Curated by Wanda Gala/Presented by Chez Bushwick

January 7th, 2012 at 5PM
Center for Performance Research (CPR)
Tickets by $15 suggested donation (cash only at the door) or online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/217043

Bessie Award winning Layard Thompson, and Rebecca Patek present two consecutive evening length performances at Center for Performance Research in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

'Spelling Flashhhh Lightsssss', by Layard Thompson, is crafted spontaneity—a solo performance and sly theatric defined by verbal, phenomenal, and action oriented play. In this dance of light and language, Layard Thompson’s experimental questioning shifts forms through poetic libretto, performance portmanteau and musing clownish camp. Feint glimpses, enticing shadows, and the space imagined in the dark, shed light on potential shades of meaning. In a strong review titled “An Otherworldly Wildness This Way Comes”, Claudia La Rocco of The New York Times congratulates, “Here’s to dancers being heard, not just seen.”¬ With words, gesture, and raw expression darkly wrought, Spelling Flashhhh Lightsssss wickedly illuminates the potential subjectivity of staged meaning-making performance.

Layard Thompson is a performing artist working through the medium of voice, movement, elaborate costumes, sets and a performance process which calls into question a theatrical world of sensory experimentation.  layardthompson.com

'Resisdance', created and performed by Rebecca Patek explores the un-choreographed events in the performance environment that are experienced but not publicly acknowledged; inter-relational dynamics both onstage and between audience and performer, power dynamics, and emotional subtext. Patek is interested in these elements of performance which are frequently dismissed or considered wrong, awkward, and uncomfortable. This is an integral part of her work; to reveal the discomfort and embarrassment of the performer, and create situations onstage of emotional conflict which are funny and absurd, but also frightening or disturbing. She is continually exploring her limits as a performer, and also the cultural limits and limits within the art community, in terms of what is socially acceptable, what is “right or wrong”, aesthetically and personally.

Using satire to incorporate those marginalized facets of performance, they become the central focus of the work, which allows movement between sincerity and cynicism until the line between the two becomes blurred for audience and performer alike. Seeking to create active experiences for the audience in contrast to passive viewing, Patek subverts traditional notions of performance structure aiming to call into question assumptions and reflexive ways of perceiving. In these moments of disorientation and discomfort lies the opportunity for transformation. This is the ultimate goal of Patek's artistic work.

Rebecca Patek is a Brooklyn based choreographer and performance artist creating work that is a synthesis of dance, theater and comedy. Patek is currently a 2011-12 Artist in Residence at Movement Research. http://rebeccapatek.com/

Chez Bushwick, an artist-run organization based in Brooklyn, is dedicated to the advancement of interdisciplinary art and performance, with a strong focus on new choreography.

www.chezbushwick.net 

This program is supported by Mertz Gilmore Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Prospect Hill Foundation, and in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.