Right Here
Concept and Direction: Melinda Jean Myers
Presenter: Lucky Plush Productions
Composer and Musician: Lex Leto
Set Design: Tony Orrico
Stage Management: Cydney Cleveland
Project Management: Kara Brody
Devised in Collaboration and Performance: Kara Brody, Kim Goldman, Isabella Limosnero, Jacinda Ratcliffe, Melinda Jean Myers, Meghann Wilkinson
This performance was made possible with generous support of Lucky Plush Productions’ Embodied Research Project, University of Iowa’s Office of the Vice President for Research and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Iowa’s Department of Dance, and University of Chicago. Special thanks to Extensions Dance Center, Links Hall, and bim bom studios for studio space, University of Iowa Dance Company 2022-2023, University of Iowa Production Unit for costume and set support.
Right Here Premiere at Links Hall Chicago, IL
May 2024
Right Here @ Navy Pier for Chicago LIVE!
Sep 22, 2024
Right Here @ Landing: A Movement Festival
Aug 10, 2024
Threading the Needle: The Connection between Clothing and Climate
Oct 19, 2023
Harris Fest: Music + Dance in the Park
Sep 9, 2023
“While the ensemble danced with grace and great control, the standout moments of the performance were when the cast used vocal performance and visual storytelling to express a myriad of human emotions. “Right Here” is not a dance show meant to dazzle you with great feats of skill, but rather an hour spent reflecting on the absurdity of the inherent oppositional human emotions and our accountability towards them.”
- Rachel Benzing, See Chicago Dance
“Lucky Plush Productions unveils a new dance theater work, created by ensemble member Melinda Jean Meyers, about the deep ambivalence of being alive in an age of climate crisis.”
- Sharon Hoyer, Dance Top 5: May 2025 for New City Stage
“As I visualize my memories of the performance, I see the expressive faces of all the ensemble members and washes of feel-good, playful choreography. It’s the feelings I had during and post-performance that have stayed with me. I remember so many moments where I laughed and uncomfortably smiled because of how many moments resonated with me. It was also a serious reminder that as humans with incredible amounts of thought power, we have a great responsibility. It’s thrilling to dream and solutionize, yet how is it coming into action or worse, inaction?”
- Tuli Bera, Performance Response Journal
Created in collaboration with Lucky Plush ensemble members and composer/musician Lex Leto, this dance-theater work explores how the body holds opposing states of motivation and apathy, abundance and loss, and hope and despair during a climate crisis. Through visual storytelling and shared choreographies, the ensemble seeks a roadmap for greater awareness and collective action.
