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PROGRAM
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Perfect The American Way Bryant Lake Bowl March 1- April1,2002 (Every Friday for six weeks) |
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One of the problems that we have with Future Perfect is breaking it down to simple and clean two sentence explanations. Especially since it's a project that by its very nature is continually evolving. This project will most likely add to the confusion, but not in a bad way. "The American Way" is a series of performances every Friday at 7:00 PM for six weeks, starting March 1 at the Bryant Lake Bowl Theater. Rather than picking a single big topic and putting it under the microscope for a few hours, this approach allows us to take on much more diverse topics relating to a single notion and then explore them over a longer period, getting into the corners and pathways that might otherwise get missed. The basic idea is to document, deconstruct and reexamine life in these United States. Everyone has at least one good story to tell, and this is our format for hearing some of them. It's not quite journalism; it's more like the abstract expressionist version of documentary filmmaking, This is Future Perfect after all. Imagine Future Perfect producing "This American Life" with special guests Joe Frank and David Lynch. We will bring you these stories and concepts by using a series of different collaborators: musicians, media artists, writers, found sound and dance artists. They all bring their own perspectives and color to the pieces, thus creating a sum total greater than its parts. We also bring together a community of collaborators who might not otherwise get a chance to connect. |
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Episode 1 Friday March 1, 7:00 pm(6:30 Doors) "Living in a Vacuum" Music: Lorren Stafford(cello, electronics) with Jack Pavlek (mechanical sculpture), Jessie Green (violin), Andrew Venjohn (narration/interviews) (C. .Strouth, writer) Machines are meant to break down. Are they still meant to be fixed? This episode explores that question through one man's life. This is a special show: for one thing, it marks Mr. Venjohn's first performance, but it also features some truly dazzling music provided in part by a series of small, electronically controlled sculptures that you really have to see to understand. |
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Episode 2 Friday March 8, 7:00 pm(6:30 Doors) "NYC02" Photographs and music by Chuck Zwicky, dance by Debra Jinza Thayer, directed by Jason Myrold This all silent episode is a month in the life of New York in 2002. It features some very compelling photographs by the noted guitarist and producer Chuck Zwicky, organized into a presentation by painter Jason Myrold, best known for his Blood Angels series and of course as the customizer behind the Zvex line of guitar effects. With improv dance work by our favorite choreographer. |
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Episode 3 Friday March 15, 7:00 pm (6:30 Doors) "I Was a Grade School Pentecostal" Text and narration by Matt Fugate, music by DJ Drone (Dave Jarosz) Video by Keri Halverson Probably our funniest entry, it’s a true story about Matt's growing up in the United Pentecostal Church. A very different slice of life. Matt is a well known Minneapolis stand-up comedian, and he played many characters on the TV show What. The music is provided by DJ Drone, a well known mainstay who has been the opening act for everyone from Bowie to Prince. |
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Episode 4 Friday March 22, 7:00 pm(6:30 Doors) "It's Raining in Warroad" Text and narration by Chris Strouth, music by Big Daddy, Jr. & the Spook You can't really talk about American Life right now without talking about September 11, and this is that event. Not a look at the politics, just more about the human reaction. This should be a pretty pivotal episode, and I am not saying that because it features me either. With Big Daddy, Jr.,& the Spook and video by Craig Gierl. |
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Episode 5 Friday March 29, 7:00 pm(6:30 Doors) "As It Was Spoken... Let Us Record" Text and narration by Keith Harris, music by OurMine Today, Wallace "Jack" Jackman is co-publisher of the Minneapolis Spokesman-Recorder, the oldest African-American newspaper in Minnesota, and a respected elder. But he followed a restless, idiosyncratic path to arrive at that position. From Jackman's birth in Iowa to his current sheaf of community projects, here is his story. Music provided by what has to be the closest thing possible to a free jazz ambient supergroup (Jim Anton, JT Bates, Jeremy Ylvisaker ). |
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Episode 6 Friday April 5, 7:00 pm(6:30 Doors) "Insurance" Text and narration by Jon Jindra, music by The Radar Threat, with special guest TS This, the final episode, should be a fairly amazing little program, delving into the issues of faith, fear, and what safety is. The enigmatic Mr. Jindra is cast as a non-musical element set against the fierce yet beautiful synthetic sounds of The Radar Threat and TS, who is possibly the greatest DJ alive today (well, that might be an overstatement. But he really is quite good.). |
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