Closing night of Landless' Mashup Festival

Another closing, another show...

It won't kick in until the following week, or the week after, but at some point I'll remember how this craft has socially and emotionally lobotomized performers to accept the complete disconnect for what can be very tight-knit community, in order to be ready to move on the the next one.

All that being said, this has truly been a unique and fun experience, and gave me an opportunity to play roles that have probably been the most challenging I've ever played, that of Black Girl in Gleam (a mashup of Glee & Scream) and Casey, a gay porn bottom, in TarXXXanadu...I don't think I need to explain that one.

And thus ended my premiere performance(s) with Landless Theatre Company, an organization I hope to work with more in the future.

In my ever ending quest to do work to get my non-theatre friends to come out and see live performances, I continue to make headway, although not as much as I would like.

And so I turn back to the eternal question that seems to stump me in most endeavors...how do you get people to care enough just to show up?

Yes, it's more of a rhetorical question, but if the friends that did make it out are any indicator, then I'm making progress.  That's part of the reason I was really looking forward to working with Landless, because that's what they're about:

"Landless Theatre Company is committed to infusing vitality into the D.C. Arts by producing exciting and accessible alternative theatre to generate new and diverse audiences"

I love it!!

And so I go further down the DC performing arts rabbit hole :-)

- J Street Jr

Landless Theatre Company - Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Reviews:

• Brightest Young Things
• DC Theatre Scene

Letter to Obama at Busboys & Poets

Now I had never choreographed a solo piece for myself professionally. Other than solos for two dancers of mine (one for the annual high school dance concert, another for an audition to get into a college dance program) the only other time I'd choreographed solos was back in undergrad at UMD (for Choreography I).

Anyway, I was actually approached to create a piece for this event from Holly Bass, the host, and turned it down, but this was when the event was originally scheduled to happen in January.

The universe has a funny way of making things work out, sometimes.

For whatever reason, Letter to Obama, a collaborative piece of artistic citizenship developed and executed by Liz Andrews, was rescheduled. I was asked again, and I said yes.

The thought for my work was to create a piece of movement to Obama's spoken word.  And as the day drew closer, I was drawn more and more to Will.I.Am's Yes We Can.  It was a process unlike any I had done before in creating a dance, which was refreshing.  I didn't sweat the details, and while it told a story, it was still wide open to interpretation.

Part of the journey, was revealed as I literally revealed layers.  I started out the piece in a graduation gown, which when removed showed a shirt saying Filipino American (a bit of swag I got from the tour of The Debut), and under this was simply a navy blue sleeveless shirt that had U.S.A. on it.

Before the reveal of the second shirt, I actually turn around holding one of many Washington Post issues that I saved from Obama's first hundred days or so (including the 100 Days one).  The one I held up was the Outlook section from November 30, 2008, with the two headliners, I'm Not Post-Racial and He's Not Black. It spoke to my own identity and path growing up as a mixed person.

Anyway, this article was the first of many Washington Post pieces from mostly early 2009, post-inauguration, I share in the piece.  But why?

I don't know, honestly...it just felt right, the sharing of information, the reminder of what the news was barely two years ago, and inadvertently the feelings we had at such a historic time.  I can't even really tell you what the audience got from it, or from the rest of the dance...but from the look in their eyes as I scanned the room at the end of the solo, making sure to make eye contact, with a hopeful smile on my face, with each person...well I just knew that everyone got something.

And I, through the invitation of Liz Andrews and Holly Bass, got to do something artistically that I couldn't have imagined on my own.  That is one of the reasons I love living in DC, as an artist, and particularly a performer.  The possibilities are numerous, and they will surprise you. :-)

- J Street Jr


Related Links

• Holly Bass - Twitter
• Busboys & Poets - Facebook | Twitter

The Art of Justice: A Courtroom Scene

While cameras aren't allowed, a visual artist of other mediums is.

I suppose it is less intrusive, but it's also a little more nuanced than taking a strict photo, which is exactly what the lens sees, a moment copied and pasted to its memory card, and reproduced pixel by pixel. A visual piece...well, I could only image (not being a visual artist myself), that it captures much more than a moment.

The artist at the trial?

William J. Hennessy Jr.  You can check out his website, www.courtroomart.com.

I tried, in vain, to explain why I, sitting on the defendant's side of the courtroom, was intrigued at the role, his role, of an artist in this system. I managed to get out the fact that I was an arts administrator, and quickly realized that I should just cut short my losses, and let him get on with his work, while the memories and images were still fresh.

I suppose, as personal and emotional as trials can, the visual artist plays a role that a photographer can't, specifically because of the product they produce.

At its core, unless you're going for complete realism, maybe there isn't the sense of a breach of privacy when one see his or her likeness in pastel (or other medium of choice), versus a picture.  I don't know, maybe there are other reasons, but at the end it doesn't seem as...well, I can't think of another word: as intrusive as an actual photograph might. That's my own take on it, anyway.

Maybe actual courtroom artists can speak to how they view their role, their work, and how it differs from that of photography, on any level.

The frustrating thing was, his presence was a reminder that I now have this arts management lens on (thank you AU) that, even in dealing with an ongoing, personal tragedy, will never come off. Or maybe it's a good thing in that the path I'm going down in my life is relevant in ways I couldn't imagine.

Either way, it only makes me hope that the artist can forgive me for interrupting his process.

- J Street Jr

White House Conference Call on Arts Funding

This was pretty neat, just one of those things that reminds me that maybe I am in fact in the right places at the right times.

Our ED at Class Acts Arts, unfortunately couldn't make the call, but forwarded it to me.  And who was spearheading this campaign to assuage the concerns of Arts Mangers?

Kalpen Modi!!

That's right, in case you forgot or just didn't know, he's the Associate Director of The White House's Office of Public Engagement. In this position, he serves as liaison to Young Americans, the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, and the Arts.

Now, I won't go into detail about the call, particularly because it was not for news purposes, and being a lowly blogger, still not quite sure how I fit into the scheme of things.

I will say two things.

First, I was surprised that only a couple of individuals...literally, responded with thoughts and concerns towards the end of the call. Which, I guess, is fine.  A conference call is not really the forum for in depth discussion, and that wasn't the purpose of this one anyway, but it did make me wonder how many were actually on the call.  I mean, I'm sure this must be standard procedure when any budget issue could adversely impact a sector or industry, but I couldn't help but pique my curiosity as to how many people actually called in, if only two had anything to say.

If we can't even show up on a telephone line when offered the opportunity, then how likely are those in positions of decision making going to look past that when we are present just because we need something. And that doesn't just go with the arts, that probably applies to just about anything in life.

The second thing? I almost regret not chiming in when they asked to make sure if anyone else had any questions, because something that came up in grad school, particularly in our Cultural Policy class, would be the fact that the National Endowment for the Arts...well, it's not an endowment.

But that's a topic for a much larger discussion...

- J Street Jr

Student came and saw my show tonight

So just a little anecdote: a current student came and saw my show tonight.

The neat thing was one of my cast mates, upon hearing this, said that she thought it was pretty cool for the student, to be able to see their teacher outside of a school setting, performing on stage.

And for me, it just reinforced something I've believe since undergrad at maryland, thanks to a very awesome conversation with several of my teachers.

Over the course of the conversation, they asked me questions which encouraged me to really think about what I wanted to do with my life. One of them shared his own believe, that in order to truly excel as an artist, one had to not only perform, but to teach, and continue to be taught as well.

This recent experience just reconfirmed that, and reinforces my feelings against the misconception that "those who cannot do, they teach". I don't know where it came from, and I don't know why it seems to be particular to the arts world, but I would think that in most other sectors, you're learning from people who are still active and engaged in their field. Sure, some teach when they retire, but...I don't know.

I obviously don't have any statistical data to show, but it just made me happy that at least one of my students saw this connection, this side of the performing arts, which I in turn pass on to her.

Artspace Wash DC Hardhat Tour

Stoked!!

After going on a hardhat tour of Artspace Wash DC, a 41 unit live-work space which is under construction near Dance Place, that's the one word that pretty much sums it all up. Also, the several tours that were offered were filled up and had a wait list by the beginning of this week.

Tall ceilings, soundproofing between floors and rooms, parking garage, and a studio on the 1st floor...who could ask for anything more?

And it was great running into some familiar faces, among which was another artist friend, William. With a wife and kid, he expressed that this would be the perfect environment for him and his partner to really be able to get back to their art as well as take care of their family.

Talking to another acquaintance, she mentioned that it might feel a bit like a college dorm, to which I offered that at least this time, we'd all have a better idea of what we want to do with our lives, and what it takes to do it, which is where housing options like this come into play.

*crossing my fingers* to get in, but also hoping that everyone who is interested and eligible applies.  I feel like great things are going to happen in this building and I could only hope to be a part of that whether I actually live there or not.

You can check out more info at their site, and on their Facebook Page.

- J Street Jr :-)

Maryland Arts Day 2011

So today our Executive Director at Class Acts Arts invited me to accompany her to Maryland Arts Day 2011. If you're on twitter, just do a search for #MAD2011.

The day was organized by Maryland Citizens for the Arts and attended by a variety of artists, arts administrators, and arts supporters.

My only previous experience with Arts Advocacy had been with the national arts advocacy day organized by Americans for the Arts. I technically served for a brief term on the Steering Committee of the DC Advocates for the Arts, but I don't count that for various reasons which I won't delve into now.

Suffice it to say, it was interesting to see arts advocacy working on a state level.  And while I am not a MD resident, the work I do with CAA serves the constituents of MD representatives, so my presence felt justified.

Arts Advocates with
Representative Lee, District 16

And it was great seeing the MD arts organization I'd been involved with or just recently come across represented in such force.

My long-time mentor, Michael Bobbitt (Artistic Director of Adventure Theatre) was there. Suzan Jenkins of the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County was present. She had been my instructor for a class on Art, Community & Diversity, while in AU's Arts Management program.

And other individuals I've had somewhat more fleeting encounters with, but hope to talk with more in the future, were there. These individuals included Kelly Prestei with the American Alliance for Theatre & Education, whom I met during a training session for #MAD2011 recently, and Angella Foster who is Artistic Director of Alight Dance Theater, whom I performed with 2 1/2 years ago in a David Dorfman piece at UMD's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. I had received my BA from the Dance program in '06, and she was working on her MFA. (actually, if you go to the BA link, I'm in the clip that's playing...).

Anyway, I digress. It was a pretty neat day.

- J Street Jr



And if you'd like to follow any of the organizations I mentioned above on Facebook or Twitter, here is a link to their respective pages:

Adventure Theatre - Facebook | Twitter
Alight Dance Theater - Facebook | Twitter
American Alliance for Theatre & Education - Facebook | Twitter
Americans for the Arts - Facebook | Twitter
Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County - Facebook | Twitter
DC Advocates for the Arts - Facebook
Maryland Citizens for the Arts - Facebook | Twitter