From an original French book with lyrics by S\u00e9bastien Lancrenon and music by Jean-Baptiste Saudray, translated by Ranjit Bolt, it is the story of \u2013 \u201cthe \u00a0People of the Night\u201d\u2019 \u2013 and their fight for independence. Louis\u2019 struggles lead his people to the gates of literacy, and so, of knowledge and culture. It is their journey \u201cinto the light\u201d. The show will be directed by Co-founder and Artistic Director, Greg Shane. Musical Direction will be lead by Laurie Grant, Musical Director and Program Manager of Rex & Friends. Martine Melloul will serve as Executive Producer.<\/p>\n
To help blind actors traverse the stage and \u00a0walk through scenes confidently, Shane has devised an ingenious, textured floor system to provide performers the necessary clues about their location. It\u2019s a kind of \u201cfloor Braille\u201d created by carefully placing different textured pads on the stage, enabling the actors to feel through their feet and move gracefully on the stage.<\/p>\n
Rex & Friends, ArtsUP! LA\u2019s program to support blind and autistic performers with training in music and performance opportunities, will provide all the musical accompaniment. Rex & Friends, who recently appeared in the Media Access Awards, is led by Rex Lewis-Clack, a musical savant who has been profiled on CBS\u2019s 60 minutes and by the Kinetic Light Company.<\/p>\n
More about the Show<\/strong><\/p>\n Two years ago, ArtsUP! LA was given the unique opportunity to launch “The Braille Legacy\u201d here \u00a0in the United States. The show premiered in London at the Savory and Charing Cross Theatre. In recounting his life \u00a0and legacy, the story begins during Louis\u2019 education at the Paris Royal Institute for Blind Youth, \u00a0when we realize that his education is a real challenge, even within the specialized school. It\u2019s a \u00a0story about a fight for independence, the right to learn, and for the blind to be seen as equals.\u00a0<\/p>\n After learning about Theatre by the Blind, the nation\u2019s only blind theatre company, the \u00a0producer of \u201cThe Braille Legacy\u201d sought out Shane about the possibility of producing the \u00a0musical here in America, this time, with all blind actors.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shane was enthusiastic about the idea, and a week after production began, the COVID \u00a0pandemic struck the world. As everyone went into quarantine, the future of \u201cThe Braille \u00a0Legacy\u201d went into doubt. The year-long crisis resulted in many fewer public and private grant offerings and limited the \u00a0organization\u2019s fund-raising opportunities. It had only been able to raise half of the $60,000 \u00a0required to produce the show. \u00a0A Kickstarter campaign – \u201cSave The Braille Legacy”- was started this summer and ArtsUP! LA \u00a0raised the additional $30,000 needed. In October, production commenced, again. Fourteen \u00a0talented blind actors and ten brilliant musicians with different disabilities began the work to tell \u00a0Louis Braille\u2019s inspirational story. And, who better to tell the story of Louis Braille than the very people he championed!\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Braille Legacy will help people understand that being blind is not an impediment to living a \u00a0full meaningful life. Access to education, training and programs coupled with more advanced \u00a0social acceptance can do better to shape the experiences of those with impaired vision,\u201d<\/em> explained ArtsUP! LA co-founder and Executive Director, Bryan Caldwell.<\/p>\n This performance is made possible, in part, by grants from:
\nCity of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs
\nNational Endowment for the Arts
\nNational Endowment for the Humanities
\nCalifornia Humanities
\nCalifornia Arts Council
\nLos Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture
\nThe Karl Kirchgessner Foundation
\nThe Albert Parvin Foundation
\nJohn and Lynn Shane<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":59145,"menu_order":0,"template":"","app_discipline":[227],"app_city_tax":[220],"app_event_type":[243],"class_list":["post-59147","app_event","type-app_event","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","app_discipline-performing-arts","app_city_tax-la","app_event_type-performance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n