Tyrannosaurus Sex (and other truths) :: Ira Liss

20110603

Ira Liss is the director of communications for the ATLAS building, and a brilliant musician.  I have been close friends with him during my time at ATLAS and was very happy to find that he was given the opportunity to perform for all his friends and family.  Also, a number of my friends were heavily involved with the show.

I have always been a fan of Ira's music.  It is witty and rateable, and most importantly, entertaining.  It was also very nice to hear his normally solo piano playing accompanied by bass, guitar, drums, and saxophone/clarinet.  His show was comprised of his songs (including my favorite about an acorn... who wears a little hat) intermingled with short theatrical vignettes by Katie Cross and Graham Emmons (who has been involved with many of my previous productions), and very well choreographed segments by Katie Cross (the producer of UNA).

The story progresses through the concepts of a relationships, from childhood romances to teenage hormones to old age.  All the while, Cole Ingraham added Tyrannosaurus roars at amusingly appropriate times.  The flow was very smooth and the combination of dance, music, and images (taken by Ira himself) was very nice.

I was hoping to be more involved in this production, but my workload prevented me from being able to contribute :(  Regardless, I think that Ira did a fantastic job, and I was so happy to see and hear his vision come to fruition.  I'm very proud of him, Katie (choreography), and everyone involved in the production.  It was especially touching to hear Ira mention during the talk-back that this was, in fact, his dream come true.

Convergence III

2011.05.28



It's been called the "festival in a building." Get free body work, participate in salon discussions on various topics, sample local wine, see performances, dance all night long and meet new, interesting and beautiful people.

The Convergence is born from the conscious collaboration of a community.

Join us as we bring together shamans of the electronic arts, ancient technologies of embodiment and sophisticated salons of wisdom.


I was really lucky to be invited to VJ for this event. I've done a couple of gigs like this, but this was by far the biggest show I have done visuals for.  Also, there was a typo on the flyer... I normally go by iVVVj as my VJ name, and iEEEj as my DJ name, but vEEEj was printed on the flyer... I actually like this a lot more and have decided to keep this as my VJ name!

The night started off with shamanistic blessing of the space and African style dance and drumming... very Boulder. The night then kicked into full gear and there were workshops, salon style panels, and of course music all night long.  I met lots of new and interesting people and had a really great time providing visuals for the music the night.

Carnivals and Snowstorms

Better late than never...
20110429-30

I've had a hard time coming up a way to summarize the experience of working on this show.  That's not a bad or a good thing.  For over a year, I worked with Daniella Vinitski (a CU PhD. Theatre candidate) helping her to execute the technical aspects of her production Carnivals and Snowstorms.  I thoroughly enjoyed working with her and the team, and we executed a complex show with relatively small amount of rehearsal time within the Black Box Space.

The production played through four different scenes (I. Brilliant Silence, II. Carnival Barkers, III. Apotheosis, IV. Memory) carrying an avant-garde pacing, with multi-disciplinary collaboration throughout.  There were dancers, actors, music and a violinist with live audio processing, alongside a complicated curtain-rigged system juxtaposing a relatively simple set.  All in all, there were a few mixed reactions, but it was very well received.  I really enjoyed the outcome of the final show despite some last minute delays in production, and am proud to put my name alongside these fantastic artists.  In fact, it was one of the most pleasurable shows I've had to work on, as our run and production crew was extremely professional and creative (with a few exceptions, as always).  Videos below and more pictures here!

Shpongletron

201104
The Boulder Theater







So I'm pretty much over this acid-techno type of music, but I am still interested in seeing what these artists are doing visually as well as with their music.  Simon Posford is a world-famous DJ from the UK and tours under many monikers, such as Shpongle and Hallucinogen.

Shpongletron

Cirque Voltaire

20110422
The Meadowlark

So, While I have been focusing on the liminal space between the digital and analog world, I was asked to VJ for Narwhal Birdskull, my friend Maximilian Shiffman's metal band.  The event was called Cirque Voltaire and I was on a constant quest to see who could qualify what kind of an event this was.  I thought it was Steampunk, but the masses have me calling it Bizarro or something along those lines.  Regardless, not my typical scene.

DAM TYPO! :: Tara Rynders & Maximilan Shiffman

20110325

"In 'Typo', Tara and Max use text to generate movement, imagery and sound. 'Typo' brings together several disciplines in a dynamic environment.  Text drives the performance, controlling video, sound art, and coreography.  While 'Typo' is a technological performance rooted in its time, Tara and Max push the limits of text using it to communicate on numerous levels."

 

Golan's inadvertent contribution

Tara and Max were given the opportunity to perform alongside the Blink! exhibit this past Friday.  This is such an honor to be invited to help out and document, and I was very proud of Max and Tara's performances.  Max performed music and text that was both planned a improvised based on text messages from the audience.
Tara was able to interact with both a Jitter patch (framesub), and an installation by Golan Levin.  This interactive projection creates noise and colored shapes as you cast shadows on the screen.  The shapes are created by closed spaces, like if you made a circle with your thumb and forefinger, for example.  This is a very fun part of Blink! and was a cool addition to the  performance.

Ok, so there's a really awesome video at the end here, but you're only allowed to watch it if you read the whole article :)

Feburary bLOrk-taculair

20110225/6

Last weeks bLOrk concert was an amazing collaboration of musicians, dancers, and digital artists. Here is a full video from the uStream copy of the Saturday concert if it is still being hosted (It starts around the 20:00 mark), try this link.  Keep reading, I also have a high quality, edited version of the Friday night show, and a few pictures.

I was fortunate enough to perform alongside new and returning members of bLOrk, and even performed my piece about tuning and calibrating the laptop orchestra, 'Tuning Up'. This time, I included a malfunctioning computer which is designed to give me troubles throughout the piece. We were also excited to have Trace Reddell and a couple of his students from the Digital Media Studies program at DU showcase Jitter patches they have developed.

New levels of interaction

Sept. Sixth - Nathan Wheeler's performance memoir

Nate's harmonium, laptop, and found objects

This was the first show in the Black Box that I had a chance to see as an audience member.  That being said, I'm really glad it was my good friend Nathan Wheeler's performance piece about the loss of his childhood home in the Four Mile Canyon fire on September Sixth, 2010.  I knew going in that this would be an emotional and powerful piece, and indeed it was.  The Daily Camera did a great review of the work that tells more about the background of the piece.  Nate describes the performance as the progression of his emotional processes.  He used the show for catharsis, as well as to make a product to give back to the community that supported him throughout the ordeal.

Balinese Gamelan Documentary

Here is a copy of a short documentary I helped make this past fall. It was created for a course on ritual and media at the University of Colorado, Boulder. It documents the 2010, November 7th Gamelan performance at IMIG music center.

Gamelan is the "why" of life, it is as important as food. I Made Lasmawan instructs the group as well as many other gamelans across Colorado and the US. This film was made in iMovie for simplicity and in collaboration with a group.






Check out the other documentary I made this year The 1996 Ute Mountain Ute Bear Dance.

ATL&S Fall 10 Shows

 These were some of the most technically advanced shows to come through ATL&S in my time.  It was also my last semester here, and my skills were pushed to their limits.  In addition to my usual sound duties, I did a lot of projection work for many of the shows.

There are links to more information about each program.  There are pictures and information in the links.

2010.07.30-31 & 08.05-07

CU New Opera Workshop 

"Sister Carrie", "Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead", "Autumn Orchard" 

Leigh Holman, Andrew Metzroth, Hally Albers, Robert Aldridge, Herschel Garfein, Daniel Kellogg, J. Michael Martinez

  

2010.08.27-29

Dangerously Safe

Gemma Wilcox and Liz Barron, Betsy Tobin, Jessica Bynam, David Ortolano

2010.08.10

reConstruction

Ryan Wurst

2010.09.17-18 & 24-25

Disappear Here

Nathan Montgomery, Kim Olson, Ana Baer Carrillo, Jessica Bynam, David Ortolano

2010.10.03

Stockhausen Festival

Paul Miller, Bryan Wolf

2010.11.18

UNA

Katie Key's MFA Dance Thesis Performance

Kristin Dalleske, Autumn Bjustad, Rebecca Holley, Esmeralda Kundanis-Grow

2010.12.12

Bridging Imaginary Boundaries

real-time collaboration between CU, NYU, IUPUI

John Gunther, Synthia Payne, Cole Ingrahm

Bridging Imaginary Boundaries

Broadcast Station

Back in March, Synthia Payne and John Gunther organized a telematic music event "Memory and the Internet".  This was a collaboration between CU, NYU, and KAIST in Korea over Internet2.  Gunther and Payne returned this Fall for another installation of the event, "Bridging Imaginary Boundaries".  I feel these remote performances are truly on the cutting edge of music technology, so I was very excited to have another such collaboration.  For this version, we changed a few things, and collaborated with IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue at University of Indiana) as opposed to KAIST.

Ute Mountain Ute Bear Dance Documentary

Since May of this year, I have been working with Dr. Brenda Romero on an ethnomusicology documentary for the Ute Mountain Ute tribe.  After taking her course in Native American Music, we discussed editing some video footage of an event she had captured previously in 1996.  The footage featured the 'music complex' surrounding the annual Bear Dance including festivities like a parade, powwow, feast, and games.  However, she was still showing it in its raw format, fast forwarding to portions that were interesting.  So, with the help of a UROP grant, we began editing the tapes into an hour long documentary.

UNA - Katie Key's MFA Thesis Performance

 

"Una is a trip through the shadows of our subconscious.  The audience witnesses the main character, Una, surrender to her demons as she moves through worlds made of materialism, emotion, and spirit.  Each world grows in abstraction as her journey travels deeper into her subconscious.

The overarching narrative is a dreamscape, yet each world shifts into its own style of narration from verbal, to non-linear vignettes, to singularly visual.  This is not just a story about Una; I hope that the audience will see glimpses of themselves."

~Katie Key

Disappear Here - 5 projections at once

2010 ATL&S Innovator award recipients Kim Olson and Nathan Montgomery produced a projection and movement themed show in the Butoh style.  The goal is to "explore the wilderness within and without, the seen, unseen, and the world’s ephemeral beauty."  Nathan began the show in a net hung from the ceiling as a 'womb' (or diaper as some of us called it) and natural elements such as flowers and tumbleweeds were used as props.  The technical challenges for me were tremendous, as I was responsible for synchronizing 5 different projections.

ATL&S Spring 10 Shows

The Black Box was very busy this spring with everything from world-wide electronic jam sessions to extreme multi-media collaborations. Here is a short summary of the shows I assisted with. There is more information about each show in each link.

2010.02.27

Hullo, My Name is Lily Foster

Hunter Ewen

2010.03.12-14

Gunther fest – blOrk, Psychoangelo/Safari Trio, [NYU, KAIST] link

John Gunther and Synthia Payne
CISMAT : Center for Innovative Studies in Music, Art, and Technology

2010.04.02-3

There Came a Voice/She

Jacob Herold / Esmeralda Kundanis-Grow

2010.04.16-18

Communikey Electronic Arts Festival
Produced by Kate Lesta, hosted by Communikey.us

2010.05.01

Tethered/She Waded in Time

Maximilian Shiffman / Nicole Dagesse and Tara Rynders

She Waded in Time/Tethered

“Tethered” was a special show for me because Maximilian Shiffman asked me to be a technical director and sound designer early in the process. “She Waded in Time” was an MFA Dance collaboration between Nicole Dagesse and Tara Rynders. Both contained very different scenic elements, but performers participated in both shows. This collaboration is definitely worth watching and reading about.

Check out these flickr streams for SWIT and Tethered for more pictures and video.

There Came a Voice/She

The last few shows of the semester were dual projects. The first two were individual performances involving a number of interesting technology interactions. Jacob Herold’s “There Came a Voice” was a jazz performance with score for electronics and vivid projections to accompany each section. The musical theme of the piece is very memorable, and use of projections was a crucial visual element.

SHE

The second portion of this show was a live dance and video collaboration produced by Esmeralda Kundanis-Grow with video work by Mara Tasker and Nathan Minatta. The show followed a ”Tarantino-style femme fatale” theme and explored the Black Box space in an interesting way. The ceiling grid was used as scenic element and the video was an excellent performance element.

Hullo, My Name is Lily Foster - Hunter Ewen

Hullo, My Name is Lily Foster is a multi-media extravaganza conceived by Hunter Ewen. Extraordinary projections, paintings, poetry, and music by Hunter centered around a semi-fictitious character ‘Lily Foster” played by soprano Elizabeth Comninellis. There were live musical excerpts, aeriel dancing, and a theatrical story of a young girl coming to terms with her sexual abuse. Projections were designed in Jitter and Processing

Video Wall/Paintings

There was also a video wall with quotes to and by the fictitious Lily.  Hunter (Lily's) paintings were also showcased. 

ATL&S Spring 09 Shows

This Spring, I was fortunate enough to land a job working for the Center for Arts, Media, and Performance (CAMP) in the ATL&S building at CU Boulder. Here's a quick rundown of the some of the events I got to help set up and run:

I helped run sound for everything from the Italian Theatre's puppet-reality show, to the Conference on World Affairs, and the Multi-Dimensional Dance Performance Thesis 'Toeplitz'. The artistic and erotic interdisciplinary performance 'Sweeping' was a fresh experience -- we only had the performance day to set up... so when we saw the show, it was for the first time (instead of the usual 5th).

The three musical highlights included Michael Theodore's What I Saw at the Apocalypse, Paul Hembree's The Antikythera Mechanism, and the Boulder Laptop Orchestra's (bLOrk) performance:

Janet Feder in front of the Second Life performance