Justin Jones the SCREEN / the THING & RadioBrain Plays Southern Theatre 6/11-14

2007 McKnight fellow and 2008 City Pages "Artist of the Year," Justin Jones' choreography has been described by critics as "flawlessly articulate, innovative and surprisingly subtle." For this compelling night of dance, Jones looks out to the vastness of the universe and in to the cosmos of the human brain. the SCREEN / the THING, a highlight of the 2007 Momentum series, was created in response to the captivating and bizarre worlds of cosmology, quantum mechanics and string theory. Jones' new solo work RadioBrain reveals the strangeness of observation and the transformative power of imaginative attention. Produced in collaboration with sound and performing artist Elliott Durko Lynch, it features a live sound-score for theremin, cello, audio describer and computer.

Show times: June 11-14, 2009
Thurs. at 7:30pm, Fri. & Sat. at 8pm, Sun. at 7pm
Pre-show talk June 12 at 6pm
Master class: company workshop June 13 at 10:30am
Post-show discussion Sat. June 13

Tickets: $18, June 11, 2009 pay-as-able

Southern Theater box office: 612.340.1725, www.southerntheater.org

1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55454

Notes on the work, by Justin Jones

Intent

With both pieces, my intent is to invite The Audience to consider how they are watching what they are watching. I ask them to think and imagine in tandem with the choreography. Each piece is created in response to a gamut of different sources both scientific and fictional. Though I have created with these sources in mind and have let my questions about them lead me through each process, I don't intend for The Audience to feel obligated to extrude the meaning of those sources from the work. Rather, I intend the dancing to speak for itself and for its physical resonances to speak directly to The Audience. Each of these works deal with questions about the structure of the universe, above and within. Each work, physically and sonically, expresses my questions and feelings about the subjects at hand - I hope that The Audience will leave the theater with their own questions as well - perhaps with a sense that the world around them is bigger and more mysterious as it was when the lights went down.

Artistic Development

I have a keen interest in sound design and the physical nature of sound. In making RadioBrain, Elliott Lynch and I have focused almost exclusively on finding ways to create sound through physical action - linking the choreography with the resultant sound. Also, RadioBrain has been developed through a series of improvisational practices. This is new to me and I am thrilled with the results.

Motivation

This show is my first solo-show at the Southern and I am motivated by my desire to create evening of work that will keep an audience engaged, provoked and entertained. I am very excited to remount the SCREEN / the THING, as it is one of my favorite works. There are things about it that I am itching to rework and I can't wait to see the amazing group of dancers I have the privilege to work with dance it again.

Justin Jones is a Minneapolis based choreographer, sound designer and dancer. His choreography has been seen in Minneapolis at Bryant Lake Bowl, Patrick's Cabaret, Red Eye and the Southern Theater; in New York at CBGB's, Galpagos Arts Space, The Gershwin Hotel, The Knitting Factory, The Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater @ Symphony Space, LaMama Etc., Sarah Lawrence University, The Theater at the Riverside Church and Ur; and in Seattle at Velocity Dance Center. Justin creates sound design for his own choreography and for other theater and dance makers including Ivy Baldwin, Genevieve Bennett, Chris Schlichting and Chris Yon. He has performed in the choreography of Tere O'Connor, Nick Leichter, Morgan Thorson, Kara Tatelbaum, Billy Siegenfeld, Chris Schlichting and Robin Lakes. Jones was named a City Pages "Artist of the Year" in 2008 and was a 2007 McKnight Foundation Choreography Fellow. He was also a 2003 NYFA Fellow for his work with long time collaborator Chris Yon holds and he holds BFA in Dance from New York University Tisch School of the Arts.

Elliott Durko Lynch is a performing artist, visual and media artist for live performance with a Theatre Arts degree from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. As a performing artist in 2006 he presented the full evening length performance work FOR YOUR EYES ONLY as the outcome of the Intermedia Arts/Jerome Foundation Naked Stages program and has performed in various capacities for Anna Marie Shogren, Hannah Kramer, Chris Schlicting, Body Cartography, Andy Sturdevant, Justin Jones, Sara Shaylie and Morgan Thorson & Co. He continues to develop his own solo work. 

Lynch produces sound and video as standalone work, as elements in his own performance works, as well as electroacoustic scoring and design. He has collaborated with multiple live artists in the Twin Cities in various capacities from theatrical video elements to live sound scoring for dance to theatrical sound design. In 2007 he developed video and sound for Skewed Visions' Strange Love (winner of City Pages' Outstanding Set/Design for 2007), and was co-recipient of the Electric Eyes Commission for New Media Performance at the Southern Theater. He also developed a four-channel live electroacoustic score for choreographer Justin Jones' the SCREEN / the THING co-presented by the Walker Art Center and Southern Theater's Momentum series, July 2007. Other projects include scoring for choreographer Joanna Furnans, theatrical design for Interact Theater Company and The Radio Allstars Radioshow pilot, sound for Patrick Scully, and theater company Players of Notorious Temerity.

Lynch recently received a Sage Award nomination in 2008 for Outstanding Design for work with Skewed Visions Jasper Johns; Grey (June 2008), choreographer Chris Schlicting's Walker Art Center/Southern Theater Momentum Series 2008 co-commission love things (July 2008), and Joanna Furnans' I'm glad I finally beat you Queereographers' Evening (May 2008).

Elliott is currently working on a final iteration of The Historic New York Artists' Lofts and Residencies + Hotel! and Morgan Thorsons' Heaven (Walker Art Center 2010).

Southern Theater mission and artistic statement

The Southern Theater cultivates artistic exploration by providing a vibrant home for performance, fostering a multiplicity of voices and catalyzing connections among artists and audience.

The Southern presents and produces performance characterized by innovation and originality. We value connections to the local community and celebrate artwork that holds potential for transformative exchange. On stage, we are unyielding in our commitment to the highest levels of professionalism and artistic integrity.

For more information on the Southern, please visit www.southerntheater.org or call 612.340.0155.