We are delighted to be working with Dj/ Projectionist Kid Koala this December for a residency to develop a family-oriented live show based on his graphic novel/soundtrack project Space Cadet.  We have started a Kickstarter campaign to help us raise a little dough to fund residency and production costs, including artist housing and accommodations, equipment, and technical services. Everyone who donates to the cause will receive some sort of gift in return! For more details check out the campaign site.

Cheers,
Brittany

I’m a bit of a theater nerd, so needless to say I was thrilled when I found out we would be presenting a staged reading of John Kelly’s newest work The Escape Artist as part of the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab on Saturday, April 3. I’m mostly familiar with Kelly through his brilliant character work, and specifically as one of his most beloved characters Dagmar Onassis, the fictional love child of Aristotle Onassis and Maria Callas.

Kelly is a two time Bessie and Obie award winning performance and visual artist whose work began in New York’s East Village clubs in the early 1980’s; since that time he has created over 30 performance works which have been performed at venues across the country. Originally trained as a dancer with American Ballet Theatre and the Harkness House for Ballet Arts, he embraces all forms of art from theater, dance, visual art, drag, film, and music in his work.

Kelly has been on campus over the last week working on The Escape Artist, which will eventually include a collision of music, video and story. The premise revolves around a singer hired to lay down the tracks for cinematic re-enactments of the paintings of Caravaggio. The singer channels the characters that populate the paintings, encounters unexpected technical difficulties, and reveals a turbulent personal history of his own. The Escape Artist considers the parallels between the unbridled creative spirit of the urban artist of the 17th and 21st centuries.

Before coming to MASS MoCA Kelly spent time in Rome recording video and shoot photographs of the characters he takes on in The Escape Artist.

At MASS MoCA Kelly shot this video promo for The Escape Artist in the bridge leading up to the LeWitt Retrospective. (click on the image to view)

True to Kelly’s style he is compiling all sorts of artistic creations to form a truly multi-media experience for the audiences of The Escape Artist.  Although the showing at MASS MoCA is only a staged reading and will not include all of the final pieces of the show, from one theater nerd to another, this performance is going to be a night at the theater you don’t want to miss!

Cheers,

Brittany

We sold out the 8 PM 69 S: Shackleton Project showing but are delighted the Jessica and Eric figured out a way to offer an additional showing for you at 4 PM. There are still tickets available to that but don’t wait til the last minute to buy. They are going fast!

Photos give you a sneak peak at the marionettes (and their charming footwear).

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Check Phantom Limb’s website for some really cool pics of Jessica Grindstaff and Eric Sanko’s trip to Antarctica.

69° South: The Shackleton Project work-in-progress showing happens on Saturday, March 13. Tickets are going fast and the house is intimate in Club B-10 so don’t wait until the last minute to buy if you want to come.

Jessica Grindstaff and Eric Sanko were just fantastic on WAMC’s Roundtable this morning (listen to the interview here).  Jessica pointed us in the direction of  this collection of photos by Gina Moss from their last residency in Australia.  Look at the photos and listen to the interview at the same time for a complete multimedia presentation about  69° South: The Shackleton Project.

With only one more day before the performance our dance company in residence ZviDance is hard at work preparing for their Work-In-Progress showing of  Zoom tomorrow at 8 PM.  Sarah LaDuke at WAMC got a chance to talk with choreographer Zvi Gotheiner for a Roundtable interview. You can listen to the full interview here! Also check out our YouTube page for three more videos of ZviDance rehearsals.

I sat in on a school time performance of Zoom the company did for local school children this morning. The students and teachers had a great time interacting with the dancers and effecting the action on the stage. Below are a few photos taken by the company and teachers in the audience.

If you don’t have your tickets for ZviDance yet you can purchase them here. If you already have your tickets don’t forget to bring your cell phone to interact with the company!

Looking for something to do before the performance? Stop by the opening of Gravity is a Force to be Reckoned With in the galleries.

Cheers,

Brittany