Azar Created and Performed by Jef Johnson to run October 4 & 5, 2013 at Chelsea Market

Internationally renowned artist and Houston native Jef Johnson returns to Main Street Theater this fall. At MST's Theater for Youth, he is directing Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat, and on the MainStage, he will be presenting his one-man show, Azar. "Azar is an interactive, improvisational performance piece created and executed by one of the most exciting, vibrant, and inventive artists I've ever worked with," says MST Artistic Director ReBecca Greene Udden.

Azar has 2 performances only, October 4 and 5 at Main Street Theater - Chelsea Market, 4617 Montrose Blvd. Performances are at 8pm. Tickets are $25 and are on sale in person at the Main Street Theater Box Office, 2540 Times Blvd., via phone at 713.524.6706, or online at MainStreetTheater.com.

Azar ("random" in Spanish) celebrates the unknown, the unpredictable, the things that cannot be explained or defined, and points us to creative possibility. "Everything we need to play is right in front of us," says Johnson. "We must learn again to discover the beautiful wonder of life."

Azar is not a rehearsed and staged "show" in the traditional sense. This work draws its inspiration from fragments, the clown's state of wonder and ideas of perception.

About Jef Johnson

Currently on hiatus, Mr. Johnson is a principal artist in the company of Slava's Snowshow, (Off Broadway, Broadway and International tours). He has also worked with Cirque du Soleil as clown, special artistic consultant, and workshop director. He is the founding director of La ONDA (La Observación NuEva De Las Artes), faculty member of the Nouveau Clown Institute in Barcelona, Spain, and has served as Artistic Coordinator for the International Nonverbal Theatre Initiative, based in St. Petersburg, Russia. Mr. Johnson is also the founding director of Jef Johnson's Clown Lab in New York City. He has been commissioned by many universities and companies, including: Cirque du Soleil, Slava's Snowshow, Camp Broadway, University of Houston, University of Pennsylvania, Colombia University, Weslayan University, NYU, CUNY, SUNY, UNAM, CENART, UDEM, TEC Monterrey, UQROO, BUAP, among others.

At present, he resides in Mexico, conducting research into the nature of human consciousness, creative association and social performance. Drawing from Clown, Mask and Butoh, his work has initiated deeper investigation into the primary essence of human experience, character and performance, including the formation of a new performance discipline which he calls Manantial (Wellspring). Mr. Johnson has performed or taught on five continents in more than 20 countries. A native of Houston, he will be familiar to many audiences from his many roles at Main Street Theater, Stages Repertory Theatre, TUTS, Houston Shakespeare Festival and other venues.

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