Ice Scream Theater

Avant-garde ballads and burlesque-influenced dance punctuate this play based on the book of poetry, “These are the Rooms to my Mother’s House” by New Orleans multi-disciplinary artist, C.M. Soto. Soto (as her performance alter ego) Vinylux stars in Ice Scream Theater. Set to a score of original music by UFO Death Cult, this performance art musical echoes Pink Floyd’s, “The Wall” and Tom Waits’, “What’s he Building in There?” Adult themes.

Brought up in a drug-house, 13-year-old Vinylux succumbs to the 80’s drug scene. Pressured into being a surrogate mother to her two siblings and over-stimulated by the adult world of drug addiction, Vinylux abandons her mother’s house. She attends college but finds herself back home pregnant, caring for her teenage sister, and in an abusive relationship. Motherhood opens the wounds of a wronged child, acting as a catalyst to force her back into college where she is pregnant and homeless. Her creative path leads her to New Orleans where her mother-issues come full circle.

 Chilling narratives, projected imagery, and unnerving video assault the senses, illuminating Vinylux’s journey from being an addict’s child to becoming an addict, then mother herself. Burlesque-influenced dance and avant-garde ballads set to an original score by UFO Death Cult punctuate this true story. The poetry in Ice Scream Theater is featured in the author/actor’s book, These are the Rooms to my Mother’s House.  Props such as the dollhouse podium, floor-length birdcage skirt, and record wings are also author-originals.