WINDOW SEAT SESSIONS
Distanced times call for distance measures. Four weekends of original shows where a five person audience is seated outside of our studio, and performers are inside. The idea is to keep everyone safer by creating space for performing arts that meets the challenges of live theater in this age of COVID-19.
supported by
WEEK 1
joBdance.
to breathe in the silence of noise.
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As an artist and community member, i am interested in energy's manipulation of space, and how space informs energy. Amongst the noise can you and i sense the quiet. When in the presence of yourself, have you taken the time to manifest, explore, witness, and/or physicalize your breath?
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jo Blake Assistant Professor of Dance at Weber State, has been honored to perform, teach, and choreograph throughout four continents. His interest in community-based engagement and social justice have led him to work with community outreach projects: Ogden’s YCC, Minding Motion for Graceful Aging, Yoga Behind Bars, as well as Mark Morris’s Dance for Parkinson’s Disease. jo is the Director of joBdance., an interdisciplinary movement-based experience with collaborations in dance, sound score, and visual arts.
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Kristen Houskeeper is a dance artist currently working out of Ogden, Utah. She earned her BA in Dance from Weber State University in 2020, and is a current member of the National Honor Society for Dance. Having started at a later age than most, Kristen’s passion for dance has led her to pursue the advocacy of movement for all ages and skill levels. She specializes in mixing street dance qualities with modern and contemporary technique, and focuses on the communication between dancers and their audience.
WEEK 2
Olivia Custodio
EXTINGUISHED
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Based on prompts from the audience, this partially improvised show explores the unique blend of vulnerability and firefighting skills required to put out the dumpster fires that are commonly known as---a first date.
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Olivia Custodio (she/her/hers) has appeared in productions across the Wasatch Front including SATURDAY'S VOYEUR (SLAC), STREETLIGHT WOODPECKER (SLAC), SPAMALOT (Grand Theatre), and the upcoming BABEL at Good Company. Olivia's one-act play, DRIVER'S LICENSE, PLEASE premiered at Plan-B Theatre in 2018 and her newest play, BUT HAVE YOU TRIED CRYSTALS?, will receive its premiere at Wasatch Theatre Company as soon as COVID allows! www.oliviacustodio.com
WEEK 3
Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin
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I am so happy to bring my love of music to this venue. I am in love with the idea of the Window seat session because it reminds me of sitting by the window of my grandmother's house while she had her friends over. She would ask me to sing them songs while they drank blackberry brandy. Music heals and lifts and I am so grateful that presenting agencies like Good Co. are finding unique and safe ways to keep the arts alive during these times.
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Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin has written and produced several concert productions and tours including, Be Hungry, Think About It, I Sing What I Want, … And I'm Feeling Good -a Tribute to Nina & Etta and To Billie and Ella with Love. Her band was scheduled to hit the road this fall but alas....
Check out her Facebook @cagedbirdproductions or her website for deedeedarbyduffin.com form more music.
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Brian Bennett, piano, is a Jazz/R&B pianist practicing his craft in the Salt Lake area since 1995. A Father of two, he grew up in Southern California within a family of professional musicians, first studying classical music and later following his interest in the Jazz realm. Brian delivers a “Nu Jazz” style that blends the intricate rhythms and sounds of Bebop with modern harmonies and textures of today. He has been playing professionally for over three decades appearing in a variety of private and public venues touring up and down the West Coast. He can be regularly seen performing along the Wasatch Front either accompanying the talented Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin, or with his jazz combo.
WEEK 4
Ava Zawhore
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Ava ZaWhore has put together a wonderful little show. In this show you’ll laugh, you shouldn’t cry… unless you don’t laugh, then you’ll cry. She is known for her persuasion like that. For 30 minutes Ava ZaWhore wants to make you forget your troubles and just be happy. She’s gonna chase all your cares away. Again, this is just for 30 minutes she isn’t a fucking magician. She’s going to teach you a little bit about herself and in turn you’ll walk away having learned something about the world. All while tapping your toe!
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Ava ZaWhore has done it all, seen it all, and all without spilling a drop of her Martini. Ava ZaWhore is the left brainchild of local actor Wayne Burton-Blair. The platform that drag queens are given has grown and grown and like all the great queens who have come before her, Ava is using her talents to not only entertain but to educate. We ask that you not feed her, it messes with her self-medication.
