2016 Season Events

One Night with Fanny Brice

A new solo musical conceived, written, and arranged by Chip Deffaa. Starring Patricia Dell, directed by Amie Brockway, musical director and accompanist Kent Brown, set and costume design by Nat Thomas, lighting by Earl Karl.

Performances: July 12 - 20, 2016

L to R: Accompanist Kent Brown, Patricia Dell as FANNY BRICE

L to R: Kent Brown, Chip Deffaa, Patricia Dell

Summer Shortcuts VI

Performances: August 18 - 28, 2016

L to R: Irene Kellogg, Jerrold Reinstein

L to R: Jerrold Reinstein, Darlene DeMaille

L to R: Wilma Mazo, Alice Zigelis, Patricia Brannen

L to R: Ward Stevenson, Mack Oliver, Darlene DeMaille, Jerrold Reinstein

Celebrating Our Heritage - Co-Founder of the Open Eye Theater Jean Erdman’s 100th Birthday

Friday, September 23, 6:30 pm
Dan Berkowitz, Emcee
Celtic Music played by Henry Hermann
Aloha from Jean
Openers:

“M is for….” a new ten-minute play by Gail Lennstrom, directed by Amie Brockway, with Patricia Brannen, Wilma Mazo, Elizabeth Sherr, and Alice Zigelis, originally performed at The Open Eye in Summer Shortcuts VI, August 2016.
J. D. Newman in an excerpt from his new solo play “The Man Behind the Curtain” based on the life of L. Frank Baum, creator of Oz, to be performed at The Open Eye Theater in October 2016.

Elliot Sokolov with recollections of his work with Jean, and a video of Jean Erdman archives with music he composed for “La Belle Au Bois,” the American premiere ofa play by Jules Supervielle, adapted from the original fairy tale by Perrault, translated by Irma Brandeis, directed by Jean Erdman and Amie Brockway in NYC, 1983.

Intermission

Nancy Allison: “je & me” In this informal conversation, Nancy Allison, Artistic Director of Jean Erdman Dance, will discuss her more than 30 year association with choreographer/director Jean Erdman. Excerpts from the three-volume video archive “Dance and Myth: The World of Jean Erdman,” for which Allison served as both executive producer and featured dancer, will be shown. An opportunity for questions from the audience will follow.

Saturday, September 24, 6:30 pm
Dan Berkowitz, Emcee
Aloha from Jean
Openers:

“The Experiment,” a new monologue by Amie Brockway, performed by Madison Tobon, first performed in The Open Eye Theater’s Summer Shortcuts VI, August 2016.
An excerpt from “The Last Day of Dorothy Lillian Phelps,” a new solo play by PC VanTassel, performed by the author, first performed at The Open Eye Theater in 2015.As she prepares on her last day, Dorothy Lillian Phelps gathers loved ones or cookies, tea, and the things she has to tell them. But is she really ready?
J. D. Newman in an excerpt from his new solo play “The Man Behind the Curtain”based on the life of L. Frank Baum, creator of Oz, to be performed at The Open Eye Theater in October 2016.

“Sun Setting” from “Black Lake” (1969), performed by Gloria McLean,choreography by Erick Hawkins, Music by Lucia Dlugosewski, played by Hawkins Theater Orchestra recorded live in performance 1987, Joyce Theater, NYC. Costume: Erick Hawkins; Mask: Ralph Lee.

INTERMISSION

Elliot Sokolov with recollections of his work with Jean Erdman and a video of Jean Erdman archives with music he composed for “The Minataur Among Us.”

An informal conversation with Leslie Dillingham Freyberg, including a video of herself dancing Jean Erdman’s “Ophelia,” and Sanskrit Chanting.

Sunday, September 25, 2016, 2:30 pm
Dan Berkowitz, Emcee
Aloha from Jean
Openers:

“Problem in Aisle 7” a new ten-minute play by Ron Nash, directed by Dennis Metnick, with Darlene DeMaille and Jerrold Reinstein, first performed at The Open Eye in Summer Shortcuts VI, August 2016.
J. D. Newman in an excerpt from his new solo play “The Man Behind the Curtain” based on the life of L. Frank Baum, creator of Oz, to be performed at The Open Eye Theater in October 2016.

Livia Drapkin Vanaver sharing her experience at NYU when Jean Erdman was head of the dance department in the early 1970s, and a dance that grew out of her Whole Earth Studies Senior Project, performed by Ms. Vanaver and dancers from the Vanaver Caravan.

INTERMISSION

Stephen and Robin Larsen sharing photos and stories of their long association with Jean Erdman and Joseph Campbell.

Gwyneth Larsen sharing memories of Jean from her childhood, and video clips from her own aerial performances including “Breaking Surface.”

Elliot Sokolov with recollections of his work with Jean Erdman and a video of Jean Erdman archives with music he composed for “The Odyssey,” adapted for the stage and directed by Amie Brockway, workshopped at The Open Eye Theater in New York City in 1986, and first performed there in 1987.

Nancy Allison: “walk, breathe, dance.” In this world premiere, choreographer/dancer Nancy Allison mines the legacy of her more than 30-year association with choreographer/director Jean Erdman. Allison explores the connections and conflicts between modernism and post-modernism inside a film environment incorporating archival imagery of Erdman dancing, text from her unpublished manuscript, The Dance as it Derives from the Simple Elements of Walking and music by long-time Erdman collaborator, Lou Harrison.