LOS ANGELES, CA – February 6, 2012 – Nonprofit organization Overtone Industries presents the world premiere of its new opera The Woman in the Wall, with two weekends of performances opening Friday, March 23, 2012 at the Masonic Lodge in Culver City.  Reuniting the award-winning Overtone creative team of the critically-acclaimed 2010 Songs & Dances of Imaginary Lands, The Woman in the Wall is an operatic work by Composer O-Lan Jones and Librettist Kathleen Cramer, conducted by David O, and produced by Vibrant Production Management.  Inspired by the 14th Century tradition of The Anchoress, the opera is a “mystery play” in the ancient tradition; it explores the openings and paths inside that are revealed when all doors are locked shut.  For more information, please see http://www.overtoneindustries.org and https://www.facebook.com/overtoneindustries

The opera, which is written in Medieval modes using instruments of the time, will run for two weekends – on Fridays and Saturdays – from March 23 to March 31, 2012 with performances starting at 8:00pm.  Ticket prices are $25 for Peasants (seating closest to the performers), $40 for Royalty (seating in the middle of the performance space), and $50 for the Virtuous (reserved seating on an elevated platform).  Online tickets can be purchased via http://www.overtoneindustries.org or by calling Overtone Industries at 323-655-2410.  Performances, which are ceremonial in nature, will be held in the atmospheric Masonic Lodge at 9635 Venice Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232 (http://culvercitymasons.org; 310-836-0467). The show is suitable for mature teen and adult audiences.

The subject of the production is inspired by the 14th Century tradition of The Anchoress – a woman who volunteers to be enclosed for the rest of her life in a church cell – with one window open to the sacred world and the other open to the ordinary world.  Over the course of seven days, which cover seventeen years, we follow The Anchoress, “Marianna” (Gretchen Johnson), as she becomes the inspirational advisor to everyone from the peasants to the king.  As we follow her journey inward through her temptations, doubts, revelations, and fears, we see how she transforms the people’s questions in relation to the Seven Virtues that light her way.  Ultimately, the work is a “mystery play” in the ancient tradition; it explores the openings and paths inside that are revealed when all doors are locked shut.  The production features an orchestra of 10 instrumentalists, a cast of a dozen principal singers, and a 30-member chorus from the Angel City Chorale, led by Sue Fink.

 

The Woman in the Wall is a new operatic work written in Medieval modes by Composer O-Lan Jones and Librettist Kathleen Cramer. In balcony - Livia Reiner, Kathleen Kelso, and Octavia Leclerc-Jones. Below - Gretchen Johnson as Marianna. Photo Credit: Emily Brooke Sandor

Credits –
The Woman in the Wall reunites the innovative Overtone Industries creative team of Composer O-Lan Jones, Librettist Kathleen Cramer, Conductor David O, and producer Vibrant Production Management, that most recently collaborated on the critically-acclaimed experimental opera Songs & Dances of Imaginary Lands, which was honored with Ovation Award nominations for Music Direction and Scenic Design, and a win for Costume Design for the 2009-2010 season.

- Composer & Director – O-Lan Jones
- Librettist – Kathleen Cramer
- Music Director – David O
- Scenic & Costume Designer – TBA
- Marianna, The Anchoress – Gretchen Johnson
- Remaining Cast & Orchestra – TBA
- Producer – Vibrant Production Management

O-Lan Jones, Director & Composer –
O-Lan Jones is the Artistic Director of Overtone Industries, guiding her company in the creation of new mythological operas and theatricales. Miz Jones is a full-service artist – an award-winning actor, sound designer, writer and composer.  She has been consistently involved in experimental theater, music and opera since the age of 16.  She originated roles in the plays of Sam Shepard, Julie Hebert, and Beth Henley, among others.  The press has referred to her as an “uncategorizable legend.”

As an actress 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 include Lonesome Dove and The X-Files; and she was a series regular on CBS’s Harts of the West.

Last summer she sang a major role in Terry Wolverton & David Ornette Cherry’s opera Embers at Grand Performances in downtown LA.  She will soon appear in Aram Rappaport’s new film Syrup.

Miz Jones has worked as a composer creating original music, songs, sound designs and scores for more than 40 productions.  On the West Coast she has written music for Padua Hills Playwrights, LA Women’s Shakespeare Company, San Diego Rep, the Taper Too and California Shakespeare Festival in the Bay Area.  On the East Coast, her music has been showcased at Playwright’s Horizons, the Workhouse, La Mama, and the Kurt Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

She was the director, choreographer and one of the 11 composers who created Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands.  The critically-acclaimed opera was called “an ambitious, possibly groundbreaking new opera” (Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times), “epic avante-garde opera… a carnival fun house” (Anthony Byrnes, KCRW), and “a feast for the senses” (Mayank Keshaviah, LA Weekly).

She has composed three short operas; five musicals; and has scored two short films.  Jones is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Overtone Industries, whose work the Los Angeles Times called “audaciously experimental entertainment.”  www.o-lanjones.com

Kathleen Cramer, Librettist –

Kathleen Cramer is a Bay Area artist who has written for Overtone Industries for many years.  In San Francisco, she began a serious collaboration with O-Lan Jones, yielding five operas.  In addition to The Woman in the Wall, she collaborated with Jones on the critically-acclaimed Songs & Dances Of Imaginary Lands in 2010.  She also wrote Happy Hour Becomes Electra, for Overtone’s production String of Pearls, and collaborated with Jones on The Man Whose Brother Was Eaten by Wolves and The Woman Who Forgot Her Sweater, which premiered at [INSIDE] the Ford.

After beginning her career in New York’s Off-Off Broadway scene, working with many cutting edge playwrights, Cramer co-founded the Padua Hills Playwrights Festival in Los Angeles, which held both a school and an acclaimed festival every summer for 18 years. She also writes for the magazine Works and Conversations as a contributing editor.


David O, Music 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 opened 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.  For the 2009-2010 season, he was nominated for an Ovation Award in Music Direction for Overtone’s Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands.

David has musically directed countless musical theater productions in the Los Angeles area, including the world premiere of 13, the 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). http://www.davidomusic.com

Gretchen Johnson, The Anchoress “Marianna” –
The Woman in the Wall, written especially for her by O-Lan Jones and Kathleen Cramer, is Gretchen Johnson’s fourth collaboration with Overtone Industries. Johnson performed in the company’s epic performance of Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands, staged in a sprawling, empty Culver City car dealership where the production received rave reviews, including one from the Los Angeles Times’ Mark Swed.  She appeared in the Overtone presentations of Herakles and the Hydra at The Met Theater and New York’s Carnegie Hall, and The Woman Who Forgot Her Sweater, also written for her, at [Inside] the Ford.  She is currently at work on a recital of under-sung and unsung music of Hollywood composers and poets.  In addition to concert stages and recital halls, she has produced and performed recitals at the Goethe Institute and other local venues including coffee houses, private salons, retirement villages and the historic steps of Echo Park’s Delta Street.  A specialist in new music theater, she has premiered works by Meredith Monk and the BOBS and, in a role written especially for her, she toured for two seasons with the Los Angeles Opera’s community production of Who Wants To Be An Opera Singer?  An active recitalist and concert performer, she has performed new works by Los Angeles-based composer Enrique Gonzáles-Medina, including Siete Poeminimos, Los Versos de la Maestra, and concert presentations of his opera Serafina y Arcángela.

Angel City Chorale –
Angel City Chorale, conducted by Founder/Artistic Director Sue Fink, i
s a multi-talented, multicultural choir ensemble of 160 men and
 women that truly reflects the spirit of Los Angeles, the city it calls
 home.  Performing an extraordinary repertoire, ranging from Classical a
nd Folk to Pop and Gospel, has become the group’s hallmark.  Angel
 City Chorale has appeared at such venues as Staples Center, the Los A
ngeles Convention Center, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the John A
nson Ford Amphitheater.  The choir has performed with Stevie Wonder,
 Luther Vandross, and Mary Chapin Carpenter.  Angel City Chorale has b
een selected by internationally acclaimed Music Director and Record Producer Frank McNamara to appear in an hour-long PBS special, The
 American Tenors. http://www.angelcitychorale.org

Vibrant Production Management, Producers –
Vibrant Production Management works with artists of various disciplines to create and manage original, vivid artistic experiences. Vibrant offers comprehensive production services from concept to completion. Beginning with a shared vision, the firm assembles teams of artists and managers to provide energy and movement to a project. The firm handles logistics, allowing the artistic product to be presented as high-quality, seamless entertainment. Providing hands-on production management coordination from scheduling to show calling, Vibrant works in collaboration with artists to bring ideas to life. Vibrant Production Management is a partnership between Sara Adelman and Michelle Magaldi.  Adelman and Magaldi have been producing and managing live events together for over ten years in and around Los Angeles as independent contractors and employees of award-winning arts organizations. 

http://vibrantmgmt.com

Overtone Industries –
Emmy and Dramalogue award-winning Overtone Industries creates vivid, original myths and fables, bringing them to life in the form of opera and music/theater.  The organization is passionate about live performance and its transformational power, created as performers and audiences participate together in each unfolding moment.  Overtone believes that artistic expression is an essential ingredient to our lives; a catalyst for artists and audience members to understand themselves and each other in a fresh new way.  By exploring new relationships among words, acting, movement, and music, the non-profit ultimately seeks to create work geared to invite a broad demographic of people to experience together the Big Questions and the Big Joy of being alive.  Overtone Industries’ work has been performed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and in New York at the Kurt Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall. http://www.overtoneindustries.org

Support –
Overtone Industries currently receives support from Achilles Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Metabolic Studio, The National Endowment for the Arts as well as a plethora of generous individual donors.

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

The Woman in the Wall, a “mystery play” in the ancient tradition, explores the openings and paths inside that are revealed when all doors are locked shut. Foreground - Gretchen Johnson as Marianna. Background - Livia Reiner, Octavia Leclerc-Jones, and Kathleen Kelso. Photo Credit: Emily Brooke Sandor

NextSpace Hosts
Award-Winning Photographer Sam Comen’s
28 at 28
A Solo Exhibition in Culver City
October 22, 2011 – January 22, 2012
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 22, 2011, 6-9pm

LOS ANGELES, CA – September 29, 2011 – Award-winning photographer Sam Comen’s first solo exhibition, 28 at 28, premieres with an installation of over 100 works at Culver City’s NextSpace starting on Saturday, October 22, 2011.  28 at 28 is a serial portraiture study that captures the evolving lives of Comen’s peer group in a crisp, saturated style.  Comen unveils the first three years of this new body of work at a free public reception on October 22, 2011 from 6:00 to 9:00pm – on his 31st birthday. The choice of this date to debut the ongoing project calls attention to time’s passage, the integral throughline in 28 at 28. The two-story atrium of NextSpace will be transformed into a larger-than life timeline of Comen’s subjects in a taxonomic display of environmental and studio photographs. Beverages will be provided by Crispin Cider. The exhibition will run for three months through Sunday, January 22, 2012. NextSpace, a creative collaborative community workspace, is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5:30pm at 9415 Culver Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232. To learn more about the artist, please visit www.samcomen.com. To view 28 at 28 online, please visit www.28at28.com.

Carla Blieden, Nick Fowler, and Jerome Gordon from Sam Comen's 29 at 29.

In 2009, when Comen was 28, he initiated the project by shooting twenty-eight 28-year-olds. The next year he shot twenty-nine 29-year-olds – 29 at 29 – and he is currently shooting the same 29 people, plus one, for this year’s installment – 30 at 30. In the years to come, Comen will continue to follow this growing group and investigate how perspective and sense-of-self evolve with age.

28 at 28 is a photographic exploration of Comen’s peers – artists, actors, musicians, scientists, corporate managers, and municipal employees – as they embrace adulthood. The project, shot annually, occupies the photographic space that straddles document and fiction, incorporating both storytelling and portraiture.  Comen frames these subjects in their environments – their homes, backyards, neighborhoods, places of work – to examine how they define themselves as they search for meaning and authenticity in their evolving lives. A successful photojournalist and editorial photographer for national magazines, Comen fittingly applies the motifs and vernacular of commercial photography to his subjects, capturing the essence of his generation in the current cultural context.

“In my late 20s, I sensed that my peers and I were on the cusp – we were all either making strides in our careers and personal lives or searching for direction,” says Comen, a native Angeleno, “I felt like the next few years would inform the rest of our lives – it seemed a perfect time to begin a document of my peers, and by extension, my generation.”

Sam Comen –
Sam Comen seeks out stories that are salient in the American conscience, often working on a project for years at a time. Concurrent with shooting for Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Details, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, and Fortune in recent years, Comen has garnered awards and honors for his ongoing documentary photo essays. In 2010, he was awarded a Santa Fe Center for Photography grant in recognition of his Lost Hills series, which documented a small California community of Latino farmworkers struggling to create a new American Dream. Also in 2010, his 22 Miles of Normandie Avenue, an ongoing exploration of social and ethnic identity in the city, was featured in the Month of Photography Los Angeles’ (MOPLA) exhibition Dear Diary. Work from the two documentary series was also honored in 2011 when Comen was named one of the Critical Mass Top 50 and his work toured the Pacific Northwest in a series of exhibitions. Prints from Lost Hills and Normandie Avenue were also featured in MOPLA’s A Place in the Sun: Picturing California exhibition, also in 2011.

Sam Comen’s Newsweek-assigned portrait series, Watts Votes Obama, which documented Obama’s supporters on election day in the LA neighborhood synonymous with the racial tension in America, was included in the Photo District News Photo Annual 2008.  Comen’s work was also chosen for American Photo 26 in 2008.  He has been nominated for the PDN 30 and received a grant from The Penland School of Crafts in photography. He has shown work in galleries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, OR and Santa Fe.

NextSpace –
NextSpace is a workplace for the new economy, providing innovative physical and virtual infrastructure for freelancers, entrepreneurs, and creative class professionals to succeed in the 21st Century knowledge economy. In an increasingly disconnected world, NextSpace creates a collaborative community that is revolutionizing the nature of work. For more information please call 310-606-2716 or visit http://nextspace.us.

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

The complete set of Comen's initial group of subjects for 28 at 28.

William Roper (Photo courtesy SASSAS)

The Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound (SASSAS) concludes its series of summer events with sound. at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook: Alex Cline, Lady Noise and William Roper on Sunday, October 16, 2011. The concert features new compositions by percussionist Alex Cline, experimental collective Lady Noise and brass specialist William Roper. These new SASSAS commissions will be played by more than 30 Los Angeles area musicians arrayed in different locations across the historic topography of the Overlook. The concert begins at 3:00pm at the apex of the Overlook and concludes 90 minutes later in the Safine Rabines-designed pavilion next to the park visitor center. The event is free. Street parking is available along Jefferson Blvd., but come prepared for a steep climb up the Overlook stairs. Parking at the top of the hill is $6.00. Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook is located at 6300 Hetzler Road, Culver City, CA 90232.

SASSAS Concludes its 2011
Series of Summer Concerts with
sound. at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook:
Alex Cline, Lady Noise and William Roper
In Culver City, California
Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 3:00pm

Free Concert Features Over 30 Los Angeles Area Musicians

LOS ANGELES, CA – September 27, 2011 -  The Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound (SASSAS) concludes its series of summer events with sound. at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook: Alex Cline, Lady Noise and William Roper on Sunday, October 16, 2011. The concert features new compositions by percussionist Alex Cline, experimental collective Lady Noise and brass specialist William Roper. These new SASSAS commissions will be played by more than 30 Los Angeles area musicians arrayed in different locations across the historic topography of the Overlook. The concert begins at 3:00pm at the apex of the Overlook and concludes 90 minutes later in the Safine Rabines-designed pavilion next to the park visitor center. The event is free. Street parking is available along Jefferson Blvd., but come prepared for a steep climb up the Overlook stairs. Parking at the top of the hill is $6.00. Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook is located at 6300 Hetzler Road, Culver City, CA 90232. For more information on the venue please call 323-960-5723 or visit http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=22790. For more information on SASSAS and this event please visit http://www.sassas.org/sound/2011/october.shtml.

The Baldwin Park Scenic Overlook is unique in the greater Los Angeles area and California State Park system. A historically complex site, the Overlook offers 360 degree views of the Los Angeles Basin as it resides at the juncture of industry and parkland / preserve. Adjacent to the location of the 1963 Baldwin Hills Dam break and just north of an active oil field, the park was the site of a decade long development battle which was successful in fending off a 230-home development, but failed to stop the flat topping of the hill. Parts of the park have been regraded and “in certain ways the land still looks as though it’s recovering from the earlier violence.” (Christopher Hawthorne, Los Angeles Times).

SASSAS invited each composer to make a field recording at the Overlook and respond to it with a new work focusing on percussion (Cline), electronics (Lady Noise) and lip reeds (Roper). The field recordings will be available for public download on the SASSAS website at www.sassas.org beginning October 1st. These commissions build on a tradition initiated in 2010 when SASSAS invited 3 composers to create new works commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the City of West Hollywood.

The concert begins at 3:00pm at the top of the Overlook with William Roper’s Fanfares and Arhoolies for lip reed instruments and percussion. Fanfares and Arhoolies uses the noisy, ostentatious form of the fanfare as a frame for Arhoolies or plantation field hollers, songs that were outlets for southern laborers, often slaves, to express themselves while working. Playing instruments as diverse as conch shells, bovine horns, Wagner tuba and French horns are Kevin Brown, Ray Burkhart, Clifford Childers, Dan Clucas, Steve Durnin, James Ford, Loren Marsteller, Joseph Mitchell, and Michael Vlatkovich.

Lady Noise describe their yet to be titled work as “Washes of white noise, whistling, and breath. The drone of chatter through wind…Collated histories of grasses, planes, pumping jacks, and dry lips mingle under a blanket of smog. A melancholic psychic overload of the hot air indeterminate.” Located in the garden amphitheater, their ensemble includes the members of Lady Noise (Kelly Coats, flute; Kathleen Kim, violin; Gabie Strong, electric bass; and Sandy Yang, electric guitar) in addition to Jesse Appelhans, Aisling Cormack, James Hamblin, Julia Holter, Janet Kim, Stefan Scott Nelson, Ron Russell and Jonathan Silberman.

Alex Cline (Photo courtesy of SASSAS)

The four parts of Alex Cline’s Overlook , “Origins,” “Growth,” “Conflict,” and “Balance,” are titled based on the subject headings in the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook visitor center educational materials. According to Cline, “Overlook takes inspiration from both sounds and other sensory elements of the site as well as extra-musical elements that pertain to the site’s history and current status, including material relating to and evoking the Tongve indigenous peoples of the area and to post-industrial development around the region.’’ Concluding the concert in the Overlook pavilion, Cline will be joined by Christopher Allis, Trevor Anderies, Erin Barnes, Joseph Berardi, Germaine Franco, Dave Shaffer and Rich West.

Artist Bios:

Percussionist-composer Alex Cline has been a mainstay on the jazz and new music scenes of Los Angeles for over thirty-five years. Combining colorful and sensitive percussion sounds with a drumming foundation based in the jazz tradition, Cline is recognized for his contributions to the music of such artists as Vinny Golia, Julius Hemphill, Bobby Bradford, Horace Tapscott, Wadada Leo Smith, Charlie Haden, and countless others. His work as a composer and bandleader has been documented on recordings with his groups, the Alex Cline Ensemble and Alex Cline’s Band of the Moment. Cline was included in Michael Bettine and Trevor Taylor’s book Percussion Profiles among twenty of the “world’s most creative percussionists.”  Most recently Cline has re-envisioned the Chicago Art Ensemble’s 1969 album-length masterpiece “People in Sorrow” for a performance at REDCAT for an all-star ensemble.

Lady Noise, founded by artist Gabie Strong, is the free-form sound collaboration between Kelly Coats (flute), Kathleen Kim (violin), Gabie Strong (bass) and Sandy Yang (guitar and drums).  Lady Noise performances draw on visual elements to create an atmosphere of sound and landscape. Compositions are explored between modes of structure and improvisation, creating spaces of interplay and entropy. Disrupting conventional spatial formations of live sound performance, the group freely shapes the area reserved for hearing and language to present the listening audience with the aching beauty of amplified harmonic decay.

Lady Noise has performed at the UC Riverside Barbara and Art Culver Center of the Arts; The Japanese American National Museum with OMAYUMI, Steve Irvin, and Alan Nakagawa for RED FLAT; at LACE with Raquel Gutiérrez for GUTTED; The Collective Show; Human Resources; and the Liz Glynn designed Verse | Chorus | Verse amphitheater at the 2011 Art Los Angeles Contemporary fair.

William Roper (Photo courtesy of SASSAS)

William Roper is a composer, performer and visual artist. He has fulfilled commissions from Dance L.A., the Gloria Newman Dance Theatre and has a long list of collaborations with recognized artists in video, theater, performance and dance. His compositions have been performed by such groups as the California E.A.R. Unit, TaiHei Ensemble, Duquesne Contemporary Ensemble, and the Cal Arts Cello Ensemble. As a performing artist, Roper has appeared in North America, South America and Europe as soloist and in ensembles as diverse as free improvisation groups to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has released ten CDs as a leader or co-leader on Asian Improv Recordings, Nine Winds, ArtShip Recordings, and Tomato Sage Recordings.

sound. 2011 is produced by Cindy Bernard in collaboration with Scott Benzel, Gregory Lenczycki, Jorge Martin, Renee Petropoulos, Joe Potts, Dawson Weber, Board of Directors; Danny Gromfin, Board of Advisors. sound. is a project of The Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound (SASSAS) and is supported in part through grants from the Culver City Performing Arts Grant Program with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the Good Works Foundation, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the West Hollywood Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission. William Roper’s work received special support from a CCI / Durfee Artist Resource for Completion grant.

SASSAS (The Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that serves as a catalyst for the creation, presentation, and recognition of experimental art and sound practices in the Greater Los Angeles area. In addition to producing sound., SASSAS archives recordings from the series at www.sassas.org/concerts and www.youtube.com/sassasdotorg.

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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.

Los Angeles, CA – Humanitarian organization NextAid presents its second annual World AIDS Day campaign fundraising event at LA’s top “green” event location, Marrakesh House. Entitled SOUND>EFFECT and taking place on Saturday December 11, 2010  from 5:00pm – midnight, NextAid and partners will create an unforgettable evening of music, dancing and art.  NextAid joins forces with like-minded organizations Family Affair, HearME, Green Wave and Africa10 at film director Chris Paine’s noted sustainably remodeled home located on a scenic hillside in Culver City (private address, parking info revealed upon ticket purchase).

For Immediate Release

NextAid Unites Los Angeles’ Dance Music Scene
For World AIDS Day Campaign Fundraising Event
SOUND>EFFECT
At LA’s Premier Green Space, Marrakesh House
December 11, 2010

Los Angeles, CA – Humanitarian organization NextAid presents its second annual World AIDS Day campaign fundraising event at LA’s top “green” event location, Marrakesh House. Entitled SOUND>EFFECT and taking place on Saturday December 11, 2010  from 5:00pm – midnight, NextAid and partners will create an unforgettable evening of music, dancing and art.  NextAid joins forces with like-minded organizations Family Affair, HearME, Green Wave and Africa10 at film director Chris Paine’s noted sustainably remodeled home located on a scenic hillside in Culver City (private address, parking info revealed upon ticket purchase).

Entertainment will include live performances by trip hop vocalist Shana Halligan of Bitter:Sweet and funk/soul band King Kid, along with some of Los Angeles’ favorite DJ’s Marques Wyatt, Andy Caldwell, Braden and Mr. Caparro, Michele Bass, and more with dancers and percussionists. The evening will be MC’d by KCRW’s Raul Campos and Debi Mae West. Visuals will include projections from the World Cup film Africa10 and HearME’s music programs. This will be one of Marques’ last LA performances before he moves to New York City. The evening will also include a silent auction featuring ecological and fair trade products and services, and work from local and African artists. Supporters include Fusicology, Flavorpill, and Deep-LA. For more information, go to www.nextaid.org/wad2010

This exclusive event has a strict capacity limit of 300 people. The first 100 tickets are $30 and are only available through November 30^th, the price then goes up to $40. VIP tickets are $60 and include open bar all night long. There will be an open bar cocktail hour from 5:00-7:00pm, with a fundraising bar the rest of the evening. There will also be light food provided by organic and/or local restaurants. Tickets are available via http://soundeffect.eventbrite.com.

Proceeds from SOUND>EFFECT, as well as all of NextAid’s World AIDS Day events and online campaign, will support current NextAid projects in Africa which include constructing an eco-friendly micro-enterprise facility for a street youth project in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya; supporting the education of orphaned children and youth in South Africa by providing school uniforms and supplies; and donating to critical maternal health programs for girls and women in Sierra Leone.  Proceeds from the Marrakesh House event will also benefit Green Wave and HearME. Green Wave is raising funds to build a “green” children’s sanctuary in a Nairobi slum, and HearME provides mini music studios and an online music network to orphanages around the world.

Sound>Effect is part of NextAid’s 4th Annual World AIDS Day campaign that kicked off on November 27th and runs the entire month of December. Over 14 parties in 10 cities in 3 countries are on board! Visit NextAid’s website to find detailed info for events in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Cape Town, Detroit, Baltimore, Boston, Vancouver, Omaha, and San Diego.

For those who cannot make it to a benefit party, they can still be a part of the global campaign by joining the online campaign. NextAid artists, such as DJ Dan and DJ Colette, will be raising awareness and funds for projects through a Twitter generated $10 tweet campaign. Supporters can make direct donations to NextAid, send holiday eCard gift donations to friends and family, shop for great music gifts from OM Records at the Holiday Pop Up Store (launching soon) where 10% of sales will go to NextAid, and make other purchases from over 1200 retailers at NextAid’s We-Care.com shopping mall. Changemakers are also invited to take action with NextAid’s “10 Ways to Do Good” list that makes it easy to be a part of the movement.  Anyone anywhere can donate, email, make a tweet or a beat, and be part of this global campaign! For all the campaign info, go to www.nextaid.org/wad2010

About NextAid -
NextAid is an LA-based nonprofit organization that harnesses the power of music to support sustainable development projects that serve vulnerable children, youth and women in Africa. Through music events and public education initiatives, NextAid provides empowering opportunities for concerned individuals to make a difference.  www.nextaid.org

About World AIDS Day -
World AIDS Day is a day when individuals and organizations from around the world come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. This year marks the 22^nd anniversary of World AIDS Day with the theme of “Universal Access and Human Rights.” The human rights approach is comprehensive, tying directly into the response needed for universal access to treatment, prevention, care and support. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done. More information can be found at www.worldaidscampaign.org.

About Family Affair –

Family Affair is an event & marketing company based in Los Angeles specializing in raising money and awareness for social and environmental causes. The company has created and developed “Parties with a Purpose” which focus on the idea of “Responsible Entertainment” combining fun entertainment, education, and empowerment to deliver a powerful and emotional message inspiring guests to make a difference on the planet. In the past 2 years, Family Affair has partnered with some incredible organizations which include Trees for the Future, The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, The 11th Hour Action Campaign, Tree Media, Surfrider Foundation, The Algalita Marine Research Foundation, Give A Glass, and more. www.family-affair.org

About HearME –

HearME’s mission is to connect orphans around the globe by providing them with computers, music software, and an online studio enabling them to collaborate with each other across cultural boundaries.  The organization aims to bring empowerment, peace, and understanding through music. HearME has Hubs in Iraq, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, and Puerto Rico. The goal of HearME for The Sound Alliance is to raise money for the Los Angeles Hub which creates online classes for children to view around the world. For more information and to see videos please visit http://hearmehub.com.

About Green Wave –

Green Wave is a 501(c)(3) human/planet service agency providing green education & coaching through consulting, campaigns, workshops, collaborative projects, and volunteer retreats. Green Wave believes in teaching by creating living examples in order to lead future generations to a sustainable future. The organization’s mission is to inspire waves of change focused on living peacefully and harmoniously with the environment and with each other for the conscious well being of our planet. Green Wave’s goal is to create a legion of international ambassadors to assist in the creation and support of powerful education initiatives and eco- friendly developments with collaborating nonprofits on a global scale. www.inspiringwavesofchange.org

About Africa10 –

Africa10 uses film, music, and social media to inspire soccer fans and non-fans alike to celebrate the power of the game in Africa and support African unity. At the heart of it all is a character-driven feature length documentary that tells the story of a diverse group of Africans across the continent to illuminate the transformative power of soccer. Subjects range from impoverished fans to soccer super stars such as Sulley Muntari and Abedi Pelé, musicians such as Femi Kuti and will.i.am to African dignitaries Kofi Annan and Desmond Tutu. Proceeds from the Africa10 project go towards supporting charities such as Grassroot Soccer and Right to Play who use soccer and sport to teach life skills and create change in Africa. Find out more at Africa10.com

#   #   #

For more information please contact Susan von Seggern on susanvonseggern@nextaid.org or 213-840-0077.

Royal/T piano painted by Kenny Scharf (photo credit: Amanda Brooks)

Royal/T, the playful art space, shop and café, is expanding its nighttime offerings with live entertainment, a new art cabaret space, tapas and other culinary treats, and extravagant special events — fusing popular culture, music, film, and contemporary art into a creative Westside lounge environment.  Set in Royal/T’s back gallery space, Nighttime at Royal/T‘s mission is to provide high quality eclectic programming in art-full, high-style surroundings filled with owner Susan Hancock‘s world-class contemporary art collection.  The space will be open every Wednesday, Thursday as well as selected additional nights, featuring cabaret acts and eclectic music performances. Cabaret nights are free and run from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Cover charge for most other events range from $5 to $20.  Royal/T will also continue to offer special evening events featuring films, DJ sets, art performances, and theme parties.  Nighttime at Royal/T events will feature French-Japanese fusion tapas except when a guest chef reigns in the kitchen.

For Immediate Release
August 17, 2010

Culver City’s Royal/T Introduces
Nighttime at Royal/T
Expanding Its Evening Offerings
With Art Cabaret Nights Every Wednesday & Thursday
+ Eclectic Special Events
Fall 2010

* Live Entertainment * High Art * Engineered Cocktails * World Class Tapas *

CULVER CITY, CA – Royal/T, the playful art space, shop and café, is expanding its nighttime offerings with live entertainment, a new art cabaret space, tapas and other culinary treats, and extravagant special events — fusing popular culture, music, film, and contemporary art into a creative Westside lounge environment.  Set in Royal/T’s back gallery space, Nighttime at Royal/T‘s mission is to provide high quality eclectic programming in art-full, high-style surroundings filled with owner Susan Hancock‘s world-class contemporary art collection.  The space will be open every Wednesday, Thursday as well as selected additional nights, featuring cabaret acts and eclectic music performances. Cabaret nights are free and run from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Cover charge for most other events range from $5 to $20.  Royal/T will also continue to offer special evening events featuring films, DJ sets, art performances, and theme parties.  Nighttime at Royal/T events will feature French-Japanese fusion tapas except when a guest chef reigns in the kitchen.  Royal/T (www.royal-t.org, 310.559.6300) is located at 8910 Washington Blvd. (back entrance at 8927 Lindblade St.), Culver City, CA 90232.

Fall 2010 NIghttime at Royal/T Event Highlights …

Evidence and Vibration Institute Orchestra

Wed. Aug. 25, 8:00 – 11:00pm -

An evening of improvised electronic music featuring Vibration Institute Orchestra and Evidence

Vibration Institute Orchestra (http://vibrationinstitutemusic.com/music) is an ambient improvisation group led by bassist/DJ/composer John von Seggern in collaboration with Matt Piper, Steve Tavaglione, and Laura Escudé.

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.

Tapas menu will be available.

General admission is $10, $5 for students, at the door.
_____________________________________________

Jose Promis (photo courtesy of the artist)

Thu. Aug. 26, 6:00 – 11:00pm -

Cabaret night with world troubador Jose Promis and 80s power metal lounge lizzard Kate Gibbens

Chilean-born singer-songwriter Jose Promis is inspired by the international styles of old world troubadours, yet sets his music firmly in the 21st century. He began in the cabarets and independent theaters of Los Angeles in the mid-2000s and has also played throughout Europe (www.myspace.com/promis).

Classically trained and seasoned voice-belter Kate Gibbens delivers a lounge act filled with hair metal, touching ballads, and punk irony. The wild redhead covers metal favorites from Lita Ford, Journey, Van Halen, and Prince.

A la carte items from Master Sushi Chef Kenny Yamada will be available.
No door cover charge.
_____________________________________________

Soul Sisters LIVE (photo courtesy of the artists)

Wed. Sept. 1, 6:00 – 11:00pm -

Cabaret night with Soul Sisters LIVE

Soul Sisters LIVE are singing female/character illusionists.

The duo stars the humorous and uplifting Lady Red Couture (www.myspace.com/ladyredcouture)
and
the alluring and vivacious Roxy Wood (www.myspace.com/roxywood).

www.myspace.com/bootylicous77

A la carte items from Master Sushi Chef Kenny Yamada will be available.

No door cover charge.

_____________________________________________

The Kandinsky Effect (photo: Florence Grimmeisen)

Fri. Sept. 3, 8:00 – 10:00pm -

Modern jazz with The Kandinsky Effect

The Kandinsky Effect is a 3-peice modern jazz ensemble searching for new ways to improvise within the jazz idiom.  Saxophonist Warren Walker, bassist Gael Petrina, and drummer Gauthier Garrigue can be found lurking along the borders of jazz, rock, electronica, hip hop, and experimental sounds searching for freedom of expression.

www.facebook.com/TheKandinskyEffect

Tapas menu will be available.

General admission is $10
$5 for students,  at the door
_____________________________________________

Theo Bleckmann (photo: Susie Knoll)

Wed. Sept. 15, 8:30 – 10:30pm -

Jazz and rock with the Theo Bleckmann & Ben Monder Duo

An eclectic jazz singer and new music composer, Grammy-nominated Theo Bleckmann makes music that is accessibly sophisticated, unsentimentally emotional, and seriously playful.  In addition to his work as a soloist, Bleckmann loves to mix it up with other musicians. He maintains an ongoing creative relationship with guitar phenomenon Ben Monder, generating a series of performances and a pair of albums that wreak beautiful havoc with standard expectations of jazz and rock.

www.theobleckmann.com

Tapas menu will be available.
General admission is $20, $10 for students, at the door.

Purchase tickets at: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/124070
_____________________________________________

For the Love of God, Laugh (2007) by Damien Hirst

Thu. Sept. 23, 8:00pm – 1:00am -

The Warholian Exhibition Opening Party

To celebrate Warholian, an exhibit of photos, film, portraits and objects inspired by Andy Warhol, Royal/T will kick off the show with a Factory-inspired opening extravaganza, which promises to be the see-and-be-seen event of the season.  Party features DJ sets by the iconic DJ Diabetic (aka Shepard Fairey) and David J (Bauhaus / Love & Rockets) who will be spinning a special Warholcentric DJ set.  The exhibit features a variety of recent Warhol-inspired pieces by artists such as Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, Jeff Koons, and Damien Hirst, celebrating the great pop artist’s deep influence on contemporary art. Curated by Eric Shiner, The Milton Fine Curator of Art at The Andy Warhol Museum, the exhibit also features some of Warhol’s most recognizable original artwork including “Marilyn” (1967), “Electric Chair” (1971), “Dollar Sign” (1981) and many more from the Alan Finkelstein Collection.

The Warholian exhibit is free and open to the public 10:00am to 6:00pm daily from Sept. 24, 2010 through Jan. 31, 2011.
_____________________________________________

Myra Melford (photo: Valerie Trucchia)

Mon. Oct. 4, 7:00 – 11:00pm -

Angel City Jazz Festival

This benefit for Angel City Arts features an ensemble led by pianist Myra Melford, with Mark Dresser, Stomu Takeishi and Alex Cline, acclaimed Japanese Butoh dancer Oguri, and Chef Paul Canales of Oliveto Restaurant. Guests are invited to enjoy food inspired by the music, which is simultaneously interpreted in dance.

A four-course meal will be served during the performance. There will also be an art auction with proceeds donated to Angel City Arts.

More info at www.angelcityjazz.com.

Tickets $65 per person, available at: www.brownpapertickets.com/producerevent/121612?prod_id=22581
_____________________________________________

MTKJ Quartet (photo: Paul Kikuchi)

Tue. Nov. 2, 8:00 – 10:30pm -

Jazz performance by MTKJ Quartet

MTKJ Quartet is Jason Mears on saxophones/clarinet, Kris Tiner on trumpets/flugelhorn, Paul Kikuchi on drums/percussion, and Ivan Johnson on contrabass.

www.emptycagequartet.com

Tapas menu will be available.

General admission is $10

$5 for students
at the door

_____________________________________________

For Nighttime at Royal/T calendar of events, see: www.royal-t.org/about/news/.

Menu
Tapas: For most evening events, when a guest chef is not reigning in the kitchen, Royal/T will feature the tapas menu.  Along with signature soju cocktails, specialty mimosas, wine, sake, and craft beer selections, Nighttime at Royal/T diners in the back lounge can choose from a selection of French-Japanese fusion tapas. Among the choices are Crispy Spicy Tuna topped with micro wasabi, Kobe Beef Sliders served three ways (Quail egg up, tomato chutney, and blue cheese & caramelized onions); Kurobuta Pork Belly with puréed taro and spicy rice noodles; and Sweet Potato Fries. Plate prices range from $4 to $10.

Sushi Pop Art Series: On Wednesdays and Thursdays, from Aug. 26 to Sept. 9, 6:00 – 10:00pm, the Royal/T café is hosting a special Sushi Pop Art series, a pop up dinner series featuring creations by artistic sushi luminary Chef Kenny Yamada (Hell’s Kitchen, Katsuya).  The Royal/T café will feature two prix fixe menus by reservation only ($45 and $90) during the series.  On these evenings, during Yamada’s tenure, the Nighttime at Royal/ T lounge menu will feature an à la carte selection from his Sushi Pop Art dishes for walk-in diners in the lounge.  For additional details on the Sushi Pop Art series and café reservations, see http://kennyyamada.com. Reservations are not required in the lounge.

About Royal/T
Located in Culver City’s Art District, 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 contemporary 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 emulates the collection’s sophistication, a seamless merging of Japanese pop culture and high-end design. Currently on display at Royal/T is the The Never Ending Story with works by an international group of artists working with the theme fairytales, and its contemporary expression, fantasy.  Starting Sept. 24, the Warholian exhibit features photos, film, portraits and objects by and inspired by Andy Warhol.

Susan Hancock, Owner
Susan Hancock opened Royal/T in the gallery district of Culver City in April 2008.  A philanthropist and avid art collector, Hancock is a member of the Director’s Circle at LACMA and serves as a member of MOCA Partners at LA’s MOCA Contemporary. Outside Los Angeles, Hancock serves as a member of the International Collector’s Circle at MOCA Miami and serves on the Producer’s Council at New York’s New Museum. She has previously served on the International Director’s Council for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and on the Board of Trustees at the Independent Curators International. For five years, she has served on the Acquisition Committee for Painting and Sculpture at the Whitney, and has supported various museum shows such as “Little Boy” curated by Murakami at the Japan Society in New York.

The Susan Hancock Collection
Susan Hancock’s collection of contemporary Japanese art includes works by Chiho Aoshima, Chinatsu Ban, Yayoi Deki, Mitsuhiro Ikeda, Izumi Kato, Hideaki Kawashima, Mahomi Kunikata, Yayoi Kusama, Mr., Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, Mitsuhiro Okamoto, Aya Takano, Yuken Teruya, and Keisuke Yamamoto. Other artists represented in her collection include Ghada Amer, Stephan Balkenhol, Louise Bourgeois, Cecily Brown, Tracy Emin, Tom Friedman, Mark Grotjahn, Jim Hodges, Mike Kelley, Chris Ofili, Elizabeth Peyton, Richard Prince, Wilhelm Sasnal, Fred Tomaselli, Piotr Uklanski, and Lisa Yuskavage.

#             #            #

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 piano painted by Kenny Scharf (photo credit: Amanda Brooks)

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.

# # #

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

For Immediate Release:  May 6, 2010

Overtone Industries Invites the Public to
Extensive Community Arts Project
“Songs & Dances Craftacular Weekend Workshops”
Eco-Friendly Collaborations to Create Props & Costumes
From Recycled Materials for Upcoming Contemporary Opera
Songs & Dances of Imaginary Lands
Weekends in Culver City through June 20, 2010

LOS ANGELES, CA – Overtone Industries is engaged in a massive community arts project, currently underway, to create props and costumes from recycled materials for their July site-specific contemporary opera, Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands directed by O-Lan Jones. In May and June, creative volunteers are invited to Overtone’s “Songs & Dances Craftacular Weekend Workshops,” a series of free public art workshops where donated recyclables are being transformed into sets and costumes for the innovative music theater production. Overtone Industries is looking for crafters, artists, knitters, and the general public of all ages to collaborate on the project by participating in the art-making process via the community workshops. Workshops are being held Saturdays and Sundays, 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., through June 20, 2010 at the Songs & Dances Warehouse, 8840 Washington Street, Culver City, CA 90232 (with the exception of Sunday May, 9, 2010 – there will be no workshop on that date). Free lot parking is available on site. Children must be accompanied by an adult. RSVP is requested, but not required, at songdancesworkshop.eventbrite.com/?ref=ecal. All levels of experience, from beginners to professionals, are encouraged to drop by for the fun. Additional community art workshop and recycling program details are at www.overtoneindustries.org/sdworkshops.php. For questions, please call 323-655-2410 during business hours, Monday through Friday.

Under the artistic direction of Costume and Scenic Designer Snezana Petrovic, with the support of Vibrant Production Management, a vacant 25,000-square-foot Culver City car dealership is being transformed into an adventurous performance space. Through the creation of 21 art installations of the titular imaginary lands, each dramatically different from one another, and wild, native costumes of invented cultures, volunteers will help set the stage for this epic music and dance extravaganza. Participants will create props, textures, and aspects of the sets and costumes for the production while also learning new art-making techniques. Local residents, nonprofit groups, service organizations, and senior centers are expected to take part.

“The community is an essential ingredient to the creation of these lands; everyone’s experience will be literally glued, twisted, and knitted into the environments we create together,” says Director O-Lan Jones, “This collaboration is a metaphor for the existential point of the opera — in other words, we all make the world that we live in together.”

The public can participate in two ways:
-  donate recyclables to the project
-  join in at the community art workshops to create the sets, props & costumes

Recyclables can be dropped off at the Songs and Dances Warehouse on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 12noon through June 20, 2010. Overtone Industries is specifically looking for donations of plastic bottles, newspapers, corrugated cardboard, plastic shopping bags, catalogs, junk mail, magazines, can tabs, bottle caps, clean white socks, packaging peanuts, and CDs. For details, see: www.overtoneindustries.org/files/sdrecyclingprogramflyer.pdf

“Songs & Dances Craftacular Weekend Workshops”
Recycle Drop-Off & Art-Making Schedule:

• 11:00 a.m. – 12:00noon – drop off recyclables
• 12:30 – 4:30 p.m. – workshops

~workshop focus/featured materials noted~

Sat. 5/08/10 (Combination)
Sat. 5/15/10 (Combination)
Sun. 5/16/10 (Cardboard)
Sat. 5/22/10 (Plastic Water Bottles)
Sun. 5/23/10 (Plastic Water Bottles)
Sat. 5/29/10 (Metal & Aluminum)
Sun. 5/30/10 (Metal & Aluminum)
Sat. 6/05/10 (Paper Mache)
Sun. 6/06/10 (Paper Mache)
Sat. 6/12/10 (Assembling)
Sun. 6/13/10 (Assembling)
Sat. 6/19/10 (Assembling)
Sun. 6/20/10 (Assembling)

“Songs & Dances Craftacular Weekend Workshops” Video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH-pVrkd4co
(video credit: Halldor Enard)

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. The development of this production has been supported by The Annenberg Foundation since 2006. Overtone Industries also receives support from The Ahmanson Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and The National Endowment for the Arts.

Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands
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 two weeks of performances opening Thursday, July 8, 2010. Billed as a contemporary opera, the genre-bending production integrates art installation, dance, voice, live and recorded music, projected video, costuming, community participation, and theater. Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands was conceptualized by Jones in an extensive collaboration that involves twenty one librettists, eleven composers, Costume and Scenic Designer Petrovic, Musical Director David O, and many others. The performances will run from Thursday, July 8 to Sunday, July 18, 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 start at $25 and go on sale in May on Overtone’s site at www.overtoneindustries.org.

Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands takes the audience on a journey with working class Tom and aristocratic Sue, who have lost their identities. The couple reclaims their story by means of a device that allows them to inhabit the “lands” that hold the pivotal experiences of their lives embodied in songs, dances, pledges of allegiance, and rituals indigenous to those turning points.

“Sounds heavy, but the show is a blast,” says Producer Scott Cargle, “It’s a large-scale extravaganza full of colorful art, an amazing array of music, wild costumes, and innovative choreography – but with a profound story as well.”

O-Lan Jones, Director and Co-Choreographer
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.”

Scott Cargle, Producer
Scott Cargle has been an actor, writer, director, and producer for decades. He was the founder and artistic director of The Shakespeare Project in New York City, where he presented 11 seasons of free outdoor productions in parks and public spaces for more than 40,000 people. He produced two annual Play Outside! Festivals of Free Outdoor Theater, with more than 20 theater companies and performance artists presenting 120 shows in 30 parks, all in the course of 21 days. He served on funding panels for the New York Times Foundation, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, City of LA Department of Cultural Affairs, NY Foundation for the Arts and many others. He teaches seminars on fundraising, grant writing, nonprofit business planning, and project development at the Center for Nonprofit Management and CalArts.

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 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.

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 and production crews 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.

Vibrant Production Management
Vibrant Production Management works with artists of various disciplines to create and manage original, vivid artistic experiences. Vibrant offers comprehensive production services from concept to completion. Beginning with a shared vision or need, the firm assembles teams of artists and managers to provide energy and movement to a project. The firm handles logistics, allowing the artistic product to be presented as high-quality, seamless entertainment. Recent projects include: Ecosystems Gala at California Science Center, Meet Me @ Metro for Watts Village Theater Company, Shakespeare by the Sea’s 13th season and ensemble strategic planning for Impro Theatre.  Vibrant Production Management is a partnership between Sara Adelman and Michelle Magaldi. Adelman and Magaldi are experienced producers and managers of live events working in and around Los Angeles for over a decade as independent contractors and employees of award-winning arts organizations.

“This is not just an opera. It’s an event,” says Cargle in summing up Songs & Dances of Imaginary Lands, “It asks the artists and the audience to reconsider: What is theater? What is opera? Where does it happen? What does it look like? Who makes it happen?”

#               #              #

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