Hello all! John Jasperse Company has been in rehearsal for the latest work, “Truth,” which will premiere in Dresden, Germany on September 2! In preparation, we have been presenting the work through some open rehearsals, and would love to hear your thoughts on the process so far. Here’s a shot of the company in a 2-week rehearsal residency at Abrons Art Center at the start of August:
JJC at Abrons Art Center
from an email to erin:
i really liked watching the piece. a lot of info! and i feel like i i only saw half of it without all the design elements. i am excited that john is delving into design in that way again…he’s so good at it, and it’s nice to see after we tried to not spend any money in the last piece on the elements. it’s really a collage of so many things. my biggest comment to kayvon afterwards was just about performing…how can things be accessed from a place of state (like the flitty improv you guys do) rather than from ‘i’m doing THIS with my body’. it’s more interesting for me to see what you guys are experiencing rather than what you are doing with your bodies. it will only further support what you’re doing with your bodies. and that’s interesting because i feel like john approaches a lot of his work from a place of ‘what is happening with the body’ or ‘what the body is doing’…it seems like that’s the eye overseeing the piece, but there’s so much more character in this piece. so it seems there’s a gap to bridge. and with all the humor and camp, i wanted to see it done with a sense of really being it but also being able to observe it at the same time, so there’s space to play…almost like you could approach the piece as actors. i guess this goes for all the more ‘character’ defined moments. i think you and john do a great job of that in your hair ripping duet. you’re so in it, but you’re also able to have some perspective on it. so we get to do that also as audience.
and the ending section is just gorgeous. gave me so many goosebumps. john is an amazing ‘dance’ craftsman, and it’s so beautiful to see. to make something so abstract so substantial. i’m really excited for you guys, and you’re working so hard! merde from portland….