JANUARY 2010’S FEATURED ARTISTS AND PROJECTS

Whit MacLaughlin / New Paradise Laboratories
(FATEBOOK, 2009)
Dare to take a peek inside the brain of Whit MacLaughlin, the Artistic Director of New Paradise Laboratories and mastermind behind 2009’s FATEBOOK. FREEDOM CLUB (in collaboration with The Riot Group); MORT (the third part of NPL’s American Party trilogy preceded by BATCH and PROM); and his newest idea, F@#CK COMPUTERS. For more advance details on the new works, click here.

Miro Dance Theatre
Amanda Miller and Tobin Rothlein of Miro Dance Theatre will be showing a slideshow of their recent trip to India where they performed their newest work, How am I Not Myself?
In the work, two classically trained dancers, one in Ballet and the other Bharatnatyam, examine the questions that come with dance, identity, and moving beyond the classical form. At the age of four Amanda Miller and Viji Rao began their classical training on opposite sides of the world. Now, thirty years later, following professional classical careers, they are both engaged in their own unique forms of contemporary dance. In How am I Not Myself? they join with video artist Tobin Rothlein to look at their transition from classical to contemporary with an exciting dialogue of movement and multimedia and a celebration of the contemporary and the unclassifiable.

Makoto Hirano and Ben Camp
Ben Camp and Makoto Hirano will be showing a few scenes that may or may not make it into their upcoming work, PunchKapow. PunchKapow is an original devised piece in development by Ben, Alex Torra, Makoto, Charlotte Ford, Mikaal Sulaimon, and Brett Cassidy. The piece is inspired by representations of violence and how much fun they can be – comic books, action movies, video games, and anime. People love violence, and we want to dive into the joy of fighting as much as the darkness. This piece is the first for an organization called Team Sunshine Performance Corporation, and will priemere in November.

WHERE AND WHEN


January 14, 2010 at 7pm


The Festival Studio

919 N 5th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19123

FREE (but limited) onsite parking + street parking abounds in the neighborhood


Cost: FREE

WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT


On the second Thursday of each month, artists from the Live Arts Festival artist residency program or a guest artist from the region talk about their work process and share their musings, imaginings and ideas that are the inspiration for what will eventually evolve into a new work.
They’ll be casual, intimate gatherings, so anything goes. The artists may perform segments of new work, tell stories about their un-traditional research, or just discuss what they’re currently imagining for their upcoming piece. Your questions and feedback for them throughout the event are warmly welcomed. In traditional Festival-style, free beer will be offered to all!

JANUARY’S PRE-SERIES BONUS EVENT


For this month’s Second Thursdays Series, you’ll enter the Festival studio through AREA 919’s gallery space. Between 6pm and 7pm, visit AREA 919 for a glass of wine and their Antique Collection of 18th and 19th Century works in stone, marble, iron, and wood from Europe, India, China, and America. For more information: www.area919.com