SPAN is PS122’s annual discussion series based around theory and practice, the role of criticism and collaborative relationship forming within the ecosystem of the New York City performance industry. The two events of SPAN 2015 will be an Open Space and a Conversation/Mixer.
People from all industry backgrounds and walks of life are invited to participate, debate and relate to one another. Productive conversations are always fueled by libations – there will be plenty on hand.
Span 2015 is curated by Lucy Jackson.
Co-presented with The Invisible Dog Art Center
Jan 12 – 4pm
RSVP
Jan 17 – 3pm
RSVP
The Invisible Dog Art Center:
51 Bergen St., Brooklyn
FREE; Reservations Recommended
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Open Space is a collaborative conference that offers the power to the participants. That means that any question you have burning in your heart or digging away in the corner of your mind or can be opened up for debate, discussion and dissection by the hive-mind that is an open space conference.
Open Space is a process for supporting people to self-organize and collaborate around any question with opportunities for group discussions on topics proposed and curated by the attendees themselves. Participants are free to move between discussions, debating or spectating as they choose. Open Space as a constructive and inclusive platform was pioneered in the UK by the theater company Improbable. RSVP HERE.
Conversation/Mixer is a two-part event, opening with 20 Questions for a Good Conversation, question and answer session conducted by an unseen, absent curator between a small panel and an audience with provocations ranging from the concrete to the abstract. 20 Questions was created by the founders of Forest Fringe and opens the room up to new forms of artistic debate. The evening culminates with a good old-fashioned mixer with music and wine, fueled by new ideas, new friends and renewed energy.
RSVP HERE.
Jesse Cameron Alick is a poet, playwright, producer and Zen Master. Jesse works as Artistic Associate at the Public Theater. He is also a freelance journalist and essayist. Jesse studied writing with playwright Adrienne Kennedy and taught a theater course at Lewis and Clark College.
Noel Joseph Allain – Artistic Director of the Bushwick Starr
Noel is a New York based actor, educator, and theater producer. Noel is a graduate of Skidmore College and the Juilliard School, and has since performed in various theater, television, and film productions. As Artistic Director of the Bushwick Starr, he has presented over 60 companies in the last 6 years and served hundreds of artists. His curatorial track record is noteworthy, resulting in critically-acclaimed productions by emerging and established performance companies alike. Noel created the Starr’s educational outreach program, Big Green Theater, with Executive Director, Sue Kessler, which works with Bushwick 5th grade students every year to teach playwriting and environmental awareness.
Roberta Maia Pereira is a Tony-nominated Producer at Bisno Productions. Recent productions include the NY premiere of A Red Orchid Theater’s The Opponent at 59E59 Theaters; Tony-nominated Mothers and Sons by Terrence McNally, starring Tyne Daly; the revival of Annie on Broadway; the Olivier award-winning revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along in the West End; the Broadway premiere of Grace, starring Paul Rudd and Michael Shannon; and the Tony-winning smash hit War Horse (Broadway, Toronto and US tour). Roberta is Chair of the Board of Directors of nonprofit theater company Studio 42 and also Managing Editor of Dress Circle Publishing, the premier publisher of theater-themed books. A graduate of Yale School of Drama’s Theater Management program, Roberta is originally from Brazil and currently lives in New York City.
Helen Shaw writes about theater for Time Out New York magazine, and has contributed to Performing Arts Journal, the Village Voice, American Theater and TheatreForum. She also teaches theater studies at NYU, was twice curator of the Prelude Festival, and is working on a book about the diabolical genius of Mac Wellman.
Lauren Ree Slone received classical dance training from the Academy of Ballet Arts and Pinellas County Center for the Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida. While earning a B.A. in Religious Studies at West Virginia University, she worked archaeological digs in Israel with mentor Dr. Aaron Gale to uncover the first century CE layer of the biblical town Bethsaida. At the time, she was also on faculty at Morgantown Dance, where she created the only pre-professional training and performance mentorship program in North Central West Virginia. Her students have graduated from prestigious programs such as the School of American Ballet, and now perform with major dance companies across the country. Lauren went on to complete an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Florida State University. At FSU Lauren was a Teaching and MANCC Arts Administration Fellow (where she became a disciple of Jennifer Calienes’ artist-centric philosophy), studied Gaga technique in Israel with Ohad Naharin, received grants to conduct choreographic research in Spain and Paris that combined her interests in movement and comparative religious history, and performed in works by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Dan Wagoner, and Loren Davidson. She currently asserts her own live performances and written ideas into the public space, most recently at Ringling International Arts Festival in Sarasota, the Wassaic Art Festival, Ailey Citigroup Theater, Church of Saint Paul the Apostle in NYC, Movement Research at Judson Church, among others. Lauren is also thrilled to serve the field as MAP Fund’s Program Associate, and ferociously champions the production of other artists’ work through grant writing and project consulting. Beyond her consumption of live events, she loves teaching technique classes, the art of tattooing, graffiti, international pilgrimages, dead languages, vegan cuisine, and Chris Martin paintings.