The Solo Workshop
"Significant Others" A Collection of Solo Performance Events

Five artists from creative writing, dance, film, music, and visual art premiere the culmination of The Solo Workshop’s most recent multidisciplinary and collaborative investigation into the solo mode. The audience will be treated to a unique experiential blend of artistic forms and styles as the evening tests and redefines solo performance.

Artists include Paul Besaw (dance), Deb Ellis (film), Major Jackson (creative writing), Patricia Julien (music), and Erin Sweeney (visual art).

Using elements of dance and theatre, Besaw’s nonlinear new work explores how our relationships define home, and what happens to that home when our most long-term, intimate relationships dissolve. Drawing from a swashbuckling cross-cultural array of spells, amulets, film, and glitter, Ellis creates a multi-screen video installation to probe the possibility of extending a protective shield to individuals afflicted with "dumb luck." Jackson’s short, experimental dialogue presents lyric monologues set against physical action and projected images, depicting discord between husband and wife. Julien experiments with the pop ballad genre in telling the story of a woman who lost her partner in a terrible car accident while he was taking his usual Sunday bike ride on a bright, warm day. Through the mixing of video and objects, Sweeney’s work considers the processes and concepts of building: the use of our hands, the stories that we all have to tell, and the places we keep them.

The evening will feature performances by Clare Byrne, Amber deLaurentis, Jason Lambert, Abby Paige and technical direction/design by Stefan Jacobs.