For Immediate Release:  May 27, 2011

Long Beach Museum of Art Presents
Ray Turner: Population
Hundreds of Portraits by American Artist Ray Turner
Thursday, June 16 – Sunday, September 11, 2011
Opening Reception: June 16^th 6:00 – 9:00pm

LOS ANGELES, CA — Long Beach Museum of Art (LBMA) presents Ray Turner: Population, a solo exhibition of nearly 300 luminous portraits by American artist Ray Turner, opening Thursday, June 16, 2011. The series invites viewers to contemplate identity – individually as well as collectively. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, June 16^th from 6:00 to 9:00pm.  The exhibition will continue through Sunday, September 11, 2011. Curated by Art Critic Peter Frank and LBMA Executive Director Ron Nelson, the exhibit will also include a selection of photographic interpretations, works on paper, and three-dimensional pieces by Turner. Population will travel to museums across the country and internationally well into 2013 and continue to grow as Turner adds new portraits to the project from each community exhibiting the work. LBMA is located at 2300 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90803.  For more information please visit http://rayturner.us.

The portraits in Population, executed primarily in oil paint on glass from models, feature mostly California subjects painted over the last four years, including 60 new works depicting Long Beach community members. The growing project also includes 150 portraits that Turner painted previously for the Pasadena Museum of California Art (PMCA) in 2009.  Portraits from the Long Beach community include: the mayor, police commissioner, museum director, harbor commissioner, artists, and local philanthropists.  Also included in the body of work are 28 “homies” – young people affiliated with nonprofit Homeboy Industries looking for alternatives to gang violence.

portraits from Ray Turner: Population

A “population” is the set of beings inhabiting a location – organisms belonging to the same species and living in the same geographical area. The term refers to an objective, scientific accounting of human beings. Turner’s Population, however, does not favor representational precision over interpretation.  His works search for the inner essence and character of his subjects over physical accuracy. Fluid, much like notions of identity, Turner’s textural paintings vacillate between realism and abstraction. Population entices the viewer to decipher each sitter individually – the facial features, expressions, and emotions as captured in Turner’s sculptural brushwork – as well as search for relationships across the entire group of works.

The psychologically powerful LBMA Population installation presents two interconnected series of works by Turner that function together as a conceptual whole.  In the first, Turner has painted the essence of his subjects on uniform glass squares by carefully studying photographic data of his models.  In the complementary “Good Man/Bad Man” series of works, Turner is working expressively from his imagination.

Facial topography informs our opinions of who is ‘good’ and who is ‘bad.’  Co-curator Peter Frank explains, “Our prejudices, Turner deduces, derive from our facial preoccupation, our need to compare one face with another in order to determine everything from superficial beauty to the nature of the soul.”

With underpinnings in occidental art history, most notably Expressionism and Fauvism, Population’s antecedents include the tempestuous works of Georges Rouault and Vincent Van Gogh, as well as the violent disfigurement of Francis Bacon.

An exquisite 168-page, full-color, hardcover monograph published by the PMCA, with essays by B.R. Gilbert, James Scarborough and Roberta Carasso, PhD, accompanies the exhibition along with an all-new, 128-page, comprehensive catalog specific to the current LBMA presentation with an essay written by Peter Frank and foreword by Ron Nelson. Turner’s project is generously sponsored by Thrive Foundation for Youth.

After the Long Beach exhibition, Population, conceived as a five-to-ten year project, travels to Akron Art Museum (OH), Whatcom Museum (Bellingham, WA), Tacoma Museum of Glass (WA), Alexandria Museum of Art (VA), Wichita Art Museum (KS), Huntington Museum of Art (WV), and Missoula Art Museum (MT). Prior to each exhibition, Turner will travel to every location in advance to create new portraits from a cross-section of the populous for inclusion into the growing body of work.

Ray Turner –
Ray Turner lives and works in Pasadena, California. He received his BFA from Art Center College of Design in 1985 where he subsequently taught for 13 years as a professor of painting and drawing.  His work has been exhibited regularly in the United States since 1990.  In 2010, his paintings were shown at the Pasadena Museum of California Art alongside those of Wayne Thiebaud.  Turner is represented in Los Angeles by Rivera & Rivera and by Toomey Tourell Fine Art in San Francisco.

Rivera & Rivera –
Rivera & Rivera is a contemporary art gallery located in Los Angeles, California, housed in a space designed by the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art’s architect, Arata Isozaki.  The gallery represents mid-career and established artists and has helped foster the careers of influential contemporary artists.  In 2011, the gallery’s list of represented artists includes Ray Turner, Marquis Lewis (RETNA), Robert Standish, Miguel Osuna and Jeff Kowatch.  The gallery has hosted a wide range of international exhibitions, from a survey of the Chicano influence on Latin Art including works from Carlos Almaraz, Frank Romero, The Date Farmers, and Ismael Vargas, to a survey of foreign and expatriate British artists including Tobias Keene and Pete Stern.  In addition, the gallery has collaborated on the international exhibition of several urban artists including RETNA, Miles Macgregor (El Mac), Augustine Kofie.  Located in the heart of West Hollywood’s Art & Design District at 454 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90048, the gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 11:00am to 6:00pm.  For more information please call 310-713-1635 or visit http://riveraandrivera.com.

Long Beach Museum of Art –
Located on a magnificent bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Long Beach Museum of Art features a historic mansion and carriage house, expansive galleries and gardens, oceanfront dining at Claire’s at the Museum, and a unique museum store.  In addition to changing exhibitions, the museum offers extensive educational programs for children and adults, musical programs, festivals, and other special events.  LBMA is open Thursday 11:00am to 8:00pm, and Friday to Sunday 11:00am to 5:00pm.  Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for students and seniors age 62 and older, free for LBMA members and children under 12, and free for everyone on Thursdays from 5:00pm to 8:00pm and all day on Fridays.  Free parking is available in the museum parking lot on Ocean Blvd., one block west of the main entrance. For more information, call 562-439-2119 or visit www.lbma.org.

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For more information, images, or to request an interview, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

work from the "Good Man/Bad Man" series within Ray Turner: Population

"Flock" by Michael Arata

Beacon Arts continues its Critics-as-Curators series with Arataland! A Mid-Career Survey of Artworks by Michael Arata curated by art critic Doug Harvey, opening Saturday, March 26, 2011. Arataland! will be the first museum-scale retrospective devoted exclusively to the work of this important Los Angeles artist, and the first monographic exhibit hosted by the Beacon Arts Building during its inaugural Critics-as-Curators series.  Drawing on three decades of sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, installation and performance work, Arataland! will transform the Beacon Arts Building into a theme park exploring the complex and idiosyncratic vision – darkly humorous, playfully erotic, conceptually quirky, and often confrontational – that animates Arata’s oeuvre. The exhibit will run for eight weeks closing on Sunday, May 22, 2011 with a Critics-as-Curators panel discussion from 1:00 to 4:00pm.

"Flock," 2005, mixed media, dimensions variable, by Michael Arata

For Immediate Release:  February 28, 2011

Beacon Arts Presents
Arataland!
A Mid-Career Survey of Artworks by Michael Arata
Curated by Doug Harvey
Saturday, March 26, 2011 – Sunday, May 22, 2011
– With Additional Exhibition Events on 4/10 & 4/30 -

LOS ANGELES, CA — Beacon Arts continues its Critics-as-Curators series with Arataland! A Mid-Career Survey of Artworks by Michael Arata curated by art critic Doug Harvey, opening Saturday, March 26, 2011. Arataland! will be the first museum-scale retrospective devoted exclusively to the work of this important Los Angeles artist, and the first monographic exhibit hosted by the Beacon Arts Building during its inaugural Critics-as-Curators series.  Drawing on three decades of sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, installation and performance work, Arataland! will transform the Beacon Arts Building into a theme park exploring the complex and idiosyncratic vision – darkly humorous, playfully erotic, conceptually quirky, and often confrontational – that animates Arata’s oeuvre. The exhibit will run for eight weeks closing on Sunday, May 22, 2011 with a Critics-as-Curators panel discussion from 1:00 to 4:00pm.  Beacon Arts is located at 808 N. La Brea Ave., Inglewood, CA 90302.  For additional information please call 310-621-5416 or visit http://www.beaconartsbuilding.com as well as http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inglewood-CA/Beacon-Arts-Building/129817703733091?v=info.

Arataland! A Mid-Career Survey of Artworks by Michael Arata will kick-off on March 26^th with an opening reception from 7:00 to 10:00pm.  Join the artist for the unveiling of a new mural on the side of the Beacon Arts Building – a large rendition of a piece from Arata’s Pet Spaces series.  Additional special events include “Deconstructing Arataland” an exhibition walkthrough and conversation with Michael Arata and Curator Doug Harvey on Sunday, April 10^th starting at 1:00pm.  At the end of the month on Saturday, April 30^th, or Walpurgisnacht (a Northern European pagan renewal ritual), join the gallery for “One Night Stand: Walpurgisnacht” from 7:00 to 10:00pm.  Like one of Arata’s famous One Night Stands – his series of one-night guerrilla exhibitions held in motel rooms dating to the late 1990s – the evening will center around a hot dog/drawing exchange, whereby guests can create a drawing in exchange for a hot dog in a bun branded with Arata’s signature.  A 60-page catalog, containing a map of Arataland! will also be published in conjunction with the exhibit and will be for sale at the gallery.  All Arataland! events are free.

Michael Arata –
A native of Northern California, Michael Arata has been active in the Los Angeles art scene since relocating here in the early 1980s. His restlessly creative mind has led him from prescient large-scale site-specific installations addressing ecological sustainability, through elaborate arrays of sculptural works detailing the biological life cycle of angels (including the “larval” stage) to elegiac paintings of the hairstyles of unidentified possible victims of an LA serial killer, and interactive game sculptures conflating minimalist formal aesthetics with the impregnation of flamenco dancers and lawn bowling.

With Duchampian wit and impressive formal chops, Arata has amassed a formidable body of work, consistently undermining the sweetness of his primary-hued entities with dark – but deeply humanistic – undertones; balancing confrontational statements on politics, religion, bestiality, and poop with an open, playful and unaffected relational agenda; and layering his always entertaining pop discourse between enigmatic, personal symbolic systems often deriving from scientific or historical sources. Entertainment being the key word – Arata’s work may alternate between endearing, outrageous, brain-tickling, and laugh-out-loud funny, but it is never, ever boring. – Doug Harvey

From the Pet Spaces series: "Victoria's Secret Catalog Pose" (2000), c-print, 40" X 30" by Michael Arata (Model: Michael Arata)

Doug Harvey, Critic-as-Curator –
Doug Harvey is an artist, critic, experimental musician, curator, and educator based in Los Angeles. His curatorial projects have ranged from many traditional gallery exhibitions (including the First [2005] and Third [2007/08] Annual LA Weekly Biennials at Track 16 Gallery in Los Angeles, Don Suggs: One Man Group Show at OTIS and Heart and Torch: Rick Griffin’s Transcendence at Laguna Art Museum [both 2007 and co-curated with Meg Linton and Greg Escalante, respectively], and the 2008’s Aspects of Mel’s Hole: Artists Respond to a Paranormal Land Event Occurring in Radiospace at Santa Ana’s Grand Central Art Center) to CD compilations of sound art, programs of found and experimental films, performance events, experimental radio, artist’s comic books and zines, and an LA solo gallery exhibit determined by raffle. He has also been part of the curatorial collective creating the exhibition content and design at the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City, CA. He maintains a blog at www.dougharvey.blogspot.com and a website at www.dougharvey.la.

Critics-as-Curators Series –
Critics-as-Curators is the inaugural art exhibition series at Beacon Arts.  In recognition of the gallery’s first year, esteemed art critics and writers — recognized locally, nationally and internationally — have been invited to conceive and curate shows of their choosing at the Beacon Arts Building in conjunction with discussions, lectures, catalogues, or other ways to reveal the thought process behind why exhibition works are chosen with insight into their importance to the curator. The individual expertise and personal taste developed by the curators’ world-view will be on exhibit throughout Beacon Arts’ first year. Critics-as-Curators strives to enrich appreciation of contemporary fine art by critically engaging in art. This series of shows provides a wonderful opportunity for artists and art audiences to learn what individual critics look for, how they think about the art they choose to focus on, and what catches their eye. The series kicked off in October 2010 with Ghost Stories: Happenings, Hauntings, & Curiosities curated by art writer Shana Nys Dambrot, followed by Peter Frank‘s exhibition, Densities: Line Becoming Shape, Shape Becoming Object in December/January.

2011 Critics-as-Curators Exhibition Schedule:

• 2/5/11 – 3/20/11 – Pieceable Kingdom curated by David Pagel
http://www.greengalactic.com/2010/beacon-arts-pieceable-kingdom

• 3/26/11 – 5/22/11 – Arataland! A Mid-Career Survey of Artworks by Michael Arata curated by Doug Harvey

• 5/28/11 – 7/3/11 – TEL-ART-PHONE curated by Mat Gleason

• Future BAB exhibitions TBD

Beacon Arts –
A brand-new, risk-taking fine arts enterprise, housed within the iconic Beacon Arts Building, the venture offers innovative art programming to enrich the cultural landscape of Los Angeles. Its primary directive is to provide and maintain the integrity of an exhibition space for contemporary art by Southern California artists working in all media, including painting, sculpture, installation, video, and performance art. Works by both emerging and established artists will be presented in an effort to provide a variety of ideas in different forms that both challenge and inspire. As a catalyst and advocate for new ideas, the endeavor enriches public understanding and appreciation of contemporary fine art by creating conversations through special events, lectures, symposia, and panel discussions with intellectual commentary on exhibitions. Exhibiting artists are encouraged to forge new relationships and learn from arts professionals through programming such as the gallery’s inaugural Critics-as-Curators series – consecutive shows conceived and curated by art writers and critics. This series runs through the first year of the space, from October 2010 to October 2011. Regular gallery hours are from 1:00 to 6:00pm Thursday through Saturday; Sundays 1:00 – 4:00pm.

Beacon Arts Building –
The 32,400-square-foot Beacon Arts Building is an iconic four-story, solid reinforced concrete structure located in the heart of the burgeoning Arts District in North Inglewood. Having stored inanimate items for close to sixty years, originally as the legendary Bekins Moving and Storage Company, this dramatic, 1951 edifice is now transforming into a springboard for artistic expression.  In addition to ground floor gallery and retail spaces, the building provides a gorgeous New York warehouse-style environment for professional artists, currently offering work studio spaces in various sizes up to 8,000 square feet with 11’6” ceilings.  It has a high rear loading facility, large freight elevator, WiFi availability, and sprinkler system throughout. Beacon Arts Building sits prominently on La Brea Avenue, located just 11 minutes south of the 10 Freeway (I-10).  Ample on-site parking is available as well as on the adjacent streets.  For further information about availabilities in the Beacon Arts Building, please contact Scott Lane at 310-576-3543 or scottlaneco@yahoo.com.

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For more information, images, and interviews please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

"Mine Eternal" by Laura Krifka

Beacon Arts continues its Critics-as-Curators series with Pieceable Kingdom curated by art critic David Pagel, opening Saturday, February 5, 2011. The exhibition features works in a range of media by seven artists – Erin Cosgrove, Asad Faulwell, Maxwell Hendler, Laura Krifka, Mimi Lauter, Devin Troy Strother, and Matt Wedel –  who capture the complexity of everyday life by giving form to its down-to-earth beauty and uplifting ordinariness, its tribulations and triumphs, its pleasures and pains. As a group, they piece things together, sometimes literally and sometimes figuratively, creating singular pieces that are complete unto themselves yet also openly invite all sorts of stories, from other times and places, to echo across their sensuous surfaces. Pieceable Kingdom runs until Sunday, March 20, 2011.  Exhibition special events include an opening reception on Saturday February 5, 6:00 – 9:00pm, an artists’ panel discussion on Sunday, March 6, which starts at 2:00pm, and a closing reception on Sunday, March 20, which will include a catered brunch and a critics’ panel discussion.For Immediate Release:  December 29, 2010

Beacon Arts Presents
Pieceable Kingdom
A Seven Artist Exhibition Curated by David Pagel
Saturday, February 5, 2011 – Sunday, March 20, 2011

LOS ANGELES, CA — Beacon Arts continues its Critics-as-Curators series with Pieceable Kingdom curated by art critic David Pagel, opening Saturday, February 5, 2011. The exhibition features works in a range of media by seven artists – Erin Cosgrove, Asad Faulwell, Maxwell Hendler, Laura Krifka, Mimi Lauter, Devin Troy Strother, and Matt Wedel –  who capture the complexity of everyday life by giving form to its down-to-earth beauty and uplifting ordinariness, its tribulations and triumphs, its pleasures and pains. As a group, they piece things together, sometimes literally and sometimes figuratively, creating singular pieces that are complete unto themselves yet also openly invite all sorts of stories, from other times and places, to echo across their sensuous surfaces.

Pieceable Kingdom runs from Saturday, February 5, 2011 to Sunday, March 20, 2011.  Exhibition special events include an opening reception on Saturday February 5, 6:00 – 9:00pm, an artists’ panel discussion on Sunday, March 6, which starts at 2:00pm, and a closing reception on Sunday, March 20, 1:00 – 4:00pm, which will include a catered brunch and a critics’ panel discussion.  Beacon Arts is located at 808 N. La Brea Ave., Inglewood, CA 90302.  Regular gallery hours are from 1:00pm to 6:00pm Thursday through Saturday, Sundays 1:00pm – 4:00pm.  All Pieceable Kingdom events are free.  For additional information please call 310-621-5416 or visit http://www.beaconartsbuilding.com as well as http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inglewood-CA/Beacon-Arts-Building/129817703733091?v=info.  For additional Pieceable Kingdom photos, please see http://gallery.me.com/lynnhasty#100096.

Pieceable Kingdom Curator’s Statement -
Pieceable Kingdom is about the relationship between the past and the present, particularly the way that contemporary reality sometimes seems to be connected to the past by having fallen away from it. This seven-artist show refers to the Biblical idea of the Peaceable Kingdom by way of a misspelling to suggest that age-old ideas often take shape in the present in ways that distort their original meanings, calling them to mind while signaling the unbridgeable distance between the world they were once a part of and the present, which is different — for better and for worse. The rapid pace of modern life has a lot to do with these changes. The same goes for the sheer number of images that bombard our eyeballs and brains, making it easy for attention spans to diminish, perhaps beyond the point of no return. But even more is due to the increasing volume—and increasing brevity—of everyday communication, which leaves more room for misinterpretation and misunderstanding.

“Mujahidat #4″ by Asad Faulwell
(courtesy Dean Valentine Collection)

People seem to be increasingly comfortable with what I think of as “horseshoes and hand-grenades” language: a sloppy looseness of choosing words and phrases that are not exactly right for conveying the sentiments and intentions of the writer or speaker, but close enough to get the general idea across—at least until the next message comes back, asking what the first one meant, demanding clarification, or revealing that the damage has been done and that there’s no way to go forward because it’s too time-consuming and annoying to have to hear everything two or three times. The Tower of Babel may not exist, but its spirit seems to inhabit the atmosphere around every cell tower and satellite.

The upside to this potentially grim situation is that it opens up some space in which unusually inventive artists can play fast and loose with business as usual, transforming misperceptions into insights, turning misinterpretations into magnificently mixed-messages, and twisting misunderstandings into multilayered revelations — not those of the Bible but ones within arm’s reach, right here and right now. – David Pagel

“The River” by Laura Krifka

David Pagel, Critic-as-Curator –
David Pagel writes regularly for the Los Angeles Times.  He is an associate professor of art theory and history at Claremont Graduate University and an adjunct curator at the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, NY.  Pagel has published catalog essays for such artists as Wendell Gladstone, Darren Waterston, Ron Nagle, and Michael Reafsnyder. He was the recipient of an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Contemporary Arts Criticism in 1990 and was a Macgeorge Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Australia in 2002. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Pagel

Critics-as-Curators Series –
Critics-as-Curators is the inaugural art exhibition series at Beacon Arts.  In recognition of the gallery’s first year, esteemed art critics and writers — recognized locally, nationally and internationally — have been invited to conceive and curate shows of their choosing at the Beacon Arts Building in conjunction with discussions, lectures, catalogues, or other ways to reveal the thought process behind why exhibition works are chosen with insight into their importance to the curator. The individual expertise and personal taste developed by the curators’ world-view will be on exhibit throughout Beacon Arts’ first year. Critics-as-Curators strives to enrich appreciation of contemporary fine art by critically engaging in art. This series of shows provides a wonderful opportunity for artists and art audiences to learn what individual critics look for, how they think about the art they choose to focus on, and what catches their eye. The series kicked off in October 2010 with Ghost Stories: Happenings, Hauntings, & Curiosities curated by art writer Shana Nys Dambrot.

2011 Exhibition Schedule + Other Events:

•    12/10/10 – 1/30/11 – Densities: Line Becoming Shape, Shape Becoming Object curated by Peter Frank
- press release:  http://www.greengalactic.com/2010/beacon-arts-densities

•    2/5/11 – 3/20/11 – Pieceable Kingdom curated by David Pagel

•    2/26/11 – Ad Hoc #2: David Watson *
Also in February, The Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound (SASSAS) is presenting Ad Hoc #2: David Watson, a sonic exploration of the Beacon Arts 4th floor on Saturday, February 26th.  Watson, a New York-based experimental music bagpiper, is creating a unique score for a group of local musicians, which will encourage the movement of the musicians in the space and interplay between the sounds created and the listening audience.

•    3/26/11 – 5/22/11 – ARATALAND: A Mid-Career Survey of Artworks by Michael Arata curated by Doug Harvey

•    5/28/11 – 7/3/11 – TEL-ART-PHONE curated by Mat Gleason

•    Future BAB exhibitions TBD

* non-Critics-as-Curators events

Beacon Arts –
A brand-new, risk-taking fine arts enterprise, housed within the iconic Beacon Arts Building, the venture offers innovative art programming to enrich the cultural landscape of Los Angeles. Its primary directive is to provide and maintain the integrity of an exhibition space for contemporary art by Southern California artists working in all media, including painting, sculpture, installation, video, and performance art. Works by both emerging and established artists will be presented in an effort to provide a variety of ideas in different forms that both challenge and inspire. As a catalyst and advocate for new ideas, the endeavor enriches public understanding and appreciation of contemporary fine art by creating conversations through special events, lectures, symposia, and panel discussions with intellectual commentary on exhibitions. Exhibiting artists are encouraged to forge new relationships and learn from arts professionals through programming such as the gallery’s inaugural Critics-as-Curators series – consecutive shows conceived and curated by art writers and critics. This series runs through the first year of the space, from October 2010 to October 2011.

Beacon Arts Building –
The 32,400-square-foot Beacon Arts Building is an iconic four-story, solid reinforced concrete structure located in the heart of the burgeoning Inglewood Arts District. Having stored inanimate items for close to sixty years, originally as the legendary Bekins Moving and Storage Company, this dramatic, 1951 edifice is now transforming into a springboard for artistic expression.  In addition to ground floor gallery and retail spaces, the building offers a gorgeous New York warehouse-style environment for professional artists, with spaces in various sizes up to 8,000 square feet with 11’6” ceilings.  It has a high rear loading facility, large freight elevator, WiFi availability, and sprinkler system throughout. Beacon Arts Building sits prominently on La Brea Avenue, located just 11 minutes south of the 10 Freeway (I-10). On-site parking is available or found on the adjacent streets. For further information about availabilities in the Beacon Arts Building, please contact Scott Lane at 310-576-3543 or scottlaneco@yahoo.com.

#      #     #

For more information, images, and interviews please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

Beacon Arts Building (photo credit: Dave Teel Photography)

Breakdance Project Uganda reaches youth in the slums of Kisenyi, Uganda (photo credit: Nabil Elderkin)

Award-winning film Bouncing Cats, the inspiring documentary of one man’s attempt to create a better life for the children of Uganda through hip hop, is on the festival circuit making its way around North America along with limited sneak peek screenings and benefit events.  Narrated by Common and featuring interviews with Will.I.Am, and K’Naan, the story follows the legendary Crazy Legs of the Rock Steady Crew and b-boy Abramz, the founder of Breakdance Project Uganda (BPU), on a journey to unify, empower and inspire youth in the war torn region that has been called one of the worst places on earth to be a child.*  The film, by director Nabil Elderkin, recently won “Best Documentary Feature Film” at the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York, “Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking” at the Newport Beach Film Festival, and “Audience Favorite Award” at Southern Utah International Documentary Film Festival.

For Immediate Release:  October 28, 2010 [updated: 1/17/11]

Inspiring Documentary
Bouncing Cats
Uniting the Children of Uganda Through Breakdance and Hip Hop Culture
Currently Screening at Festivals and Special Sneak Peek Events
Around North America Through Winter 2010

LOS ANGELES, CA – Award-winning film Bouncing Cats, the inspiring documentary of one man’s attempt to create a better life for the children of Uganda through hip hop, is on the festival circuit making its way around North America along with limited sneak peek screenings and benefit events.  Narrated by Common and featuring interviews with Will.I.Am, and K’Naan, the story follows the legendary Crazy Legs of the Rock Steady Crew and b-boy Abramz, the founder of Breakdance Project Uganda (BPU), on a journey to unify, empower and inspire youth in the war torn region that has been called one of the worst places on earth to be a child.*  The film, by director Nabil Elderkin, recently won “Best Documentary Feature Film” at the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York, “Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking” at the Newport Beach Film Festival, and “Audience Favorite Award” at Southern Utah International Documentary Film Festival.  To learn more about the film, please visit http://www.bouncingcats.com and http://www.facebook.com/bouncingcats.

“Bouncing Cats is just the sort of work that the world needs to see coming out of Africa, a story of self-reliance and perseverance against immeasurable odds,” said K’naan.

Breakdance Project Uganda started in February 2006 by Abraham “Abramz” Tekya out of the belief that hip hop can be used as a tool to engage and empower disadvantaged youth in Kampala and other areas of Uganda. Its mission is to engage young people in hip hop culture in order to build leadership skills and promote social responsibility for positive change.  The Project has attracted people from every walk of life and acts as a catalyst for building mutually beneficial relationships between people of different social strata across Uganda and the rest of the world. After a trip to Uganda with NGO Oxfam, where he met Abramz, director Elderkin decided to make the film with the hope of shedding light on the situation.  “The work Abramz is doing with the kids of Uganda inspired me,” said Elderkin. “It was something I wanted to capture and share with others.”

Bouncing Cats is screening on the festival circuit and at special sneak peek events across North America.  Key screenings include:

- Apr. 17 – Newport Beach Film Festival – Newport Beach, CA
- Aug. 21 – DocuFest Atlanta International Documentary Film Festival – Atlanta, GA
- Sep. 17, 18 – Urbanworld Film Festival - New York, NY
- Sep. 17-19 -  DocUtah – Southern Utah Int’l Documentary Film Festival – St. George, UT
- Sep. 22 – Manifesto Film Fest – Toronto, ON
- Sep. 23 – Montreal International Black Film Festival – Montreal, QC
- Oct. 8-10 – BendFilm – Bend, OR
- Oct. 16, 17, 19, 22 – Heartland Truly Moving Pictures – Indianapolis, IN
- Oct. 18, 24 – Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival – Hot Springs National Park, AR
- Oct. 30 – MoogFest – Asheville, NC
- Nov. 3 – USC Albert & Dana Broccoli Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
- Nov. 4, 7 – American Film Market (AFM) – Santa Monica, CA
- Nov. 7 - Hartford International Film Festival – Hartford, CT
- Nov. 9 – National Geographic LIVE! – Washington, DC **
- Nov. 11 – Rice University – Houston, TX **
- Nov. 16 – Downtown Independent - Los Angeles, CA **
- Nov. 17 – Hard Rock Cafe on the Strip - Las Vegas, NV  **
- Nov. 19 – Arizona State University – Tempe, AZ **
- Nov. 20 – Decatur High School Performing Arts Center - Atlanta, GA
- Dec. 4 – Northwestern University McCormick Tribune Theatre- Evanston, IL
- Dec. 5 – Bahamas International Film Festival – Nassau, Bahamas
- Dec.  16 – NYU – New York, NY **

** These screenings include Q&A sessions with the filmmakers, Crazy Legs, and other cast members from the documentary.

click to watch trailer

Please visit the Bouncing Cats‘ site for additional screening announcements at http://www.bouncingcats.com/screenings.

Bouncing Cats Cast:
Abraham “Abramz” Tekya:
Abraham Tekya, commonly known as “Abramz,” is the director and founder of Breakdance Project Uganda, an organization launched in February 2006 that uses breakdance and other elements of hip hop culture to promote positive change and social responsibility. A native of Mengo, Kampala, Uganda, Abramz grew up quickly, as most children in Uganda are forced to. At the age of seven, he lost both of his parents to AIDS and was orphaned, shuffled between distant relatives and different homes. Despite these circumstances, Abramz used his life experience and love of hip hop to educate, inspire and unite youth in Uganda and beyond. http://www.bouncingcats.com/cast/tekya.php

Richard “Crazy Legs” Colòn:
To call Richard “Crazy Legs” Colòn a pioneer is an understatement. It is nearly impossible to have a conversation about b-boying without giving mention to the legendary Crazy Legs. Not only is he a veteran of hip hop as a culture, boasting more than 3 decades as the driving force behind the hip hop dance movement, but he’s also an outstanding citizen and role model. He has lent his time, experience, and influence to aiding and encouraging the positive advancement of hip hop culture. http://www.bouncingcats.com/cast/crazylegs.php

Jolly Grace Okot:
Jolly Grace Okot, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, was among the first wave of children abducted and forced to be a child soldier in the beginning of Uganda’s civil war. She is the Uganda Country director for Invisible Children (IC) and has been involved with the organization since the beginning. Her guidance enabled Bouncing Cats‘ filmmakers to see and understand the plight of children in Northern Uganda, and her leadership and direction helped create IC’s initiatives on the ground. Okot also runs H.E.A.L.S., a program that provides play therapy for war-affected children.

Additional details on cast members are available at http://www.bouncingcats.com/cast.

Additional Credits & Film Details:
Bouncing Cats was produced by Red Bull Media House and directed by Nabil Elderkin. All proceeds from the film are going to Breakdance Project Uganda.

Nabil Elderkin, Director:
Director Nabil Elderkin, originally a native of Australia, began his photography career when he picked up a camera to shoot portraits of fellow surfers. What started as a hobby, rapidly developed into a working career. From surf portraits, Elderkin began shooting musicians and anyone that inspired him. He later moved to the United States to continue to expand his career. Today, Elderkin lives and works in Los Angeles at his studio downtown. He shoots musicians, sports, fashion, and portraiture. Elderkin has recently published a book titled Glow in the Dark with Kanye West through Rizzoli and has directed several music videos and documentaries from here to Africa. Traveling is his passion. He created the film in order to bring attention to the situation in Uganda as well as support the inspiring work Abramz is doing through BPU.  http://www.nabil.com

- Executive Producers: Amy Taylor, Scotty Bradfield, Karma Gardner, Charlie Rosene
- Producers: Nyla Hassell, George Mays, Claude Merkel, Charles Spano
- Film Editing: Isaac Hagy
- Sound Editor: Andrew Le Guier
- Genre: Documentary / Music
- Runtime: 75 minutes
- Country: USA
- Language: English
- Color: Color
- Filming Locations: Uganda, USA

Awards:
- Newport Film Festival “Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking”
- Urbanworld Film Festival “Best Documentary Feature Film”
- DocUtah – Southern Utah International Documentary Film Festival “Audience Favorite Award”
- Bahamas International Film Festival Audience Award for “Best Feature Documentary”

“In short – the movie features some serious hip hop cameos, incredible landscapes, and dancing, and is certain to be one of the most celebrated documentaries of 2010.” –Chris Farone, Boston Phoenix

Bouncing Cats Links:
- Official Site: http://www.bouncingcats.com
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bouncingcats
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/bouncingcats
- Trailer: http://vimeo.com/12234800

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For more information, or to request screeners, images, and interviews, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

Breakdance Project Uganda reaches youth in the slums of Kisenyi, Uganda (photo credit: Nabil Elderkin)

* Former UNICEF head Carol Bellamy has called northern Uganda “pretty much the worst place on earth to be a child;” over 20,000 children – some as young as six years old – have been abducted by the rebel-led Lords Resistance Army (LRA), forced to serve as child soldiers, sex slaves and laborers. http://www.warchild.org/projects/WC_Canada/Uganda/uganda.html

BACKGROUNDER

Synopsis:
Award-winning film Bouncing Cats is the inspiring documentary of one man’s attempt to create a better life for the children of Uganda through the unlikely tools of hip hop and breakdance. Narrated by Common and featuring interviews with Will.I.Am, and K’Naan, the story follows the legendary Crazy Legs of the Rock Steady Crew and b-boy Abramz, the founder of Breakdance Project Uganda (BPU), on a journey to unify, empower and inspire youth in the war torn country that has been called one of the worst places on earth to be a child.*  Poverty, disease, and a brutal, mindless war in the region have divided families, displaced millions and led to the abduction and mutilation of tens of thousands of children resulting in the deterioration of identity and culture.

In response to these tragic circumstances, Abraham “Abramz” Tekya, a Ugandan b-boy and AIDS orphan, started Breakdance Project Uganda to create much needed positive social change in the region. His dream was to establish a free workshop that would empower, rehabilitate, and heal the community by teaching youth about b-boy culture. Crazy Legs, one of the founding members of the world famous Rock Steady Crew, visited Uganda after receiving an invitation from Abramz to teach b-boy classes. What he discovered upon his arrival was both heartbreaking and inspiring. Traveling throughout Uganda, from the southern slums to the war-torn north, Crazy Legs encountered a passion for hip hop and desire to learn amongst youth living in the most squalid conditions.

After only a few short months on the festival circuit, the film by director Nabil Elderkin has already won “Best Documentary Feature Film” at the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York; “Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking” at the Newport Beach Film Festival; and “Audience Favorite Award” at DocUtah – Southern Utah International Documentary Film Festival.

*Source:  Former UNICEF head Carol Bellamy has called northern Uganda “pretty much the worst place on earth to be a child.” Over 20,000 children – some as young as six years old – have been abducted by the rebel-led Lords Resistance Army (LRA), forced to serve as child soldiers, sex slaves, and laborers. http://www.warchild.org/projects/WC_Canada/Uganda/uganda.html

Breakdance Project Uganda:
Breakdance Project Uganda (BPU) started in February 2006 by Abramz out of his belief that hip hop can be used as a tool to engage and empower disadvantaged youth. Its mission is to involve young people in hip hop culture in order to build leadership skills and promote social responsibility for positive change. The Project has attracted people from every walk of life and acts as a catalyst for building mutually beneficial relationships between people of different social strata across Uganda and the rest of the world. From the initial three students who turned up at the first session, the Project has grown through word of mouth, regular showcase performances, and exposure on the World Wide Web to become a thriving organization with over 1,000 members nationally in Uganda and many more supporters around the world.

Abramz organizes breakdancing sessions each week for hundreds of youth in different parts of the country. The Project has been built around free breakdancing classes which are currently offered at the Sharing Youth Centre, Kampala, Gulu Youth Centre and TAKS Art Centre in Gulu. The classes are sustained by members freely passing on their skills to new members, following the BPU ideology that everyone is a student and everyone is a teacher with something positive to give. Members have also made outreach visits to towns in other parts of Eastern and Northern Uganda to share their skills and engage more youth across Uganda. Many of the participating children are extremely vulnerable with members who are orphans, victims of war and poverty, unable to afford proper schooling.  Despite the hardships, children walk from miles away to attend the BPU classes each week. As Abramz says, “This is where many people’s pride is. It’s a skill that no one can take away from us.”

BPU supports formal and non-formal education opportunities by advocating the importance of education and partnering with organizations to increase members’ access to educational services such as life skills workshops, media and skills training, voluntary counseling and testing, and advocacy training. Through the sale of BPU t-shirts, the Project also sponsors schools fees for vulnerable members.

BPU aims to:
• Bridge the gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged while uniting people of different religious, tribal and social backgrounds
• Promote positive social responsibility
• Build leadership skills and self-esteem
• Increase access to formal and informal education
• Generate employment opportunities through private teaching and performances
• Connect local and international artists

Over the past four years, BPU has partnered with local and international organizations including: Oxfam, MS Uganda, In Movement, People Concern Children’s Project, Danish Centre for Cultural Development, H.E.A.L.S. (Gulu), Global Youth Partnership for Africa, the Embassy of France in Uganda, Uganda FDNC, and USAID/NUTI, Straight Talk Foundation (STF), and has carried out activities in orphanages, juvenile prisons, local and international schools, and youth and community centers.

Call to Action:
For those interested in supporting the work of BPU, donations can be made through the organization’s fiscal sponsor The Voice Project via the Bouncing Cats site at http://www.bouncingcats.com/donate. Donations are 100% tax deductible.  Proceeds go directly to Breakdance Project Uganda to continue its mission to empower and positively inspire youth through hip hop. Abramz also hopes to one day build a permanent center for BPU.

With a donation of $15 or more to BPU, contributors receive a limited edition Bouncing Cats t-shirt while supplies last. The t-shirts are made by Edun, the non-profit fashion brand founded by Ali Hewson and Bono, using 100% African cotton grown by farmers of the Conservation Cotton Initiative (CCI) in Northern Uganda. The CCI was created by Edun, the Wildlife Conservation Society and Invisible Children to build sustainable farming communities and provide a fair trade market for their cotton. The CCI Uganda Program is based in the Gulu District, an area recovering from the civil war. The CCI Initiative assists farmers who are returning to their land by providing funding, tools, and training to grow a sustainable cotton business.

Uganda:
According to the World Bank, more than 30% of the population in Uganda lives below the poverty line. Uganda is a rapidly growing nation with a very young population (Source: UNGASS). An estimated 49% of people in Uganda are under the age of 14 (Source: Population Reference Bureau). After the introduction of Universal Primary Education in Uganda in 1997, primary school enrollment increased to 82% but less than 20% of young people go on to complete further education (Source: Population Reference Bureau). Development in Uganda has been greatly hampered by more than two decades of conflict between the government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the North and, as a result, the opportunities available to young people are extremely limited. Unemployment levels for young people between the ages of 14 and 24 are estimated to be at 83% (Source: ADI Report 2008/2009).

However, there is hope for young people in Uganda as the country gets closer to reaching its Millennium Development Goals. Since 1992, the number of people living in poverty has substantially decreased by more than 25% according to the 2007 UNDP Uganda Progress Report. Gender equality has been steadily improving with more than 2 million additional girls enrolling in primary school each year. Indicators show that HIV/AIDS prevalence has stabilized at 6.4%. Overall, there is growing optimism across Uganda that things will continue to improve and peace will remain.

Bouncing Cats Cast:
Abraham “Abramz” Tekya:
Abraham Tekya, commonly known as “Abramz,” is the director and founder of Breakdance Project Uganda, an organization launched in February 2006 that uses breakdance and other elements of hip hop culture to promote positive change and social responsibility. A native of Mengo, Kampala, Uganda, Abramz grew up quickly, as most children in Uganda are forced to. At the age of seven, he lost both of his parents to AIDS and was orphaned, shuffled between distant relatives and different homes. Despite these circumstances, Abramz used his life experience and love of hip hop to educate, inspire and unite youth in Uganda and beyond.

Richard “Crazy Legs” Colòn:
To call Richard “Crazy Legs” Colòn a pioneer is an understatement. It is nearly impossible to have a conversation about b-boying without giving mention to the legendary Crazy Legs. Not only is he a veteran of hip hop as a culture, boasting more than 3 decades as the driving force behind the hip hop dance movement, but he’s also an outstanding citizen and role model. He has lent his time, experience, and influence to aiding and encouraging the positive advancement of hip hop culture. Among his many achievements, he is credited with the creation of the classic b-boy move called the continuous backspin or “windmill.”

Jolly Grace Okot:
Jolly Grace Okot, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, was among the first wave of children abducted and forced to be a child soldier in the beginning of Uganda’s civil war.  She is the Uganda Country director for Invisible Children (IC) and has been involved with the organization since the beginning. Her guidance enabled Bouncing Cats‘ filmmakers to see and understand the plight of children in Northern Uganda, and her leadership and direction helped create IC’s initiatives on the ground. Okot also runs H.E.A.L.S., a program that provides play therapy for war-affected children.

Kibuka Mukisa Oscar:
Kibuka Mukisa Oscar, who joined BPU in 2006 and regularly attends weekly Sharing Youth Centre sessions, recently finished secondary school. He dreams of working in the visual arts.

Shadia Aghamu:
Aghamu Shadia was born into a family of 13 children. She dreams of going to a good business school, earning enough money to support her family, and hopes to buy a bus for BPU one day.

Alfred Otim:
Alfred Otim, currently studying at Gulu College, hopes to go to University to become an engineer. He intends to earn money for University by teaching and performing.

Claire Lewis:
Claire Lewis, a 20-year Oxfam veteran, has been based in Africa for the past four years. During a fateful trip to Los Angeles, she met director Elderkin and the two discussed hip hop, which included Lewis mentioning Abramz’ inspirational work in Uganda. After the meeting, Lewis casually suggested Elderkin drop by to see Kampala one day…

Ynot:
Ynot started dancing at the age of 17 and was mainly influenced by James Brown. He is a member of the legendary Rock Steady Crew. He enjoys traveling and teaching workshops across the US and the world.

Ervin Arana:
DJ, photographer and respected b-boy Ervin Arana is a member of the Rock Steady Crew. He has appeared in numerous music videos and shares his knowledge of dance through lectures and workshops.

Additional details on cast members are available at http://www.bouncingcats.com/cast/

Additional Credits & Film Details:
Bouncing Cats was produced by Red Bull Media House and directed by Nabil Elderkin. All proceeds from the film are going to Breakdance Project Uganda.

Nabil Elderkin, Director:
Bouncing Cats Director Nabil Elderkin, originally a native of Australia, began his photography career when he picked up a camera to shoot portraits of fellow surfers. What started as a hobby, rapidly developed into a working career. From surf portraits, Elderkin began shooting musicians and anyone that inspired him. He later moved to the United States to continue to expand his career. Today, Elderkin lives and works in Los Angeles at his studio downtown. He shoots musicians, sports, fashion, and portraiture. Elderkin has recently published a book titled Glow in the Dark with Kanye West through Rizzoli and has directed several music videos and documentaries from here to Africa. Traveling is his passion. He created the film in order to bring attention to the situation in Uganda as well as support the inspiring work Abramz is doing through BPU.

Executive Producers: Amy Taylor, Scott Bradfield, Karma Gardner, Charlie Rosene

Producers: Nyla Hassell, George Mays, Claude Merkel, Charles Spano

Film Editing: Isaac Hagy

Sound Editor: Andrew Le Guier

Genre: Documentary / Music

Runtime: 75 minutes

Country: USA

Language: English

Color: Color

Filming Locations: Uganda, USA

Festival Tour & Special Engagements:
Bouncing Cats is screening on the festival circuit and at special engagements across the US. Key screenings include:

- Apr. 17 – Newport Beach Film Festival – Newport Beach, CA
- Aug. 21 – DocuFest Atlanta International Documentary Film Festival – Atlanta, GA
- Sep. 17, 18 – Urbanworld Film Festival – New York, NY
- Sep. 17-19 – DocUtah – Southern Utah Int’l Documentary Film Festival – St. George, UT
- Sep. 22 – Manifesto Film Fest – Toronto, ON
- Sep. 23 – Montreal International Black Film Festival – Montreal, QC
- Oct. 8-10 – BendFilm – Bend, OR
- Oct. 16, 17, 19, 22 – Heartland Truly Moving Pictures – Indianapolis, IN
- Oct. 18, 24 – Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival – Hot Springs National Park, AR
- Oct. 30 – MoogFest – Asheville, NC
- Nov. 3 – USC Albert & Dana Broccoli Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
- Nov. 4, 7 – American Film Market (AFM) – Santa Monica, CA
- Nov. 7 – Hartford International Film Festival – Hartford, CT
- Nov. 9 – National Geographic LIVE! – Washington DC
- Nov. 11 – Rice University – Houston, TX
- Nov. 16 – Downtown Independent – Los Angeles, CA
- Nov. 19 – Arizona State University – Tempe, AZ
- Nov. 20 – Decatur High School Performing Arts Center – Atlanta, GA
- Dec. 4 – Northwestern University McCormick Tribune Theater - Evanston, IL
- Dec. 5 – Bahamas International Film Festival - Nassau, Bahamas
- Dec. 16 – NYU – New York, NY

Please visit the Bouncing Cats site for additional screening announcements at http://www.bouncingcats.com/screenings/.

Awards:
Newport Film Festival “Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking”
Urbanworld Film Festival “Best Documentary Feature Film”
DocUtah – Southern Utah International Documentary Film Festival “Audience Favorite Award”
Bahamas International Film Festival Audience Award for “Best Feature Documentary”

Distribution:
Bouncing Cats distribution is open to negotiations.  For distribution related inquiries, please contact Nyla Hassell at nyla.hassell@us.redbull.com.

Bouncing Cats Links:
- Official Web Site: http://www.bouncingcats.com
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bouncingcats
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/bouncingcats
- Video Trailer: http://vimeo.com/12234800

Publicity Contact:
For more information, or to request screeners, images, and interviews, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

Click to watch the Bouncing Cats trailer.

(Updated 12/02/10)

For Immediate Release:  August 30, 2010

ARC Pasadena Hosts
Colin Connor: Draftwork
New Choreographic Explorations
Sunday, September 12, 2010

LOS ANGELES, CA – ARC Pasadena hosts Colin Connor: Draftwork, new choreographic explorations created by award-winning choreographer Colin Connor on Sunday, September 12, 2010. Connor’s work, which he has presented across the Americas and Europe, is acclaimed for its rich musicality and physical excitement.  This is a unique Los Angeles area opportunity to see the beginnings of new work by Connor in collaboration with four glorious dancers: Katie Diamond, Robin Wilson, Cameron Evans, and Andrew Wojtal. The showing is the culmination of a two-week intensive experimental creative period in the studio, generously provided by ARC Pasadena. The single performance will be held Sunday evening from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. in ARC’s gorgeous new dance space.  The performance is free.  Space is limited – guests are encouraged to arrive early to secure a seat.  Light refreshments will follow the showing.  ARC Pasadena is located at 1158 East Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91106.  For more information on the artist please visit http://colinconnor.com.

Colin Connor: Draftwork finds the choreographer working in collaboration with dancers Katie Diamond, Robin Wilson, Cameron Evans, and Andrew Wojtal:

• Katie Diamond has been a soloist for four years with the Limón Dance Company.  She has also  performed with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Mark Morris Dance Group, Contra Costa Ballet, Pam Tanowitz Dance, Cornfield Dance, the Albany Berkshire Ballet, Daniel Charon, and Jessica Gaynor Dance.  She teaches at the Limón Institute and will be a guest teacher at CalArts this Fall 2010.

• Robin Wilson, a member of Helios, was a member of the Limón Dance Company and Los Angeles Movement Arts.  She also dances with Randé Dorn Dance Company.

• Cameron Evans, a student at CalArts, has performed David Gordon’s work at Dance Theater Workshop in New York.

• Andrew Wojtal is a recipient of a 2010 Princess Grace Dance Award. Also a CalArts student, he has choreographed and performed at REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater) in Walt Disney Concert Hall Complex, and the Bates Dance Festival. This summer, he danced with Island Moving Company at the Great Friends Dance Festival.

Colin Connor is a Los Angeles-based choreographer whose over fifty commissions span the worlds of contemporary, ballet, and flamenco.  His work draws from a large range of influences – musical, literary, social and scientific – all used to bring attention back to the communicative power of the human body.  Connor’s work has been presented at numerous venues across the Americas and Europe, including the Joyce Theater in New York, the Moment’Homme Festival in Montreal, The Holland Festival in Den Hague, and the Festival Internacional de Danza Contemporánea in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.  “Full Sail (In Praise of Storms)” won Sarasota Ballet’s International Choreography Competition. He was also a winner of the Charleston Ballet Theatre’s Fountainhead Choreography Competition, twice a guest choreographer at both The Yard and The Carlisle Project, and given a creative residency at the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography Commissions.  Creations of his work have been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts among other funding agencies.

Connor danced for eight years as a soloist with the Limón Dance Company. Presently on faculty at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), he has been on the faculties of The Juilliard School, New York University, and has been a guest teacher at many of the finest training centers in the world including The Place in London, the Rotterdamse Dansacademie, Jacob’s Pillow, Dresden’s Palucca Schule, the Joffrey Summer Workshop, The Dance Studio in Novosibirsk, Russia, and the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem.

From Colin Connor’s Artist Statement:
“My work is rooted in the mystery of how we live in our physical beings. It is an ongoing investigation of perception, both of dancers and audience, and based on how, in the end, all human experience is felt through the senses. With our lives increasingly mediated by various technologies, I believe that art which focuses attention back to the completeness of how we live in our bodies becomes ever more essential.”

As a choreographer, Connor inspires performances described as, “Earthy, a little rough and daring, sexy and totally spellbinding,” by Dance Magazine after 2010 performances at the Joyce Theater in New York.  Connor’s dance work has been called “a metaphor for human resilience,” by The Village Voice, and his choreography drew this response from Jennifer Dunning of The New York Times: “a relief these days to see movement treated as a sufficiently expressive medium.”

ARC (A Room to Create) Pasadena is a striking new venue located in one of Southern California’s most vibrant cultural centers. The mission of ARC Pasadena is to support and nurture an appreciation of dance by providing a state of the art facility for dancers, choreographers, teachers, lecturers, and dance enthusiasts. ARC Pasadena also serves as the headquarters for the Pennington Dance Group, a nonprofit organization that promotes dance through performances, education and outreach programs.  Entrance to ARC Pasadena is behind the facility as is  free parking.  Additional parking can be found on the adjacent streets.  The closest cross street is Michigan Avenue.  ARC Pasadena is a six-block walk from the Metro Gold Line-Lake Avenue stop.  For more information please visit www.arcpasadena.org and also http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pasadena-CA/ARC-Pasadena/135542179794545?ref=t.

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For more information, images, or to request interviews, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

Photo credit: Johanna Shapiro

Town & Country (T&C), the brainchild of singer/frontman Rob Shapiro and songwriter/producer Brian Woodbury, challenges the idea that country music must adhere to a particular ideology.

The first single on their upcoming self-titled collection takes on the subject of marriage, including gay marriage.  “Everybody Wants to Say I Do,” which Shapiro and Woodbury wrote together, addresses the hot-button topic not as agit-prop but in the country story-telling tradition, appealing to the universality of “I will love you for the rest of my life.” To hear this, and a few more songs from their forthcoming album please visit www.townandcountryband.com.

For Immediate Release:  August 26, 2010

Town & Country
“Everybody Wants to Say I Do”

Town & Country (T&C), the brainchild of singer/frontman Rob Shapiro and songwriter/producer Brian Woodbury, challenges the idea that country music must adhere to a particular ideology.

The first single on their upcoming self-titled collection takes on the subject of marriage, including gay marriage.  “Everybody Wants to Say I Do,” which Shapiro and Woodbury wrote together, addresses the hot-button topic not as agit-prop but in the country story-telling tradition, appealing to the universality of “I will love you for the rest of my life.” To hear this, and a few more songs from their forthcoming album please visit www.townandcountryband.com.

Coming from a couple of straight guys, the message is free of any hint of identity politics. “We focus on the universal message, which is basically one of freedom and all-men-are-created-equal – can’t get any more American than that.”

Says Shapiro, “We think that country music belongs to the whole of the country, not just one region, one ethos, one politics.  It’s about picking and grinning, players really playing, and singing honest open songs about love, life, troubles, family and the thousand little details of our time.”

“Frankly, we’re both proud American children of the late 20th century, who love our national sound. We think it’s either weird or an oversight that our viewpoint is rarely reflected in the current Nashville output.  So we want to wave our red white and blue the best way we know how – in song,” says Shapiro.

Rather than dismiss the new Nashville sounds in favor of old country like Hank Williams and Johnny Cash, T&C loves modern pop country like Brad Paisley, Toby Keith and Jo Dee Messina. “Yeah, modern country is slick and commercial,” says Woodbury, “but so was Patsy in her day.  Nashville’s putting out great pop music.  It’s our national capitol of song.  How we sing ourselves to sleep is dreamed up on Music Row.  And they’re singing about real stuff. We’re singing about real stuff, too, just from a slightly different perspective.”

T&C will release the “Everybody Wants To Say I Do” single for digital download, with accompanying video, in October, donating a percentage of the proceeds to organizations promoting marriage equality.

Like a lot of other LA country acts, Town & Country comes to country as music scene veterans. Shapiro has a resume of playing all kinds of music literally as wide as the nation itself, from early years in the Los Angeles Paisley Underground scene playing surf and garage rock, to the Eighties in Minneapolis (where he learned tons of country, stealing guitar double-stop lines from Gary Louris) playing with indie-rockers Thunderbats and Uncle Was, to NYC in the Nineties playing art-rock in 2.5D, to playing all over California and Texas with his critically acclaimed band Populuxe. He has performed in front of audiences ranging from drunken bikers immediately following a strip show in Northeast Minneapolis, to moonlit romantics in a Bora Bora lagoon, to sweaty masses crammed into Texas roadhouses. In the other parts of his life, he is a voice over artist (Books on Tape, radio comedy, etc.), actor, and (of all unlikely things) business consultant with clients spanning the globe.

Woodbury has an eclectic background, but has always loved country, “My favorite instrument is the pedal steel guitar.” His Variety Orchestra album features post-modern big band jazz compositions infused with bluegrass instrumentation.  Woodbury has played both coasts with his bands Some Philharmonic and the Popular Music Group.   A prolific TV writer, Woodbury has written Saturday morning cartoon theme songs (Pepper Ann, Teacher’s Pet) and written for numerous Disney projects.  He orchestrated Najma Aktahr’s Forbidden Kiss, an album of Bollywood covers.  He also works in musical theater.  Currently he is developing four musicals. Ghost(s), a comedy based on Ibsen’s Ghosts, will have a reading in New York in 2011.  His songs have been sung by Lisa Loeb, Jill Sobule, Nathan Lane and Terre Roche of the Roches.

The CD, due out early 2011 was recorded mostly in Woodbury’s studio in Silverlake, and features the mighty assist of many well-seasoned talents:

• Marc Muller (Shania Twain, Shedaisy, Elton John, Carly Simon) – guitar, pedal steel, mandolin, banjo (and some fiddle)
• Dan Schwartz (Sheryl Crow, Roseanne Cash) – bass
• Dan Lutz (Gladys Knight, Aimee Mann, Andy Summers) – bass
• Andy Sanesi (John Zorn) – drums
• Joe Berardi (Fibonaccis, Stan Ridgway) – drums
• Gabe Witcher (Chris Thile, Beck, Willie Nelson) – fiddle
• Jim Kimo West (Weird Al Yankovic) – guitar
• Eli Brueggemann (Louis Belson, Bennie Maupin, Flea) – piano
• Marc Doten (Stew, Double Naught Spycar) – piano
• Mark Pardy (The Trammps, Populuxe, Lion King) – drums
• Chris Phillips (Squirrel Nut Zippers) – drums
• Dan Levine (They Might Be Giants, Frank Sinatra) – trombone
• Khalil Sabbagh (The Backboners) – vibes
• Moira Smiley, Kathi Funston, Elma Mayer, Bill Burnett, Joe Moe, Dudley Saunders, Paul Perry, Sean Altman – background vocals
• Among Brian Woodburys co-writers on the album are: Rob Shapiro, Michael Webster, Peter Lurye, Bill Burnett, and Elma Mayer.

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For more information, photos, Mp3s, or to set up interviews please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

Nonlife Zoo Photo Courtesy Royal/T

Angelenos are invited to dress like their favorite zoo animals and explore their wild sides at Royal/T‘s A Night in the Jungle on Friday, August 6, 2010 from 8:00pm to 1:00am in celebration of The Nonlife Zoo‘s pop-up space residency – an imaginary visual of animal existence on earth. A Night in the Jungle will feature international music maestro DJ Daedelus spinning in the back space as partygoers dance the night away and enjoy Royal/T’s signature soju cocktails, beer, wine, and new vegetarian tapas. If any guest needs a break from dancing, owner Susan Hancock will provide animal card energy readings and rides throughout the space will be available courtesy of artist Kenny Scharf‘s Cartz Royale. The Nonlife Zoo residency, presented by Royal/T in conjunction with MollaSpace, raises awareness and funds for animal preservation.

The Nonlife Zoo (photo courtesy of Royal/T)

For Immediate Release
August 2, 2010

Royal/T and MollaSpace Present
A Night in the Jungle
Featuring DJ Daedelus
Celebrating The Nonlife Zoo’s Pop-Up Space Residency
At Royal/T in Culver City, CA

~ Raising Awareness & Funds for Animal Preservation ~

A Night in the Jungle Party – Friday, August 6, 2010
The Nonlife Zoo Pop-Up Store – Runs Through August 23, 2010

CULVER CITY, CA  Angelenos are invited to dress like their favorite zoo animals and explore their wild sides at Royal/T‘s A Night in the Jungle on Friday, August 6, 2010 from 8:00pm to 1:00am in celebration of The Nonlife Zoo’s pop-up space residency – an imaginary visual of animal existence on earth. A Night in the Jungle will feature international music maestro DJ Daedelus spinning in the back space as partygoers dance the night away and enjoy Royal/T’s signature soju cocktails, beer, wine, and new vegetarian tapas. If any guest needs a break from dancing, owner Susan Hancock will provide animal card energy readings and rides throughout the space will be available courtesy of artist Kenny Scharf’s Cartz Royale. The Nonlife Zoo residency, presented by Royal/T in conjunction with MollaSpace, raises awareness and funds for animal preservation. Tickets are available online for $10 at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/122038 and at the door for $15 (space permitting). A portion of store proceeds go to charity. No one under 21 years old will be admitted. Royal/T (www.royal-t.org, 310.559.6300) is at 8910 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232.

Daedelus (photo credit: Laura Darling)

Menu:
To further celebrate The Nonlife Zoo’s residency, Royal/T has created a special menu of animal-friendly vegetarian tapas ($5-7), available through August 23, including:

Beet & Spinach Salad ($5)
Vegetable Gyoza ($6)
Basil-Infused Vegetable Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce ($6)
Cold Soba Sesame Salad ($6)
Portobello Sliders with Roasted Bell Pepper and Shiso Pesto Aioli ($7)

In addition to the vegetarian specials, adults can also enjoy a selection of beer and wine alongside a “Pink Iguana” cocktail—a specialty martini made with fresh watermelon juice, cilantro, lime juice, and soju ($7).

About The Nonlife Zoo:
The Nonlife Zoo is an imaginary visual of our planet created to raise awareness of animal preservation in hopes of improving our social responsibility to the environment. The Nonlife Zoo series was inspired to reflect on our behavior and the impact on the intricate balance between nature and life on earth. All animals are designed with human-like standing forms and unified expressions to remind us of their coexistence on this planet. They all have cuddly and colorful appearances, yet with conflicting emotionless expressions, as if they are silently expressing their call for help. A portion of all the proceeds from The Nonlife Zoo pop-up store purchases at Royal/T will go to help save threatened species. The Nonlife Zoo exhibit is designed by 28 biaugust and is presented in conjunction with MollaSpace, whose mission is to advocate, advance, and create the art of living in its own way as a platform for designers worldwide to showcase their talent and provide designer products to consumers. Celebrating its 3-year anniversary in 2010, MollaSpace’s expanding range of products includes lighting, home, office, and personal accessories, electric home appliances, decorative art, and furniture. For more information about MollaSpace, please visit www.mollaspace.com.

About DJ Daedelus:
Alfred Darlington is your musical maestro hailing from the City of Angels. With an eye for early Victorian Dandyism, an ear towards handmade / played electronic music, his is a very individual ‘bespoke’ outlook. Having numerous international releases and tours to his credit he has shared the stage and albums with a diverse list of luminaries from Madlib to Daniel Johnston, from MF DOOM to Jean Jacques Perrey, from Diplo to … well this listing game could go on for quite a while. Daedelus has releases with labels Ninja Tune, Warp, Brainfeeder, Stones Throw, and many more.  www.myspace.com/daedelusdarling

About Royal/T:
Located in Culver City, Royal/T is a playful blending of café, concept shop, and art exhibition space. The 10,000-square-foot space reflects the interior realm of fantasy that strongly influences the artists included in owner Susan Hancock’s art collection. Royal/T’s café is inspired by the meido kissa (maid café) phenomena of Akihabara, Tokyo’s electronic district. Re-contextualizing the underground culture of Japan that celebrates “cosplay” (costume play), waitresses dress in maid uniforms with a Lolita-esque touch, while serving an amalgam of French and Japanese cuisine with local California style. The art space showcases curated exhibitions with a focus on Japanese contemporary art and an inventive concept store that emulates the collection’s sophistication, a seamless merging of Japanese pop culture and high-end design. Royal/T café is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily from 10:00am to 5:00pm. The concept store and space are open from 10:00am – 6:00pm daily as well as in the evening during A Night in the Jungle on August 6.

Also Coming Soon to Royal/T:
On Saturday, August 7, from noon to 4:00pm, families can enjoy A Day at the Zoo, with kid-centric activities, such as face painting, vegetarian small plates, and a refreshing watermelon drink. Children can also sample cupcakes from the Animal Cupcake Corner, including giraffe, zebra, and tiger-themed varieties ($3), in addition to a costumed tiger character who will give young guests rides in the Cartz Royale. Families are invited to enjoy The Nonlife Zoo and reflect on the coexistence of humans and animals in nature.  Event is free and open to the public.

An evening of live experimental electronic music featuring Vibration Institute Orchestra and Evidence is set for Wednesday, August 25, 2010 from 8:00pm to 11:00pm at Royal/T. Evidence (www.ecnedive.com) is a collaboration between sound artists Stephan Moore and Scott Smallwood, who have developed a distinctive language of deeply layered sound, using field recordings of natural and industrial sounds as a primary source of inspiration and sonic material. Vibration Institute Orchestra (http://vibrationinstitutemusic.com/music), with Matt Piper and Laura Escudé, is an ambient improvisation group led by bassist/dj/composer John von Seggern. General admission is $10, $5 for students, at the door.

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For more information, photos, or to arrange an interview, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Hasty at 213.840.1201 and lynn@greengalactic.com.

Royal/T (photo courtesy of Royal/T)

A Night in the Jungle
Celebrating The Nonlife Zoo’s Pop-Up Space Residency
Featuring DJ Daedelus

WHEN: Friday, August 6, 2010 | 8:00pm to 1:00am

WHERE: Royal/T 8910 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
310.559.6300, www.royal-t.org

COST: Tickets available for $10 at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/122038
and at the door for $15 (space permitting)

WHY: To have fun while raising awareness for endangered species.
As of January 1, 2010, 8,811 species were categorized as threatened.

Please join us to party for a cause.

"War Machine" photo credit: Michael Tullberg

After seven years in development, non-profit organization Overtone Industries is set to launch their site-specific theatricale, Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands, with three weekends of performances opening Thursday, July 8, 2010.  Billed as a contemporary opera, the large-scale, genre-bending production integrates an astounding array of innovative art installation, dance, voice, live and recorded music, projected video, costuming, community participation, and theater. Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands was developed and cultivated by Director O-Lan Jones in an extensive guided collaboration that involves twenty one librettists, eleven composers, Costume and Scenic Designer Snezana Petrovic, Musical Director David O, Instrument Inventor Bart Hopkin, Choreographer Nina Winthrop, twenty performers, a nine-piece live orchestra, dozens of crew members, scores of community volunteers, and many others.

For Immediate Release:   June 25, 2010 (Updated July 15)

Overtone Industries Presents
An Art-Full New Contemporary Opera
Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands
With Performances in a 25,000-Square-Foot Vacant Culver City Car Dealership
Thursday, July 8 – Sunday, July 25, 2010
With Preview Performances Thursday, July 1 – Sunday, July 4, 2010

LOS ANGELES, CA – After seven years in development, non-profit organization Overtone Industries is set to launch their site-specific theatricale, Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands, with three weekends of performances opening Thursday, July 8, 2010.  Billed as a contemporary opera, the large-scale, genre-bending production integrates an astounding array of innovative art installation, dance, voice, live and recorded music, projected video, costuming, community participation, and theater. Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands was developed and cultivated by Director O-Lan Jones in an extensive guided collaboration that involves twenty one librettists, eleven composers, Costume and Scenic Designer Snezana Petrovic, Musical Director David O, Instrument Inventor Bart Hopkin, Choreographer Nina Winthrop, twenty performers, a nine-piece live orchestra, dozens of crew members, scores of community volunteers, and many others. The interdisciplinary production will run from Thursday, July 8 to Sunday, July 25, 2010 with five weekly performances (Thursdays through Sundays, 8:00 p.m. nightly with 2:00 p.m. matinees on Sundays).  Additional preview performances will run the week prior, from Thursday, July 1 to Sunday, July 4, 2010 (matinee only on July 4).   Ticket prices range from $15 – $50 and can be purchased via Overtone’s site at www.overtoneindustries.org/sdtickets.php.  Performances are suitable for mature teen and adult audiences.  Shows will be held in a vacant 25,000-square foot car dealership that is being temporarily transformed into a performance space at 8810 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232.  Parking lot on site.

The Story of Songs & Dances-
Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands is a contemporary opera that follows Tom and Sue, a couple from different class backgrounds, who have lost their identities.  The couple reclaims their stories by visiting imaginary lands that embody the pivotal experiences of their lives.  They discover themselves anew through the songs, dances, pledges of allegiance, and rituals indigenous to those turning points. The fast-paced kaleidoscope of events range in tone from comic to deeply sorrowful.  Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands is an allegory where the various elements — the sets, costumes, characters, music, audience participation, and modes of collaboration across the production — create the world of challenges and gifts presented by life, love, and relationships.

The Art of Songs & Dances-
Under the direction of Costume and Scenic Designer Snezana Petrovic, the Company has transformed a vacant Culver City car dealership into a surreal performance space featuring a staggering number of colorful, site-specific art installations of the production’s titular imaginary lands, each dramatically different from one another.  An extensive community arts project brought together local artists and volunteers to create textures, props, and various aspects of the sets and costumes for the production.  These eclectic sets and costumes were created primarily from reclaimed and recycled materials that were donated and transformed through community participation.   The design team, with the aid of a small army of volunteers, spindled newspaper and knitted plastic bags into art — essentially turning trash into gold.

“There is something about using simple materials that allows the artistic idea to shine through even more,” says Director O-Lan Jones.

Inventor Gregg Emmel was commissioned to create special “audience transportation” in the form of trains.  Each scene of the production takes place on a separate stage in the performance space requiring the audience to shuffle from set to set to see the action. Some audience members will have to drag their chairs around, while others will be transported in style via train (either luxury or standard) — the different modes of transportation are assigned according to the price of their ticket (a class hierarchy system!).  Some audience members will be upgraded each night based on a lottery system.

The Music of Songs & Dances-
Twenty one librettists and eleven composers have contributed original words and music specifically written for Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands that collectively create an odyssey.  The compositions span a range of musical styles from avant-garde classical to Eastern Bloc men’s choir, from island to rock.  Each captures the character of the imaginary land, or life moment, that it represents.

Twenty eight songs are included in the production, incorporating electronic, traditional acoustic, and invented instruments in the unhomogenized array of recorded and live music performed by an orchestra under the direction of award-winning composer David O.  The live nine-piece orchestra features keyboards, violin, cello, upright and electric bass, electric and acoustic guitar, drums, percussion, clarinet, baritone sax, and instruments made by Bart Hopkin from found materials (slide whistle, lyre, hurdy gurdy, metal signaler, k-scraper, stone pour, +).  To get a taste of this eclectic musical feast, please sample the following Mp3 excerpts from the production recorded during a recent rehearsal:

“Land Before Language” [0:43] – Music by David O
www.overtoneindustries.org/files/EXCERPT-The-Land-Before-Language-SD2010.mp3

“Tassos” [0:44] – Music by Eric Culver, Words by Ruth Margraff
www.overtoneindustries.org/files/EXCERPT-Tassos-Part-1-SD2010.mp3

“Stones Dance” [0:34] – Music by  Bart Hopkin, Words by Leon Martel
www.overtoneindustries.org/files/EXCERPT-Stones-Dance-SD2010.mp3

“Land of People Humbler Than Thou” [0:56] – Music and Words by O-Lan Jones
www.overtoneindustries.org/files/EXCERPT-The-Land-Of-People-Humbler-Than-Thou-SD2010.mp3

Additional details on these music selections, including names of the singers on each track, can be found in the Songs & Dances online media kit at www.overtoneindustries.org/sdmediakit.php.

Overtone Industries has received support from The Ahmanson Foundation, The Annenberg Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and The National Endowment for the Arts.  Additionally, real estate developer Joseph Miller, owner and president of The Runyon Group, donated the use of the vacant Culver City car dealership for the production. Miller provided the space to Overtone Industries so that it could be used creatively, in a way that would benefit the community, instead of standing vacant before he renovates it for commercial use.

Says Director O-Lan Jones, “The extensive collaboration on the project is a metaphor for the existential point of the opera — in other words, we all make the world that we live in together.”

O-Lan Jones, Director and Choreographer of the “Indigenous” Dances-
O-Lan Jones is an award-winning actress, composer, sound designer, and writer. Her work as an actress, originating female roles in plays by Sam Shepard, Beth Henley, Murray Mednick, and John Steppling, among others, has made her something of a cultural icon. Named for the character in Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth, Jones was raised by a free-spirited mother in various ghettos across America (Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, New York) with stops in London and the jungles of the Yucatan where they lived in a hut in a village of 80 Mayan Indians. She began her professional acting career at 16 in New York’s off-off Broadway scene in the late ’60s and early ’70s. In 1969, Jones married playwright Sam Shepard with whom she has a son. Shepard and Jones divorced in 1983.

Of the more than 80 plays she has acted in, only two have been performed prior to her involvement in them — part of her lot in life is as accomplice to new/experimental projects. Since moving to Los Angeles in 1990, she has had a broad range of roles in film and television. In features, she has worked with directors Tim Burton, Jonathan Demme, Ivan Reitman, Paul Schrader, John Schlesinger, Oliver Stone, Peter Weir, and Paul Bartel who directed Shelf Life, a movie she wrote and starred in. She is perhaps best known for playing Esmeralda, the reclusive Christian organist in Edward Scissorhands, and numerous waitress roles (Seinfeld, Shoot the Moon, Miracle Mile, Natural Born Killers, and The Truman Show). A repeat member of Burton’s ensemble casts, she also played hick trailer-dwelling mama Sue Ann Norris in Mars Attacks! Television credits also include Lonesome Dove and The X-Files; and she was a series regular on CBS’s Harts of the West.

She has composed three short operas; five musicals; created original music, songs, and sound designs for more than 30 theatrical productions; and has scored two short films. She was also the musical director and arranger of Joel Lipman’s rock-’n'-roll extravaganza Celebration of the Lizard, which features 49 Doors songs. Jones is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Overtone Industries, which the Los Angeles Times called “… audaciously experimental entertainment.”

Snezana Petrovic, Costume and Scenic Designer-
A freelance designer for 230 theatrical productions, 22 television series, and eight feature films, Snezana Petrovic is a pioneer in set design using computer-aided technology and she was the first art director to design sets on the FLAIR computer in her native Yugoslavia. In the US, she was the first graduate student in theater design to earn an interactive MFA (from UC Irvine), submitting her thesis on CD-ROM. She has served as resident designer at the Redlands Theater Festival for 15 seasons, and taught theater design and visual arts at the university level for 14 years. She was the recipient of the award in production design at the International Film Festival in Pula as well as six national awards for theater set and costume design in Yugoslavia. Petrovic’s paintings, video, and installation works have been exhibited both nationally and internationally in museums and galleries in Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Belgrade, and Prague. She has exhibited in 34 group exhibitions and had eight solo exhibitions. Currently she is serving as the Fine Arts Department Chair and Professor of Arts at Crafton Hills College.

David O, Musical Director-
David O is an award-winning composer, performer, and musical director.  His work has been featured at Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Kennedy Center, The Mark Taper Forum, and the Hollywood Bowl, as well as other venues in Los Angeles and around the world.  His choral composition, A Map of Los Angeles, was commissioned by the LA Master Chorale with performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2008 and 2009.  Thousands of Los Angeles children and their parents know David as “The Professor” for his six years of performances with Summersounds at the Hollywood Bowl, produced by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  His original musicals include The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip and The Legend of Alex, both commissioned by Center Theatre Group’s P.L.A.Y. Program, and Imagine, commissioned by South Coast Repertory Theater. The Very Persistent Gappers of  Frip was performed as part of the inaugural season of the Kirk Douglas Theater.

David is the musical director, arranger, and co-composer for Disney Creative Entertainment’s new production, Toy Story: The Musical, which will open at Disney California Adventure in 2011.  Some of David’s most unique work includes non-traditional theater pieces for which he served as both musical director and composer.  Most notably, he created an entirely a capella score for Hippolytos, a new translation of Euripides’ tragedy commissioned to inaugurate the Fleischman Theater at the newly-refurbished Getty Villa in Malibu.  In addition, David was the composer, musical director, and on-stage pianist/percussionist for A Noise Within’s production of Ubu Roi, for which he received the 2006 Ovation Award for Sound Design in a Large Theater.

David has musically directed countless musical theater productions in the Los Angeles area, including the world premiere of 13, the new musical by Jason Robert Brown.  He has also served as musical director for the West Coast premieres of Michael John LaChiusa’s The Wild Party and Little Fish.  Other notable productions as Musical Director include The Last 5 Years (Pasadena Playhouse), The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World (Inside the Ford), and Divorce: the Musical (Hudson Mainstage).

Gregg Emmel, Transportation Designer-
For 25 years, Gregg Emmel has been a material guy — a product designer, engineer, artist, entrepreneur, and performer.  Emmel holds over 45 patents in diverse fields, while garnering attention from Interiors Magazine, Home and Gardens, and the Discovery Channel. He is the founder and principal inventor for Cryoport Inc.  In 1987, he also founded Egg, an industrial design incubator facilitating entrepreneurial projects and intellectual property.  In addition to his technical and commercial work, Emmel’s art, sculptures and performances have been featured at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, the Austin International Poetry Festival, Coachella Arts Festival, and Burning Man.  As the Founder and Director of the Solids Gallery, a sculpture collective, he has shown throughout the Los Angeles area. Emmel’s latest endeavor is The Guilds Studios, a professional collective of artists and creators.

Nina Winthrop, Choreographer of the Traveling Lands-
Nina Winthrop formed her company, Nina Winthrop and Dancers, in 1991 and her work has been presented at numerous venues including Brooklyn Academy of Music, Danspace Project, Joyce SoHo, The Flea Theater and Movement Research at The Judson Church. She was awarded a Bessie Schönberg Choreographers’ Residency at The Yard in 2004, a Dancenow/NYC’s Silo Artist Residency in 2005, and participated in the Schönberg Choreographers Lab at DTW in 2005. Winthrop is the curator of the monthly performance and discussion series Dance Conversations @ The Flea and is on the board of Danspace Project and New Dance Alliance. She has danced with Wendy Perron, Susan Rethorst, Yoshiko Chuma, Sally Silvers, and Kei Takei. She studied with Erick Hawkins, Merce Cunningham, and Deborah Hay.

Librettists-
Sissy Boyd, Joe Chaikin, Chiwan Choi, Kathleen Cramer, Erik Ehn, Gilbert Girion, Deb Gwinn, Julie Hébert, O-Lan Jones, Merle Kessler, Quincy Long, Lynn Manning, Ruth Margraff, Leon Martell, Marlane Meyer, Ken Roht, Octavio Solis, John Steppling, Caridad Svich, Sharon Yablon, and Guy Zimmerman.

Composers-
John Ballinger, J. Raoul Brody, Eric Culver, Beth Custer, Jeff Fairbanks, Bart Hopkin, O-Lan Jones, Penka Kouneva, Richard Mariott, David O, and George Sarah.

Overtone Industries-
Emmy and Dramalogue award-winning Overtone Industries cultivates new talent for music theater by providing opportunities for composers, writers, and performers to collaborate in the creation of new musical works. By drawing on artists that spring from the diverse community, Overtone productions speak to and attract a wide-ranging spectrum of people. Overtone believes that culture is enriched and revitalized not only by the differences and variety of expression, but also by the underlying experiences that connect us all. The organization strives to create myths and fables that will illuminate the eternal forces that reverberate in our contemporary lives. By exploring new relationships among words, acting, movement, and music, the nonprofit seeks to make the invisible visible and bring audiences, casts, production crews, and ourselves closer to understanding some of life’s mysteries. Overtone Industries’ work has been performed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and in New York at the Kurt Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall.

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For more information, photos, or to arrange an interview, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Hasty at 213.840.1201 and lynn@greengalactic.com

Amy Knoles & Eric Clark; photo courtesy of The California EAR Unit

Rachel Rosenthal Company is excited to feature Guest Artists Amy Knoles and Eric Clark of the acclaimed electro acoustic chamber ensemble the California EAR Unit, at TOHUBOHU! Extreme Theater Ensemble performances in July. The California EAR Unit’s Amy Knoles and Rachel Rosenthal have been friends and collaborators for many years.  As TOHUBOHU! guest artists, Knoles and Clark will be integrated into The Ensemble with their live improvisational music performance. The TOHUBOHU! “total free improvisation” performances featuring the California EAR Unit run Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 9, 10, and 11, 2010.

LOS ANGELES, CA – Rachel Rosenthal Company is excited to feature Guest Artists Amy Knoles and Eric Clark of the acclaimed electro acoustic chamber ensemble the California EAR Unit, at TOHUBOHU! Extreme Theater Ensemble performances in July. The TOHUBOHU! “total free improvisation” performances featuring the California EAR Unit run Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 9, 10, and 11, 2010. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8:30 p.m., Sunday performances at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $20. Reservations are necessary to insure seats and can be made online via Brown Paper Tickets at www.rachelrosenthal.org or www.brownpapertickets.com/event/89856. The Rachel Rosenthal Company’s venue, Espace DbD, is located at 2847 South Robertson Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90034. Street parking is available.

The California EAR Unit’s Amy Knoles and Rachel Rosenthal have been friends and collaborators for many years.  Knoles collaborated on Rosenthal’s final full-length solo piece UR-BOOR. She also scored Rosenthal’s 60-performer piece Zone at the UCLA Center for the Performing Arts, as well as performed live with Rosenthal in Pangean Dreams, Timepiece, and The Unexpurgated Virgin throughout the US and Europe.  As TOHUBOHU! guest artists, Knoles and Clark will be integrated into The Ensemble with their live improvisational music performance.

The Unit has performed in respected venues such as the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. They have toured throughout the world: Brussels, Aspen, Kiev, Paris, Cologne, New York, Boston, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Amsterdam, and Reykjavik. They have also been featured in programs on the BBC, Japanese television, National Public Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Danish National Radio, and WGBH.  From 1987 to 2004, the EAR Unit was Ensemble-in-Residence at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Since then, they have been in residence at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) housed in the Walt Disney Hall. Over the years, the Unit has worked closely with many composers such as Elliott Carter, Steve Reich, Morton Feldman, John Luther Adams, Fred Frith, Tod Machover, Julia Wolfe, Louis Andriessen, John Cage, Mauricio Kagel, Michael Gordon, Charles Wuorinen, Morton Subotnick, and Alison Knowles, among others.

In 1999, Rosenthal received an Honorary Doctorate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and in 2000 she was honored by the City of Los Angeles as a “Living Cultural Treasure of Los Angeles.” Critics have called her “a monument and a marvel” and Richard Schechner, editor of The Drama Review (TDR), put Rosenthal into the same category as Robert Wilson, Ping Chong, Richard Foreman, Meredith Monk, and Laurie Anderson.