YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS to be Presented at BodyVox Dance Center

A final bow in Germany, a cancer diagnosis, a death, a cookie, a conversation with God. This evening of solo dance and storytelling by Andrea Parson explores various memories and scenes surrounding the loss of her sister to breast cancer to 2020. You Can’t Be Serious is a hilarious and tragic story about witnessing, and grappling with death. Andrea sinks to the bottom, attempts a stand up routine and shines a light in the deep waters of the ocean. The audience is pulled toward Andrea as she directly asks them questions about death and love. This show lives between light and dark, between down and up, between the weight of tears and the levity of laughter.

Andrea developed You Can’t Be Serious (YCBS) while residency with Portland based non-profit From the Ground UP (FTGU), an organization that supports the development of new work by female and fem identifying artists. Andrea has continued to develop YCBS with direction from FTGU founder, Katherine Murphy Lewis, and will present the third iteration with an original sound score and film component this November at Body Vox.

The COVID episode sent shockwaves through our nation, and Portland was hit hard. Our city is experiencing an uneven regeneration...people are congregating again, but our conversations lead us to believe this is still a very vulnerable time for artists and arts organizations. We believe that collaboration between individual artists and arts organizations will play a critical role in leading us into the next era of greatness Portland has enjoyed in the past. This work aims to model and uplift cross collaboration between arts organizations and artistic genres of contemporary dance, theater, music, and film. Through this combined effort we hope to contribute to the revitalization of the performing arts scene in Portland.

YCBS is truly a collaborative project that brings together the writing and performance of Andrea Parson, direction by Katherine Murphy Lewis, production support by FTGU and Body Vox, original music by Joe Kye, lighting design by Sophina Flores, videography by Stephen Kimbrell, and funding support from RACC. The combined efforts of each are contributing to the birth of this new work that empowers individual artists, invites the unusual, challenges norms and forges new pathways for making and sharing live performance.

Artist Bios

Andrea Parson - Writer, choreographer, performer

Andrea began dancing in the late 1980’s to the country records played in her family living room and in her mother’s aerobics classes. At the age of three, she began studio dance training in Hillsboro, Oregon at Northwest Conservatory of Dance under the direction of Anita Mitchell. She began choreographing at a young age, making dances for friends and family, and often improvised down grocery store aisles. With dreams of becoming a “serious dancer” she furthered her studies at the Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Loyola Marymount University, where she received a BA in dance in 2009. After graduating she joined Northwest Dance Project in Portland, Oregon, where she received a Princess Grace Dance Fellowship award in 2010. For 11 years she performed nationally and internationally, as well as choreographed contemporary dance works for the project company and students. Andrea enjoyed dancing more dramatic roles such as Hedda Gabler and Carmen. A love of drama and storytelling led her to self produced three dance theater pieces for live theater and film. Her latest solo autobiographical work, You Can’t Be Serious, blends contemporary dance and storytelling and will make its full length premier in November 2023. She also teaches and choreographs throughout the greater Portland area and is on faculty at Pacific University.

Katherine Murphy Lewis - Director

Katherine Murphy Lewis is the founding Artistic Director of From the Ground UP. Since 2013 Katherine has championed programing, workshops, residencies and new art development for underrepresented communities; directing and producing dozens of original works and serving over 1000 participants in the ten years since the organization’s inception. In the past six years, Katherine has spearheaded a refocusing of the organization’s mission towards serving female and female identifying populations, launching the Young Women’s Residency Program in 2017. This program has evolved into an annual nine month Artists Residency that produces upwards of ten new works from a cohort of multigenerian artists, each presented in From the Ground UP’s annual Mini festival of New Art. Since receiving her BS in Theater Arts from Southern Oregon University in 2009 and going on to found From the Ground Up in 2013 Katherine has also served as a presenter and committee member for All Hands Raised Ninth Grade Counts Program; Assistant Directed the Young Women’s Theater Company and the Planned Parenthood Teen Theater; developed and lead workshops for Ridgefield High Schools Poetry Out Loud initiative, presenting to upwards of two hundred students at a time; was an Artist in Residence with Company of Wolves, a Scotland based devised theater company, supporting Achilles a New Work that appeared in Edinburgh Fringe Festival and went on to tour through three countries throughout Europe and crafted her own innovative approach to community and nonprofit leadership and curriculum, developing a model that puts students’ authentic voices and expressions in the forefront by creating a space for individuals to develop stewardship over their education, careers and lives. Locally, she has been a lead director in the Portland Playhouse’s annual Fall Festival of Shakespeare; was a lead facilitator for Profile Theatre’s

Hands On Residency program and partnered with Portland Center Stage to bring her innovative workshops to broader audiences. In addition to her work in leadership and education, Katherine has co-written and co-produced a new play, Tonight Nothing, which premiered at CoHo Productions summer of 2019. Currently Katherine is leading From the Ground UP into its next phase of evolution, working with the Regional Arts and Council Cultural Leadership Program Katherine is receiving the support and mentorship to using a new phase of programs, all aimed at creating risky New Works Art, fostering innovation, expanding artistic spaces and supporting artists who have struggle to find space, support and funding in the more traditional arts programing and development.

Joe Kye- musician/composer

Portland-based violinist-looper, vocalist, and community organizer Joe Kye discharges worlds of emotion with his lush string loops and eclectic style. From viral TikTok jingles skewering microaggressions to delivering keynote speeches about creativity, community, and identity, Joe’s work taps into an inner core, inspiring audiences to compassion and empathy. Drawing upon his immigrant upbringing, Kye weaves together electronic and acoustic textures, catchy melodies, and vocals to uplift and empower listeners. His band, Joe Kye & the Givers, features some of Portland’s most acclaimed musicians, supercharging Joe’s music with intensity and power. Joe’s children’s music project Hi Joe Kye! introduces families to his story of hope and joy with an electro-pop sound, embracing the creative power of looping with songs inspired by the audience. In 2022, Kye launched Tiger Tiger PDX, a festival featuring Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander artists, performers, and chefs. Kye has opened for Yo-Yo Ma, recorded a Tedx Talk, and been featured on NPR. He is an Oregon Arts Commission 2023 Fellow.

Sophina Flores- lighting design

Sophina Flores (She/Her) is the founder of local dance theatre company Roots and All Theatre Ensemble, centering marginalized identities and breaking the boundaries of realism, who you may know from Liminal and The Between Spaces, with Ritual Treatment coming this summer. Recently she has worked as an Assistant Lighting Designer to Marika Kent at Portland Center Stage’s Gem of the Ocean and Choir Boy, and designed the lights for Bag and Baggage’s Troy USA and The Tempest, Passinart’s A Song for Coretta, Salt and Sage’s Holy Name, The Actor's Conservatory's Core Values, FUSE’s Our Town and American Girl, Oregon Children’s Theater’s The Mad Ones, and Artist Repertory Theater’s True Story. She's currently directing Rancho Trinidad for Portland Revels. As a theatre maker, playwright, director, deviser, and choreographer, her work centers the intersectionality of identities as a bisexual Puerto Rican woman, and prominently features themes of mental illness and trauma, with surrealist or magical realist motifs.

Stephen Kimbrell- videographer and editor

Stephen Kimbrell is a filmmaker and editor currently living in the Pacific Northwest.
He founded Meridian Cine, to help artists and brands reach a greater audience with cross platform videos that increase community attendance, funding and participation.His dream outcome with every project is to help artists and mission driven brands grow by creating future value with engaging video content. Stephen has created video work for dance companies including Open Space, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and Berkley Ballet. He creates video work for the Beaverton Arts Program, Tualatin Valley Creates, and Fuchsia Lin.

About From the Ground Up

From the Ground UP is a Portland OR, based organization that makes new works of art for live performance. Utilizing everything from classic theater to interdisciplinary practices, we seek to expand, re-imagine and invent new ways of creating and producing new works of art.

Focusing on marginalized populations we elevate sidelined voices, invoke important community dialogues and support the creation and production of stories that are often overlooked. Knowing that by bringing these stories to the forefront we can create spaces that empower artists, invite the unusual, challenge norms and forge new paths that elevate individuals and communities both here and beyond.

About BodyVox

Led by Emmy Award-winning choreographers Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland, BodyVox is known for its visual virtuosity, distinctive wit and unique ability to combine dance, theater and film into breathtaking productions rich in imagery, athleticism and humor. Since its founding in 1997, BodyVox has toured to critical acclaim on stages around the world, developed award winning short films, 33 original shows, 3 operas, and more than 270 original dances.

Based in Portland, Oregon, BodyVox’s movement surges from a fascination with the endless possibilities of the human body in motion, informed by years of cross training and layers of experience. Hampton and Roland are distinguished artists on the world stage, formed by their years working as creators and performers with innovative dance companies Momix, ISO Dance, and Pilobolus. BodyVox builds upon this tradition of excellence with a unique voice that is equally influenced by its Northwest roots and world view. Learn more at bodyvox.com.

Performance Details: 

Written and Performed by Andrea Parson November 9-11th, 2023

BodyVox Dance Center

1201 NW 17th Ave Portland, OR 97209

Tickets on sale at

https://www.fromthegrounduppdx.net/events

November 9-11 2023 Thursday-Saturday at 7:30pm

Run time: Approx 1hr

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