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REDCAT Launches "NOW" Performance Festival

July 15-31
Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT)
Tickets: 213 237-2800

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Los Angeles, June 23, 2004 -- The Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) becomes a lively summer laboratory for performing artists next month as it presents the first annual New Original Works (NOW) Festival. Opening on July 15 and running through July 31, the performance festival offers three weekend programs that feature some of the most inventive artists working in Los Angeles.

Seven individual performing artists and collaborative teams were selected from more than 70 proposals to take part in the inaugural edition of the NOW Festival. Designed as a showcase for risk-taking work by emerging and mid-career performing artists, the festival embodies REDCAT's interdisciplinary mission by including a diverse blend of dance, theater, music and mixed media performances at various stages of development.

"There is a growing and thriving community of Los Angeles artists who have an important role to play in the evolution of the performing arts nationally and internationally," said Mark Murphy, executive director of REDCAT. "I hope that this festival serves a useful role in the development of their unique and vital voices."

Each program is performed on three successive evenings, opening on Thursday and concluding on Saturday. All performances begin at 8:30 p.m.

General admission to each program is $18 while tickets for students and seniors are $14 each. A single $35 ticket allows viewers to attend all three programs.

For tickets and additional information, visit redcat.org or call 213 237-2800.

The NOW Festival is made possible by support from the Maurer Family Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. This support allows REDCAT to provide honoraria, rehearsal space and technical support.

REDCAT is located in downtown Los Angeles on the northeast corner of W. 2nd St. and S. Hope St., inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex.

CalArts, the first U.S. higher educational institution to integrate the visual and performing arts under one roof, is recognized as the nation's leading laboratory for the arts. Housing six schools -- Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater -- CalArts embraces creative cross-pollination among diverse art forms and traditions, and strongly encourages each artist to pursue his or her vision within a broad context of social and cultural understanding.

REDCAT, an interdisciplinary arts center that allows Los Angeles audiences to follow the latest developments in the performing, visual and media arts from around the world, is a natural extension of CalArts' educational mission. Its programming features a wide-ranging array of interdisciplinary performances, music and dance concerts, multimedia performances, theater works, film and video screenings, readings and art exhibitions.

REDCAT inaugural season sponsors include Shamrock Holdings, KCRW, L.A. Weekly and The Standard Hotel, with additional media sponsorship provided by Los Angeles Downtown News.

Program Information

Program 1
July 15-17, 8:30 p.m.

Hassan Christopher and the Company of Strangers: Whispers

High velocity movement and an adventurous theatrical style mark the work of fast-rising choreographer Hassan Christopher, winner of a special Lester Horton Award for Innovation. Christopher and his ensemble, the Company of Strangers, perform Whispers, an intensely emotional and powerful work of dance theater.

Ken Roht's Orphean Circus: Last Resort

Provocative director, writer and performer Ken Roht teams up with imaginative composer Curtis Heard to create Last Resort, a hybrid chamber opera with a whimsical take on the end of the world. A talented cast of vocalists is blended with an eclectic ensemble of woodwinds, accordion, vibes and more for this rich music theater adventure.

Program 2
July 22-24, 8:30 p.m.

Maria Gillespie: Ordinary Unsung

With lush physicality and a poetic approach to theatrical structure, Maria Gillespie is quickly making a name for herself as a dance artist to watch. At once poignant and raw, this new work by Gillespie and her five-member company is enhanced by original music by String Theory composers Luke and Holly Rothschild.

Deborah Cohen

Accomplished choreographer Deborah Cohen teams up with artist Cheryl Walker and composer John Crigler for a multimedia event that blends innovative live video techniques with evocative movement. Through real-time projections, drawing and live music, this dynamic team of artists explores the concept of a human and technological landscape.

Cheng-Chieh Yu/Yu Dance Theater: Bowl Problems With precise and rich movement, this new quartet inspired by such varied sources as Chinese acrobats, random accidents, and "drunken tai chi" displays Yu's choreographic fondness for ritual and unrestrained physicality. Bowl Problems is at once carefully structured and wildly expressive.

Program 3
July 29-31, 8:30 p.m.

Lauren Weedman: Wreckage

With impeccable timing and rich characterizations, writer and solo performer Lauren Weedman weaves tales that are intensely funny and often profoundly moving. She brought her razor-sharp wit to her work as a correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but her true home is the stage, which she controls as few can.

My Barbarian: MB: The Mary Blair Story

The radically inventive trio of Alexandro Segade, Jade Gordon, and Malik Gaines create hilarious and provocative events by drawing on such diverse influences as glam-rock, club vaudeville, and Bertolt Brecht -- a hybrid they call "showcore." Their new work is a high-energy performance art fantasy inspired by Mary Blair, the influential Disney illustrator who helped to create such iconic characters as Peter Pan and Cinderella.

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