John Jesurun

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John Jesurun
Born Battle Creek, Michigan U.S.
Nationality American (United States)
Field Theatre

John Jesurun is writer, director and multi-media artist, based in a New York, USA.[1] His work Chang in a Void Moon is a live serial running since 1983, originally at the Pyramid Club in the East Village, and now less frequently at venues worldwide. He was born 1951 in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Education

Jesurun received his B.F.A. from the Philadelphia College of Art in 1972 and his M.F.A. in Sculpture from Yale University in 1974.

Career

From 1976 ro 1979 Jesurun was a television content analyst for CBS. From 1979 to 1982 he was assistant producer of the Dick Cavett Show. In 1982 he began his theatrical career at the Pyramid Club on the Lower East Side with his serial play Chang in a Void Moon. Since 1984 he has written, directed and designed over 25 pieces.

Works

Year Title
1982-83 Chang in a Void Moon episodes #1-36
Bird’s Eye View
Non Chang pieces
1984 Dog’s Eye View
Number Minus One
Red House
Chang in a Void Moon, episodes #37-42
1985 Shatterhand Massacree
1986 Deep Sleep
White Water
1987 Black Maria
1988 Chang in a Void Moon, episodes #43-45
1989 Sunspot
1990 Everything that Rises Must Converge
1991 Blue Heat
1992 Iron Lung
1993 Southern Cross
Point of Debarkation
1994 Slight Return
Pearly Iridescent
Joan D’Ark
1995 Chang in a Void Moon, episodes #46-50
1996 Faust/How I Rose
1997 After Image
Chang in a Void Moon, episodes #51-52
1999 Land of the Living
2000 Snow
2003 Bardo
Chang in a Void Moon, episodes #53-55
2005 Septet, part 1
Stoned Love
Chang in a Void Moon, episode #56
2006 Septet, part 2
Firefall[2]
2009 Liz One (Her Secret Diaries in the Land of 1,000 Dances)[3]

Style

Jesurun's presentations integrate elements of language, film, architectural space and media. His exploded narratives cover a wide range of themes and explore the relation of form to content, challenging the experience of verbal, visual and intangible perceptions. His work features integrated creation of the text, direction, set and media design.[4] Describing his process, Jesurun explains, "Usually everything happens at the same time. I write with a typewriter on one side and a sketchbook on the other side. So then the words and images and ideas happen simultaneously." [5]

Touring

Jesurun's company has toured extensively in Europe and the United States. His work has been produced and presented by numerous venues including La Mama, the Kitchen, Dance Theater Workshop, the Walker Arts Center, On the Boards, Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Wexner Center, Kampnagel Theater, Prater Theater, National Theatre of Mexico, Mickery Theater, Theater am Turm, Granada Festival, Eurokaz Zagreb, Bogota International Festival, Vienna Festival,Kyoto Performing Arts Center and Spoleto USA. His short films have been shown at festivals and alternative spaces in Europe and the US.

Grants received

Jesurun is the recipient of numerous grants including the:

  • Rockefeller Foundation Playwrights Fellowship
  • Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship
  • National Endowment for the Arts Playwrights Fellowship
  • Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts Fellowship
  • MacArthur Fellowship[6]
  • National Endowment for the Arts-Visual and Media Arts Fellowships
  • Asian Cultural Council
  • Rockefeller Multi-Arts Production
  • BAM/Lucent Technologies Arts in Multimedia
  • MAP Fund

Teaching

Jesurun has taught theater at Goethe University, Frankfurt; Justus Liebig University, Giessen; DASARTS,Amsterdam; New York University; LaMaMa Umbria; Tokyo University; Kyoto University of Art and Design; and the New School.

References

  1. Kourlas, Gia (December 7, 2010). "The Inspiration Found In Silence and Brando". New York Times. p. C.6. 
  2. La Rocco, Claudia (February 7, 2009). "Playing With Fire Walls: The Laptops Take Center Stage". New York Times. p. C.5. 
  3. La Rocco, Claudia (October 16, 2009). "A Tudor Who Seems a Touch Mad". New York Times. p. C.15. 
  4. Chris Salter Entangled: Technology and the Transformation of Performance, p. 132, MIT, 2010 ISBN 978-0-262-195881
  5. Gholson, Craig. "John Jesurun", ‘’BOMB Magazine’’ Winter, 1985. Retrieved on March 6, 2013
  6. Silva, Elda (04.H). "'Ofrendas': MacArthur grant winners in action". San Antonio Express-News. 

External links

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