UPCOMING Events

“ART IS NOT A LUXURY. ART IS A NECESSITY.” - JAMIE LEONARD

CLICK YOUR HEELS THREE TIMES, ULYSEES

CREATED AND DESIGNED BY VIRGINIA SCOTT

MUSIC COMPOSED AND PERFORMED BY JOHN COYNE

LIGHTING DESIGN, STAGE MANAGER, UNDERSTUDY: KIT GRINDLELEND

CAST: ADRIANA CHAVEZ, JAMIE GRAHAM, KEVIN KARINSKI, JONAH LIONE, JACQUELINE SOPHIA, JOY WEENG, ERIN WOODWARD

PHYSICAL THEATER

JULY 27, 2024 7:30 PM

Virgina Scott returns to The Visionary this summer with Fizgig, a versatile group of performers who will take on Homer’s Odysee Tréteau Theater style . Following her successful 2021 stay with her endearingly funny and humerously thoughtful clown troupe Some Clowns, we are thrilled to experience this new work.

Ulysses can’t believe his luck… or the relentless absence of it! If you’ve ever been seriously homesick and just couldn’t catch a break, you’ll recognize something in this funny and poignant take on Homer’s The Odyssey. In this theater piece with original music and dialog, 7 actors will conjure up countless characters and an astonishing variety of exotic locales, while ingeniously blending genres like film noir, action/adventure, romance, and even Sci-fi. It’s a lifetime of epic films all rolled into one fast-paced, tender-hearted romp that will be sure to leave you nodding your head to what Glenda said, “There’s no place like home.”

 Virginia Scott directs and teaches physical theater, such as recently making an original clown show at ACT at the Strand Theater in San Francisco and directing Waiting for Godot and The Government Inspector at SUNY Purchase. In January she is going to Durango, Colorado to adapt The Servant of Two Masters , yee-haw! She ventures to name herself an OG of Clowntown, having devised and taught Clown for over 20 years as well as Commedia dell’ arte, Bouffon, and Physical Comedy at places like Brooklyn College (MFA), The Juilliard School and Tisch at NYU. She is also a comedy fixer, having coached a battalion of comedians over the years to do it the funny way! She opened her own studio, Fizgig (www.fizgigstudio.com) where she had the pleasure of working extensively with company members, Erin Woodward, Joy Weeeng, John Coyne and Jamie Graham (who was born in the same hospital as herself in Nashville, TN - maybe not the same year…) And now they have the delight of welcoming new company members to make this extraordinary show! You can check out a book she wrote with Christopher Bayes about Clown, Discovering the Clown: the Funny Book of Good Acting .

John Coyne is a composer/lyricist/sound designer/whatever else based in Brooklyn. He writes all sorts of things, from traditional book musicals to strange cabarets. He runs a show called Up Next, which is a monthly variety show of adventurous musical theatre and other musical nonsense, hosted by the off-Broadway company BEDLAM in their space. One of his favorite things to do is to improvise music to theatre as it's being made, which is what heis doing here. He works with Virginia Scott a good deal on this sort of thing, whether that be on commedia dell'arte pieces, clown shows, or this piece, which is a new form for the group. He is very passionate about stretching the bounds of what can be considered "musical theatre" and tries to bring genres and textures and flavors of music and theatre together in all sorts of novel ways. @johncoyne_

Adriana Chavez is a performance and visual artist based in Las Vegas, NV. Inspired by her Mexican family and driven by her identity as a Queer Latinx artist, Chavez seeks connection and belonging through her performative and sculptural installations. A graduate of Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre, she is eager to return to collaborative physical theatre making! She is grateful for the opportunity to work with Virginia Scott and Fizgig! For the past few years, Adriana has been working solo on an alter ego she created named “Juan Chico.” This disruptor and wild-card of a character is inspired by the tender and messy men in her family; the drinkers, the melancholy dreamers, the cheaters, and the mustached macho men. With humor and play as the driving force, “Juan Chico” has been a vehicle to explore her cultural and familial heritage, her queerness, and her complicated relationship to religion. Chavez has worked with various theatre companies including A Public Fit Theatre Company, The LAB Experimental Theatre Company, Vegas Theatre Company, Majestic Repertory Theatre, Dell’arte Company, Elke Rindfleisch Dance, Jonah Bokaer, Homunculus Mask Theatre, and Naked Empire Bouffon Company. She has exhibited her performance and visual art at several venues, including The Momentary, The Lilley Museum of Art, Holland Project, Goldwell Open Air Museum & Red Barn Art Center, Nuwu Art Gallery, and UNLV’s Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, where she was artist in residence from 2020 - 21. She currently works for the Smith Center for the Performing Arts teaching social emotional learning through theatre to elementary aged youth.

Jamie Graham A native Nashvillian, Jamie Graham is a dancer, improvisor and physical comedienne based in Brooklyn, NY. She completed her B.F.A. in Dance and B.A. in English Literature at Webster University, St. Louis, a year of post-graduate dance at CODARTS, Rotterdamse Dansacademie, and a M.A. in Applied Physiology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Jamie is thrilled to be on the treteau as physical theater has been her passion ever since she first saw it at the Edinburgh Fringe while studying abroad at age 19. She is one half of dance comedy improv duo The Raving Jaynes (who have toured to improv festivals around the world!) and a founding member of Virginia Scott's company SomeClowns (who have toured to the far corners of NYC!). Past work includes ongoing performance in Third Rail Projects’ award winning immersive theater experience Then She Fell as well as 10+ years with Jenny Rocha’s Painted Ladies and Rocha Dance Theatre and in project-based work with Barbara Mahler. Jamiegraham.live

Kit Grindeland is a Renaissance goblin with a degree in Theatre Education/Acting, a decade of touring/working as an actor/educator/props designer/electrician/a lot of other things, and years as an educator in unconventional settings (the zoo, a replica of the US senate, a monastery, the woods, etc) under their belt. He is an upcoming ceramic merit fellow at The Steel Yard in Providence where they create pit-fired ceramic masks, and works as a theatre and arts educator in the country’s smallest state. They clown with Mycah Hogan and the Wilbury Theatre Group, where they are putting up their first solo show, “Rasputin, LIVE!” at the PVD Fringe. Kit was introduced to clown in their basement in 2020 and hasn’t looked back.

Kevin Karpinski is a native, self taught New York City storyteller.  He enjoys physical and improv theater.  He knows how to ride a bike and how to swim.  His most important credit is The Big Show which was part of the 2024 Down To Clown Festival at The Vino Theater which is such a big deal because it changed his life because of how much learned during it.

Jonah Lione Ihails from Clinton NJ, the Pennsylvania of New Jersey (where the big football game was milk themed if that gives you some insight.) Last year, he graduated from Pace University where he studied acting and devising as part of their International Performance Ensemble. He recently premiered The Golden Project at 54 Below; wherein through a devised process they examined how golden age musicals could be reimagined/reinvigorated for the 21st century. His most special skills include bending his shoulders in ways they shouldn’t, synesthesia (everything has a color!), and clapping very loud. 

Jacqueline Sophia Jacqueline is excited to be a part of this amazing adventure. Not one to shy away from a challenge, she enjoys hiking, trying new recipes and trying to convince herself that she will one day learn to play guitar. Acting and comedy are her things. She loves playing the straight man, daffy rambling kook and will hit ya hard with a one- liner from time to time.

Joy Weeng is professionally educated with bachelor and master degrees to be artsyfartsy and crafty. Joy designs and fabricates all the things in the world including providing comfort to the canid population in New York City fostering and transitioning dogs in need while designing spatial and mobile solutions for an improved canine lifestyle. She has also been trained in all the various comedies with all their various philosophies so try to catch her running all around town entertaining, building and fixing things, improving human lifestyles, sports, being dramatic and swing dancing.

Erin Woodward is a longtime theater fool, second time Visionary resident. She has gone to a bunch of schools and collected a bunch of initials, BFA, MS, MA at NYU Tisch (PHTS), Pace, and CUNY SPS for Applied Theater, all of it adding up to lots of theater and lots of preparation to willingly spend her days with adolescents. She has taught for 20 years with the NYCDOE in high schools and middle schools as a dual certified teacher, and is still amazed by the young people at her schools. She was honored by Epic Theater Ensemble as an Epic Educator, and has been a district facilitator with the Connected Arts Network, a national arts initiative that wants everyone to actually understand that more arts make people better, and more people make arts better. She has worked with all the people in this group whose name begin with “J” and “V” since the pandemic came and made stuff sad and weird…because they are a group called SomeClowns that is not so sad, and still pretty weird. Thery were here at the Visionary in 2021…maybe you’ve seen them! She is very very proud of the SomeClowns journey. She has also directed and helped devise work with young people for over 20 years in NY, NJ, the Edinburgh Fringe, and in Rwanda, and directed and performed new works in various theaters and festivals in the NYC metropolitan area. She is also a co-founder of EmberArts, an Applied Theater group that facilitates community connection, staff development, reminiscence theater for communities, and believes that more arts make people better, and more people make arts better. She is also a sister to two amazing siblings, AuntE to two adorable littles, and a stepmom to a wonderful College of St. Rose graduate.

THE VISIONARY DANCE FESTIVAL

Curated by johnny butler; mentored by Michelle Thompson and Johnny butler

with performances by Jamie Kleinschnitz, Liz Hepp, Beatriz Castro, Monica Steffey, Michelle Thompson, Caleb Patterson & Johnny Butler

DANCE & LIVE MUSIC

Saturday, August 10, 7:30pm

Musician, composer and performer Johnny Butler returns to The Visionary with a new extraordinary group of dance artists. In the recent years, Johnny has enriched our summers with two original scores to the silent films The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and A Trip To The Moon in his Not Silent Films series as well as meaningful and physically stunning collaborations with dancers and choreographers of varying backgrounds.

With this upcoming visit he is taking another of many opportunities to further deepen his new and unique genre of kinetic, physically involved dance / music collaboration.

The Visionary Dance Festival is going to be a feast of your senses. Come see Johnny joined by Michelle Thompson, Caleb Patterson, Beatriz Castro, Monica Steffey, Liz Hepp, and Jamie Kleinschnitz. The works will range from playful to intense. Each piece will build its own world; movements and sound unite, inviting the audience to dive into the experience. Solos, duets, and trios will explore interpersonal connections, relationships to time, conflict, and fantasy. 

JOHNNY BUTLER (HE / HIM) is a Brooklyn-based, Grammy-award winning musician and arranger for his work on Beyoncé's "Love on Top." Butler received a 2022 Lucille Lortell Award and a 2023 Obie Award for his work on the biggest Off-Broadway hit of 2022, Heather Christian's Oratorio for Living Things. Butler plays the saxophone, flute, clarinet, piano, guitar, composes, engineers audio, dances, and makes films. Butler uses a wireless microphone and handful of electronics to create vast soundscapes while dancing onstage, blending the music, the dancer, and the daydream.

CALEB PATTERSON (HE / THEY) began professional training in 2014 at The Joffrey Ballet School where he performed works for several notable choreographers such as Nathan Trice, Sekou McMiller, Rena Butler, Lane Gifford, and Patrick O'Brien. After school he moved on to new media, appearing in HBO’s Random Acts Of Flyness by Terrance Nance, choreographed by Domani Pompey. He recently performed at Battery Dance Festival with MATHETA dance, performing excerpts from Buya, the company’s full-length piece first performed at Judson Church. Caleb is currently working with Dolly Sfeir&Dancers, MATHETA dance, Alpha Omega, Nathaniel’s Dance Collective, Javi Padilla’s Movement Playground, and Spark Movement Collective.

MICHELLE THOMPSON (SHE / HER) is currently a professor at SUNY Purchase. Michelle was the Artistic Director of New York based Spark Movement Collective from April 2020-April 2024. Michelle grew this company for 4 years and has been awarded grants by The Flushing Town Hall for programming for children and The Queens Council on the Arts for her work Armenian Voices. She received her training from San Francisco Ballet, and danced for 14 years with Ballet Austin. She performed in works by Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Ulysses Dove, Stephen Mills, Sidra Bell, Greg Dolbashian, Nelly Van Bommel, Amy Seiwert, James Gregg, Gina Patterson, Thang Dao, and more. Also, during her time in Texas, she earned her undergraduate degree from St. Edward’s University, and began her choreographic career with an emphasis on site specific and immersive dance experiences. She is a freelance choreographer in New York, and has recently shown work at The Mark O’Donnell Theater, Green Space, Dixon Place, and Art On Site. Her recent commissions include NuVu Festival, CreateArt, Ballet Hartford, J Chen Project, and SUNY Purchase. Michelle has worked closely with Grammy award winning musician Johnny Butler and creative partner Caleb Patterson on projects performed at The Visionary, Mercury Lounge, Ace Hotel in Brooklyn, C'mon Everybody, and the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, NY. She was chosen as the Women’s Choreography Project winner in 2017 by Avant Chamber Ballet in Dallas and was featured in Dance Magazine. Michelle’s Illusory Impressions collaboration and co-directorship with composer Catherine Davis was given an award by the Austin Critics’ Table for excellence in a Site-Specific work. She also creates for film and music video projects. She teaches for Peridance and for NY Community Ballet in Manhattan. Michelle has also performed with XAOC Contemporary Ballet under the direction of Eryn Renee Young at Battery Dance Festival amongst other New York venues. Michelle teaches yoga, and she is a mother of two. Michelle most recently premiered a new commission in Dallas for Pegasus Contemporary Ballet in June 2024 in collaboration with Grammy award winning musician Scott Tixier. 

IG @michelle_thompson_ulerich

JAMIE KLEINSCHNITZ (SHE / HER) is a freelance artist, performer, choreographer, and dance instructor based in NYC. Originally from Long Island, NY, Jamie received her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from Adelphi University with a major in Dance and minor in Psychology and studied abroad at the London Contemporary Dance School in the UK. As a choreographer, she has set pieces at Adelphi University, for music videos, and on various dance studios. As a performer, she has danced works by Aszure Barton, Ohad Naharin, Alexander Ekman, Paul Taylor, Manuel Vignoulle, Alice Klock, Florian Lochner, William Briscoe, and Wesley Ensminger, among others. Jamie has been a movement artist with Mathew James’ Urban / Tribe, Valeria Gonzalez’s VALLETO Dance, John Zullo’s Zullo/Raw Movement, Emily Greenwell’s Cloude.nyc, and currently Thryn Saxon’s SAXYN Dance Works.

 LIZ HEPP (SHE / HER) is a Brooklyn-based freelance dance artist and producer. Most recently she danced in works by Ben Wright, PeiJu Chien-Pott, and Heidi Latsky and collectively created and performed in the dance theater show “Fact or Fiction” with Trainor Dance at The PIT. She was a company member with Dusan Tynek Dance Theater and Erick Montes’ Danceable Projects from 2017 – 2020 and in 2018 performed in the Nick Mauss: Transmissions Exhibition at The Whitney Museum. Liz also produces dance performances in nontraditional spaces with CreateArt Performance. She holds a BFA from Tisch School of the Arts, NYU. 

 BEATRIZ CASTRO(SHE / THEY) is a latinx, queer movement artist from Costa Rica, currently based in NYC. Beatriz has been a member of Spark Movement Collective, Faustine Lavie Dance Project and Verbal Animal, while also working with Antonin Rioche, Catherine Cabeen, David Dorfman Dance and her friends. They appeared in HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness and the ONxMoMA PS1 campaign under the movement direction of Damani Pompey. Acting credits include Matthew Gasda’s Dimes Square and Invulnerable Nothing’s Barn Lab Residency under the direction of C.C. Kellogg. Internationally, she has performed self-choreographed work at the longest-running contemporary dance event in Costa Rica. They have also presented their choreography at Abrons Arts Center, Triskelion Arts, Arts On Site, The Mark O’Donnell Theater, and Dixon Place. Beatriz has been awarded residencies for the exploration and development of new work through the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, MOtiVE Brooklyn, and Pepatián: Bronx Arts ColLABorative.