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Dance Theater Workshop presents world premiere of FIREFALL by John Jesurun. Feb 4-7, New York City

by Sarah Hart
February 4, 2009
Dance Theatre Workshop
219 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011
212-924-0077
Dance Theater Workshop
presents
the world premiere of
FIREFALL
by
John Jesurun
FEBRUARY 4 - 7at 7:30pm

New York, NY, December 4, 2008 - John Jesurun's work has been described by the Village Voice as "visionary new theater" that "swoops into your mind." FIREFALL, his new multi-disciplinary production presented by Dance Theater Workshop, is no exception. The project exists in several linked dimensions: a central governing website, live performance, altered video stream. In this environment, the cast attempts to maintain a script that keeps breaking down. As seven performers access and contribute live web interventions, the constantly evolving site becomes a character in itself. Multi-tasking "drama" unfolds as the performers and technicians struggle against being consumed by the expanding form they are creating.
"Jesurun's obsession with seeing….and his method of masterminding the audience's field of vision are the essential keys to the quiet hysteria his work generates." - Artforum International

FIREFALL is written, directed and designed by John Jesurun and features Alex Anfanger, Rachel Bell, Claire Buckingham, Ben Forster, Kyle Griffiths, Stephanie Austin Green, Ray Roy, and Chris Wendelken, with Lighting by Jeff Nash, and Technical Design by Ray Roy.

Performances will take place at Dance Theater Workshop in the Bessie Schönberg Theater, February 4-7 (Wednesday - Saturday) at 7:30pm. There will also be a Post-show Talk with Juliette Mapp on February 4 (Wednesday). Tickets are $26 ($15 for members, seniors, and students) and are available online at dancetheaterworkshop.org, over the phone at 212.924.0077, and in person at the box office. Dance Theater Workshop is located at 219 West 19th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues.

About the Artist
John Jesurun is a playwright, director, and designer living in New York. His presentations integrate elements of language, film, architectural space, and media. His exploded narratives cover a wide range of themes and explore the relation of form to content. They challenge the experience of verbal, visual and intangible perceptions. His work is distinguished by his integrated creation of the text, direction, set, and media design.

1972 - B.F.A. Philadelphia College of Art, 1974 - M.F.A. in Sculpture from Yale University,1976-79 -Television Content Analyst for CBS. 1979-82 - Assistant to producer/ Dick Cavett Show, producing shows on Odetta, John and Mackenzie Phillips, John Hammond Sr. and Tito Puente.

He began in 1982 at the Pyramid Club with his groundbreaking serial play CHANG IN A VOID MOON, now in its 60th episode. (New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award). Since 1984 he has written, directed, and designed over 25 pieces including: the media trilogy of DEEP SLEEP (1986 Obie), WHITE WATER and BLACK MARIA , NUMBER MINUS ONE, RED HOUSE, SHATTERHAND MASSACREE, EVERYTHING THAT RISES MUST CONVERGE, SLIGHT RETURN,FAUST/HOW I ROSE, SEPTET and SNOW. His company has toured extensively in Europe and the United States. His work has been produced and presented by numerous venues including La Mama, the Kitchen, the Walker Arts Center, On the Boards, Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Wexner Center, Prater Theater, National Theater of Mexico, Berliner Festspielhaus, Mickery Theater, Zagreb, Vienna Festival, Kyoto Performing Arts Center and Spoleto USA.

His short films have been shown at festivals and alternative spaces in Europe and the US. He is the recipient of numerous grants including: Rockefeller, Guggenheim, NEA, Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, Asian Cultural Council and MacArthur Fellowships. He has taught theater at Goethe University/ Frankfurt, Justus Liebig University/ Giessen, DASARTS/Amsterdam, New York University, Tokyo University, Kyoto University of Art and Design, The New School, Bard College. He has worked with various artists including Molissa Fenley, Steve Buscemi, Christian Marclay, John Kelly, Hideo Kanze, Neil Greenberg, Rebecca Moore, David Cale, René Pollesch, Fiona Templeton, Frank Maya, Martin Acosta, Jeff Buckley, Barbez and Ron Vawter. His work is published by Performing Arts Journal, Ediciones El Milagro, Theater Communications Group, Sun and Moon Press, Yale Theater Magazine, Index , 2Wice, Felix. Recent productions include: PHILOKTETES- Soho Rep.Direction/Design for Harry Partch's opera DELUSION OF THE FURY, Japan Society, PHILOKTETES at LATC. Future projects include two separate collections of Jesurun's work published by Performing Arts Journal and No Passport Press. His PHILOKTETES continues to run through March at Teatro Experimental in Guadalajara,Mexico. CHANG GUIDE - an annotated synopsis guide to the 60 episodes/25 years of CHANG IN A VOID MOON.

FIREFALL is commissioned by Dance Theater Workshop's commissioning and creative residency program with support from the Jerome Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Jerome Robins Foundation and Franklin Furnace Funds Future of the Present program. This presentation is made possible, in part, by the generous support of Judy and Steven Gluckstern through the David R. White Producers Circle.

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