EVENT SCHEDULE!!!

DECONSTRUCTING THE OTHER
A series of events organized by the CalArts Arts and Activism class
DECEMBER 3, 2008 - ALL DAY
CALARTS, 24700 MCBEAN PARKWAY, VALENCIA, CA 91355
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Contact : Evelyn Serrano (eserrano@calarts.edu , 661.755.6974)
The CalArts Theater School class, Survey of World Theater: Art and Activism will be presenting a day-long event on campus titled “Deconstructing the Other”. This day will be dedicated to the examination and exploration of the walls that divide our society as well as making an effort to scale or outright annihilate these isolating structures. Panels, workshops, guest performances and original work generated by the class will be taking over several spaces around campus in a loud and unified cry for mutual understanding and acceptance of a total human experience. Help us to open eyes, sharpen ears, and blend artistic spirits at an event that is sure to be remembered as a creation for and by all people.

PROGRAM:

10:00-11:30am – Main Gallery Conference Room
Presentation by Ari Kletzky / Islands of LA
Islands of LA is an art-research experiment using traffic islands as territories of socially engaged art. The intention of this ongoing social experiment is to use art as a vehicle to foster discussion, create community and explore the use and availability of traffic islands as public space. This presentation will be followed by a dialog with the artist focusing on issues of individual agency and public space.

10:00am-12:00pm – President’s Conference Room
Who’s Afraid of Community Organizers? Getting back to Basics in the New Recession
This 2-hour session will discuss the basics of community organizing: assessment, stakeholder analysis, outreach, and implementation. Guaranteed to inspire!
Presentation by Joshua Parr

11:00am – Lulu Von Hagen Courtyard
The Theater of Play
A manifesto by Sam Fisher, Jessica Hemingway, Chris Hampton, Chrsitina Irby, Gabriel Marantz, Lawrence McEvoy and Andrew Walke

11:15am – Lulu Von Hagen Courtyard
CalArts Community Garden
Information session about our CalArts Community Garden, and invitation to participate in a collective gardening and weeding extravaganza. Tools, plants and seeds will be provided.

11:30am-12:30pm - KCIA 105.3 CalArts Radio Station
KCIA will air and stream original advocacy manifestos conceived and performed by Erica Bitton, Bryce Carver, Michael McIntyre and Jennifer Nelson.

12:00-1:00pm –Cafeteria and cafeteria entrance
Live performances by Susanna Battin, Howard Duncan, Marcus Pontello and Marlene Beltran

12:00-1:00pm – Cafeteria entrance
Presentation and fundraiser in behalf of East Central Los Angeles community (Skid Row)
The presentation aims to bring awareness about issues affecting the community of East Central Los Angeles and ways in which to support the work of local non-profits. It will be followed by a fundraiser to collect funds to purchase trash cans for Skid Row. This is part of a campaign begun by Skid Row resident and community organizer Manuel Campito a.k.a.OG and supported by the United Coalition East Prevention Project.
Presenters: John Malpede (Los Angeles Poverty Department), Kevin Michael (United Coalition East Prevention Project), General Dogon (LA CAN), Charles Porter (United Coalition East Prevention Project), Manuel Campito, and CalArts Arts and Activism students.

2:00-4:00pm - KCIA 105.3 CalArts Radio Station
Reading of Forgotten World a play by Ugandan playwright and CalArts graduate student Deborah Asiimwe
Six Spirits of former child soldiers come to haunt a Photographer who took their pictures when they were still alive. The children want to know why their existence was obscured, yet their post life has become a commodity through exhibitions, auctioning and international gatherings. Their Spirits appear as seen on the mind of the Photographer.

5:00-6:00pm – Main Gallery
Theater Games
Arts and Activism students Alejandra Bursik-Cervantes, Christopher Hampton, Jessica Hemingway, Christina Irby and Janice Pak invite you to join them in play. No previous training, experience or special attire is required for this session.

6:00pm –Main Gallery
Community Potluck
Students in the Arts and Activism class in collaboration with Student Council invite you to join us for some good eats and better company. Don’t come empty handed!
*This event is a collaboration with the CalArts Student Council.

6:30-7:00pm - Main Gallery
Performance by In Lak Ech
In Lak Ech is a Mayan concept meaning you are my other me-tu eres mi otro yo. In the flesh, In Lak Ech is a performance poetry and song collective of Xicana multi-media artists, writers, students, and organizers uniting to tell Her-story through poetry. In Lak Ech is comprised of Marisol Torres, Felicia Montes, Claudia Mercado, Cristina Gorocica, Rachel Thorson Véliz, Liza Hita, and Marlene Beltran. Their flowering words, which express their urban indigena realities are offered to the past, present, and future generations. Since their birth on International Womens Day, 1997, they have been heard from the jungles of Chiapas to the concrete jungles of Mexico City, Los Angeles, and beyond.
*This performance is generously funded by ICAP and the CalArts Community Arts Partnership (CAP)

8:00-10:00pm - Ensemble Theater II –E407)
blu, a play by Virginia Grise directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera
Soledad, ex-wife of a career gang member now in jail, works two jobs to support her three children, only to face the death of her eldest son who, in an effort not to follow in his father’s footsteps, joins the military and dies in Iraq. Through an unearthing of ancient rirtuals and traditions, her partner Hailstorm helps Soledad face memory, history, Chicano culture and her environment.
All day- MOD Lobby
Works by artist Art Betanzos

Event performances, artists, and activities will include:

-Performance by In-Lak-Ech
In Lak Ech is a Mayan concept meaning you are my other me-tu eres mi otro yo. In the flesh, In Lak Ech is a performance poetry and song collective of Xicana multi-media artists, writers, students, and organizers uniting to tell Her-story through poetry. In Lak Ech is comprised of Marisol Torres, Felicia Montes, Claudia Mercado, Cristina Gorocica, Rachel Thorson Véliz, Liza Hita, and Marlene Beltran. Their flowering words, which express their urban indigena realities are offered to the past, present, and future generations. Since their birth on International Womens Day, 1997, they have been heard from the jungles of Chiapas to the concrete jungles of Mexico City, Los Angeles, and beyond.

-Performance: Operation First Casualty
Pointing imaginary guns and roughing up "Iraqi civilians", a group of antiwar veterans bring the realities of the Iraq debacle to cities throughout the U.S. where they briefly turn public space into a combat zone. In "Operation First Casualty," a half-dozen performers employ the tactics of street theater to stage mini-dramas simulating sniper fire and staging mock arrests of fellow protesters portraying Iraqis.

-Public Performance of Advocacy Manifestos
Students in the Arts and Activism class will present original advocacy manifestos in public spaces throughout the school.

-KCIA 105.3 CalArts Radio Station
Deconstructing the Other will do a call for proposals for writers and other artists to read and share work which focuses on the issues explored by the project. The programming will be curated and coordinated by Sam Fisher, one of the radio station organizers and a student in the Arts and Activism Class. Programming will air and stream throughout the day.

-Community Gardening
Deconstructing the Other will schedule a session of “community gardening” to bring awareness about our CalArts Community Garden and invite the CalArts community to participate in the planting of seeds and trees.

-Presentation and fundraiser in behalf of East Central Los Angeles community (Skid Row)
This will be a public presentation by:
John Malpede (Los Angeles Poverty Department)
Kevin Michael (Los Angeles Poverty Department)
General Dogon (United Coalition East Prevention Project)
Charles Porter (United Coalition East Prevention Project)

The presentation aims to bring awareness about issues affecting the community of East Central Los Angeles and ways in which to support the work of local non-profits and bring awareness to the issue of homelessness in Los Angeles.

The presentation will be followed by an informal fundraiser which aims to collect funds to purchase trash cans for Skid Row. This is part of a campaign begun by Skid Row resident and community organizer OG and supported by the United Coalition East Prevention Project.


-Presentation by Ari Kletzky / Islands of LA
Ari Kletzky will do a presentation on his project Islands of LA. The presentation will be followed by a dialog focusing on individual agency and public space.


-Presentation by Los Angeles Poverty Department
Artistic Director John Malpede will give a presentation about the work of Los Angeles Poverty Department. LAPD was the first performance group in the nation made up principally of homeless people. LAPD is dedicated to building community on Skid Row, Los Angeles. Since 1985, the company has offered performance workshops that are free and open to the Skid Row community— partnering with numerous social service and advocacy groups, including SRO Housing, Inc.; LA Community Action Network; The Downtown Women’s Action Coalition; St.Vincent DePaul Center; The Salvation Army’s Women’s and Men’s drug recovery programs; and the Inner City Law Center.

-BLU, a play by Virginia Grise
BLU, an original play by Virginia Grise, will be included as part of the program of Deconstructing the Other. The play will open in the B/W Theater.


-Play Reading by Deborah Asiimwe
Ugandan playwright Deborah Asiimwe will be giving a reading of her latest play.

A CalArts organized event to bring together visionary artists and the surrounding LA and Santa Clarita communities.

Date: December 3, 2008 (all day)
Location: CalArts (the project will take over several different spaces throughout CalArts including the community garden, the radio station, the main gallery, several classroom spaces, etc.)

The program will include:
Community organizing workshops, Lectures, Panels, Public Manifestos, Performances, Radio events, Collective gardening and more!

The project will focus on:
Deconstructing, questioning and understanding "Otherness" by interrogating the following topics:
-Authority, Power & Agency
-Community
-Identity
-Borders and Barriers
-Generations
-Humanity & Nature

A CalArts organized event to bring together visionary artists and the surrounding LA and Santa Clarita communities

A day-long arts and activism event dedicated to the exploration of new philosophies and traditional ideas associated with 'the Other'. 

Six areas of focus will be highlighted:

-Authority, Power and Agency

-Community

-The relationship between nature and humankind

-Identity

-Generational Hierarchies

and

-Boarders and Barriers

Will feature performance art, panel discussions, readings, student manifestos, visiting artist exhibiters and speakers, theater performances, artists' workshops, and games. 

Will take place on Wednesday, December 3rd in the Main Gallery at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, CA.

Schedule of events and artists are yet to be confirmed.