Jamie Leo to Stage New Work 'A LONG DAY IN A BAD SHIRT' at Dixon Place

Dixon Place presents Jamie Leo in his newest interdisciplinary performance work, 'A Long Day in a Bad Shirt (Dispose of Properly)', ten portraits of wayward individuals struggling to find peace in their lives.

A one-night-only workshop performance work by Jamie Leo premieres Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at Dixon Place.

Known for acclaimed collaborations with Lisa Kron, Deb Margolin, SebastIan Stuart, Theodora Skipitares, and other theater artists, in 'A Long Day in a Bad Shirt' Jamie Leo has distilled and juxtaposed ten unlikely portraits and creates personages to illuminate worlds of unexpected humor and sorrow. Leo portrays individuals from widely diverse backgrounds; a prison lifer, late-nite cabbie, old-school real estate broker, a speeding surgeon, a redeemer (a street can recycler), a fundraiser, and others - featuring scenographic elements mapped onto his face and projected live.

"On an average subway ride, we face the most improbable collection of ourselves, seated before and beside us." observes Leo, "This quality-time with 'ourselves' is a constant source of joy to me; and I hope share a sense of this wonder to the, smart and generous audiences of Dixon Place."

He describes the works as "face plays" because he wants to contain the drama to the perimeters of his face, which is simultaneously projected with imagery that informs the persona he is inhabiting. A surgeon is vindictive and regretful; an elderly woman fights off loneliness in a near-future lo-orbiting senior center. A fundraiser must face his worst demons. Funny, complex portraits of varying lengths add up to populate a world where people hope for the best even as they face the worst.

Leo's hour-long 'A Long Day in a Bad Shirt' investigates how we spend our time - internally and externally - with colorful imagery, a surprising range of performance styles, and a highly unique and witty verbal and visual vocabulary.

Ever since Mr. Leo arrived to the East Coast in the late 1970s as a member of the renown Iowa Theater Lab, he as realized wildly diverse performative works. His groundbreaking 'Bye Bye Blacksheep', a highly immersive performance for one audience and one actor is taught as a landmark of experimental theater innovation. Leo's decades of theatrical explorations have pushed the limits of interdisciplinary and narrative media, including acclaimed theatrical works 'We Shall Not All Sleep', 'And When the Bough Breaks', 'Against the Tide', his musical 'Cheesecake', and other works that have been performed in New York and regionally. He was also one of the originators of 'Queer Stories For Boys' at Dixon Place.

Leo has recently been developing new performative work at the Bowery Poetry Club, BGSQD, Figment, and Dixon Place, where his February performance of 'The Night Hides a World' (his humorous travelog about his invitation and subsequent lecture on creative collaboration in Iran), was among recent performances to standing room only audiences. 'A Long Day in a Bad Shirt's premier marks a return to character-driven acting, after many years of sabbatical from his performances at Playwright's Horizon, PS122, The Performing Garage, Hartt School of Music, and other venues.

Jamie Leo is an interdisciplinary artist who combines written words with powerful and thrilling visual images for impactful storytelling. Under a Jim Henson puppetry grant at St. Ann's, he performed a work using the digital design tool Photoshop in real time. A regular guest artist at the Toy Theater Festival, he created a ironic life-size game board for "creative" career choices. In the 1990s, he was a dedicated participant in Action Tours, a tightly-knit AIDS activist group that staged highly theatrical acts of peaceful resistance to raise AIDS awareness, including the on-camera interruption of CBS Evening News on the evening the US began 'Operation Desert Storm' chanting "FIGHT AIDS, NOT ARABS"; as well staging a Victorian funeral procession in black that mourned quietly amid the Easter parade.

An Albee Fellow in playwriting, he's published in The Drama Review, Huffington Post, OUT & Resilience. His newest play, 'In What You Call The Dark', about sight and blindness, is in development; he's been commissioned and is writing book and lyrics for a musical (with composer Paul Leschen) about the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention.

As a visual artist, his work has been seen on electronic screens over Times Square, and on Broadway (for Paul Clay on RENT), and in scenic designs at theaters across the US, plus legendary 'downtown' New York stage productions. He has led creative direction for product brands and corporate videos, and has taught at Cooper Union and the University of Maryland. Mr. Leo has hosted a breakout session at Creativity Week, mentored at a tech hackathon hosted by Stanford Design School (and led a winning team at another hackathon in New York), gave a lecture on creativity at the State of Now Conference, led a workshop for the Smithsonian Museum of Design, and in spring of 2015, he was invited and gave a lecture on interdisciplinary creative collaboration at the University of Tehran. He is currently receiving commissions and exhibitions for new body of die-infused-pigment-on-aluminum artworks. For more, visit jamieleo.com/new_works.

The show runs Wednesday, September 7 at 7:30pm at Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie St, New York, NY 10002, between Rivington and Delancey. Tickets and info: dixonplace.org/performances/a-long-day-in-a-bad-shirt-dispose-of-properly.

The Dixon Place Lounge is open before, during and after our shows. Proceeds directly support Dixon Place's artists and mission. Dixon Place is located at 161A Chrystie Street (between Rivington and Delancey) in Manhattan's Lower East Side. (By subway: F to 2nd Ave, J/Z to Bowery, 6 to Spring St, M to Essex St).

Dixon Place, an artistic incubator since 1986, is a non-profit institution committed to supporting the creative process by presenting original works of theater, dance, music, puppetry, circus arts, literature & visual art at all stages of development. Presenting over 1000 creators a year, this local haven inspires & encourages diverse artists of all stripes & callings to take risks, generate new ideas & and consummate new practices. Artists, such as Blue Man Group, John Leguizamo, Lisa Kron, David Cale & Reno began their careers at DP. In addition to emerging artists, we have been privileged to present established artists such as Justin VivIan Bond, Karen Finley, Martha Wainwright, Kate Clinton, Mac Wellman, Mark Dendy, Sarah Michelson, Wally Shawn, Big Art Group, James Lecesne & Peggy Shaw.

After spawning DP as a salon in her Paris apartment in '85, Artistic Director Ellie Covan pioneered the organization in her NYC living room for 23 years. After organic development & expansion, DP is now a leading professional, state-of-the-art facility for artistic expression. Covan received a NY Dance & Performance Award (a Bessie), two Obies, a BAXten Award & the NY Innovation Theater Foundation's Stewardship Award for service to the community. DP has also received CUNY's Edwin Booth Award, & the Alliance of NY State Arts Organization's Celebrate the Arts Award for outstanding contributions to NYC.