Sandra Hughes. The production features drama, dance, masks, mime, music and visual art to celebrate the times when Atlanta’s now hidden natural springs were visible and usable - before , during and after the American Civil War. This year marks the beginning of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War.

Hidden Springs premieres on Saturday, November 5 at 3 p.m. for Atlanta’s 2011 Art on the Beltline. The performance site is located off Memorial Drive on the section of the Beltline behind the H. Harper Station Restaurant at 904 Memorial Drive, Atlanta, 30316. The performance is free and open to the public. To view the program for the performance click here.

A number of specific natural springs in Atlanta inspired the creation of this production –  the spring beneath The Mask Center (located on the ground floor of the Little Five Points Community Center) that was part of a field hospital during the American Civil War, the once famous Ponce de Leon Springs spa, Angier Spring at Goddess Garden Atlanta and other area springs that are currently either covered by buildings, diverted or relatively unknown. According to Sandra, the springs in Atlanta were once much more visible – a vital and vibrant natural resource that deeply enriched the city’s quality of life. 

performer: Allen Pittman, wooden frog mask: Michael Hickey,  photo: Sandra Hughes

The cast of Hidden Springs includes dancer, mime, mask performer, choreographer Jerilynn Bedingfield; dancer, choreographer Gwyneth Moss Bragdon; Dancing Flowers for Peace; African dance performed by Edeliegba H.J.C. Bowden Senior Dance Ensemble; mime, mask performer Michael Hickey; movement, martial artist Allen Pittman and actress, vocalist, storyteller Hilda Willis. One of a kind hand-carved theatrical masks created by Michael Hickey as well as bowl-masks designed by Sandra Hughes and crafted by Michael add a dramatic visual art layer to the performance.

bird mask: Michael Hickey             photo: Sandra Hughes 

Sandra Hughes is the Producing Artistic Director of Gateway Performance Productions http://www.masktheatre.org/ - a non-profit arts organization based in Atlanta since 1978. Gateway produces original productions that have toured to 36 states in the United States and 13 other countries. Video productions of the company’s work have showcased at the American Film Institute Video Festival in Los Angeles, been distributed nationally for Public Television and been featured on Canadian National Television.

Performances, school assemblies, workshops and residencies are an integral part of  Gateway’s community outreach programming locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. The company also maintains The Mask Center – located in the Little Five Points Community Center in Atlanta. The Center serves as a unique community resource for performances, workshops, rehearsals, exhibits and meetings. Gateway is a member of Alternate ROOTS.

If you have information about Atlanta’s natural springs you’d like to share, please contact Sandra Hughes at sandra@masktheatre.org

You can find out more about the production and its artists at the following links:

Jerilynn Bedingfield http://www.masktheater.org/Jerilynn_Bedingfield.html

Gwyneth Moss Bragdon http://www.masktheater.org/Artist_Gwyneth_Bradgon.html

Dancing Flowers for Peace http://dancingflowersforpeace.org/

Edeliegba H.J.C. Bowden Senior Dance Ensemble
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yVLpab4SJY
Gateway Performance Productions http://www.masktheater.org/Home_Page.html

Michael Hickey http://www.masktheater.org/Michael_Hickey.html

Sandra Hughes http://www.masktheater.org/Sandra_Hughes.html

Allen Pittman http://apittman.com/blog/

Water Is Life: Hidden Springs, Atlanta

http://artgate.blogspot.com/2011/07/hidden-springs-selected-for-art-on.html

Hilda Willis http://www.hildawillis.com/

Hidden Springs is made possible in part by grant awards from  Atlanta's Art on the Beltline, City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs and the Fulton County Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.