Memphis Silhouettes
Memphis Silhouettes
An ensemble-based, collaborative project, Memphis Silhouettes implemented material gathered from a wide variety of sources. As Co-Artistic Director, along with Nicholas F. Jackson and Joshua Brewer, we were interested in creating a series of performance pieces that would capture the spirit of Memphis, from the perspectives of natives and non-natives alike. Community members were engaged via round-table discussion about their feelings and experiences as Memphians. Their responses were then paired with original choreography, devised work, and poetry, along with music from Memphis band Dead Soldiers to create a unique piece, reflective of the community in which it was conceived.
As the director for the Devised portion of this piece, the collaborators pictured here (John Ross Graham, Kim Wicks, Blake Currie and Michael Claybourne) and I developed an interdisciplinary piece utilizing contact improvisation to create movement, original music inspired by historical Memphis blues, and original poetry.
This well-received endeavor was our first foray into community-engaged work as a team, and we plan to expand our reach in the future and implement models for creation of original works that can be translated to other regions.
Memphis Silhouettes
Conceived by Artistic Directors Joshua Brewer, Danica Jenelle Horton and Nicholas F. Jackson
Produced July, 2018 with assistance from University of Memphis, Department of Theatre and Dance
Special Thanks to Dead Soldiers
Stage Manager: Jasmine Simmers
Lighting Design: Tao Wang
Sound Design: John Phillians
© DJ 2021