Ceyx Series - Feb. 6 2012
Monday, February 6th; 7:30 pm at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N Lincoln Ave, in Chicago
or at livestream.com/halcyontheatre
Pay-what-you-can: $10 suggested donation
The Lineup
Alka Nayyar
Alka Nayyar has been creating, teaching and performing South Asian folk, modern, and semi-classical dances for the last 20 years—in Chicago, Washington D.C., and wherever else she can. Through her work, she aims to promote an accurate understanding of South Asian culture and its global impact. Alka is the Lead Choreographer of the Chitrahar Cultural Academy, an organization dedicated to promoting cultural awareness and diversity through the performing arts. In 2010, she was proud to present the well-received “Bollywood” dance class at the Old Town School of Folk Music’s annual Folk and Roots Festival. She has taught Indian dance classes at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools After School Program, the Menomonee Club and is thrilled to be teaching at the Old Town School of Folk Music!
Alka’s prior and theater work includes: Jeff-nominated choreography for Rasaka Theatre Company’s The Masrayana, Lifeline Theatre’s The Piano Tuner, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company’s thinkTank: Immigration, and thinkTank: American Ethnic, Rasaka's Yoni Ki Baat, and Halcyon Theatre’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie. She was delighted to work on Silk Road Theatre Project’s critically-acclaimed, hit production of Merchant On Venice, as well as its Balacarita, Double Happiness, 365 Days/365 Plays, and Looptopia presentations. Her work also includes Vitalist Theatre’s production of E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India by Martin Sherman, the Chicago Cultural Center's Summer Opera presentation of George Bizet's Djamileh, and Porchlight Theatre’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures. Alka was recently proud to work with Collaboraction! to present at the Art Institute's After Dark event.
Terrence Jacobus
Terrence Jacobus, former Chicago correspondent for Rolling Stone, will do a short reading from his new book entitled "The Book of God." Terrence studied poetry and writing with Gwendolyn Brooks and Ed Dorn at Northeastern Ill. University in Chicago.I'm the author of three books of poetry and one book of short stories. I was Chicago correspondent for "Rolling Stock" magazine and Poetry editor for "Strong Coffee" newspaper. I helped Al Simmons in 1981 to conduct "poetry bouts" which went National at the Taos Poetry Circus from 1982 until 2004. As written by me in Chapter 4 of the first Edition of "The Spoken Word Revolution" and published in the June 21st 1994 and June 16th 1998 New York Times. In Taos,NM I became the first World Heavyweight Poetry champion defeating Gregory Corso in 1982. These bouts ran at the Taos Poetry Circus for 22 years, eventually evolving into the overwhelming world wide success of "Slam" poetry. Currently, I just completed a CD of short stories entitled "Souvenir" and just finished a new book of poems entitled "The Book of God."
Zapruder Point
Zapruder Point (a.k.a. Dan Zapruder Phillips) has been recording and performing in Chicago for over a decade — usually alone with an electric guitar, but sometimes joined by friends. If you like Morrissey, the Decemberists, Granddaddy and Death Cab for Cutie, you’ll find a common thread in Dan’s melodic arrangements and plaintive vocal trails. But to balance out the prettiness, you’ll also hear echoes of Billy Bragg, Guided by Voices, the Feelies and Britpop in general. Zapruder Point’s latest collection is a full-band E.P. called Heads Together.
Synapse Art Collective
Synapse Art Collective is a performance group that focuses on developing new works and new artists through a laboratory process involving improvisation, feedback, and multi-media collaboration. Founded in 2004 by a dancer, a theater-maker, and a photographer, interdisciplinary projects by our member artists have traveled internationally and from clouds to stages and sidewalks. Acclaimed projects include Stridulate, named one of New City’s “Top Ten Performances of 2009” and presented at the Roy Hart International Arts Centre, and The First Sound, an installation commissioned by Redmoon Theater. Gallery performance projects include Slit (Around the Coyote), Chrysalis (The Chicago Cultural Center) and hush (Weisman Foundation). 2011 will see the premiere of Factor Ricochet, a project supported by a Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist Grant, which recently returned from a presentation at The Southern Theater in Minneapolis. Synapse is home to the works of Artistic Director Rachel Damon, and the annual program Synapse Arts/New Works fosters artist development through presentation of emerging artists.
RubyYo!
Hip hop artist RubyYo! (Marilyn Camacho) was born and raised on Chicago’s south side as the middle child of Puerto Rican parents. Influenced by the hip-hop culture at a young age by her brother’s who were B-Boys and graffiti artists, she always knew that she was a natural performer and would starting writing poetry, singing, and acting out scenes she wrote by the age of 10. While attending a performing arts high school majoring in acting and singing, she soon discovered she had a knack for rapping. She went on to continue her studies in college as an acting and directing major and after 3 years in, she dropped out and decided to focus on music full-time. Since then she’s been performing at local music venues, and has also made a strong name for herself in the Chicago theater scene with UrbanTheater Company. After a gunfight that could have cost her life being at the wrong place at the wrong time, she re-focused her artistic energy into full force and is now in the studio working on her EP with veteran Chicago music producer, Vince Lawrence with Slang Musicgroup. Combining theatrics, eclectic production, and Ruby’s energetic rap flow and singing, she is forging herself as a triple threat in the Chicago hip-hop scene.