Disruption – the thematic series featuring theater, dance, readings, solo-shows and visual arts exploring the personal and political impact of our current era of social upheaval – comes to a close next Friday, June 16, with The BOX, one of Jersey City Theater Center’s (JCTC) signature events.
The BOX – named for the ‘black box’ theater at Merseles Studios –is a curated showcase of music, spoken-word, poetry, dance and other performances on the theme of Disruption .
JCTC presents series of theatre, performances, readings and visual arts on a topic global in scope yet relevant to the community. JCTC solicited submissions for The BOX , which were reviewed using as a criteria: how effectively the work reflected the Disruption theme, originality and artistic quality.
For The “disruption” BOX, this curation process included an interesting evolution. As more musicians, writers and performers became aware of this unique showcase, JCTC received submissions that not only related to the theme, but songs, spoken-word pieces and other performances created specifically for The BOX.
It’s a development welcomed by Olga Levina, Artistic Director, JCTC. “We already have had theatre and dance companies create work specifically inspired by one of our topics, and of course, many of the visual artists have also submitted works they created specifically for the art show in the Merseles Studios gallery,” said Levina. “Seeing now that artists are creating work specifically for The BOX is an affirmation that our thematic series approach – that incorporates many genres of art exploring a single topic – is having an impact. JCTC creates conversations between artists and the community and more and more artists want to join that conversation.”
The line up for this The BOX includes: Sylvana Joyce, Chrissy Roberts, Nerissa Tutiven , Zeynep Jane Bozok, Elena Zazanis, Frank Ippolito, Kenny Jaworski, The Sensational Country Blues Band, Vita Morales, Terry Haman, Brian Lawlor, Rescue Poetix and Tiphanie.
Disruption received a high number of submissions for its BOX and according to Dan Pieraccini, Production Coordinator, JCTC, who arranged and curated the event, one reason for this outpouring was how relevant the theme is to the pervasive oppression many feel about our current era of tumultuous change.
($5 suggested donation)
Jersey City Theater Center
Merseles Studios
339 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07302
(201) 795-5386
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