The Ford Theatres presents Memoirs of a...Unicorn from choreographer and performer Marjani Forté-Saunders (Urban Bush Women, 2014 Princess Grace Choreography Fellow) on Friday, August 24 and Saturday, August 25 at 8:30pm as part of its IGNITE @ the FORD! series.
Forté-Saunders has created a new solo evening-length dance piece populated by structures created by MacArthur Genius and Tony Award-winning set designer
Mimi Lien and built by her father, Rick Forté, a contractor. Spurred by stories of Forté-Saunders' Arkansas-born father's life, Memoirs of a...Unicorn weaves historic and personal narratives into an embodied tale of fragmented histories, unabated love, and warriorship.
"My Father's story allows me to burrow into my lineage, to ritualistically remember, interrogate, and relish in the celestial ecliptic journeys of folks identifying with-and building legacies within-the spectrums of blackness, maleness, and womb-ness. Through this work I am researching the properties of Black American magic and resilience."
For this exciting new work, a New York Dance & Performance Bessie Award nominee for Outstanding Production, the audience of 140 will have an extraordinarily intimate experience seated on the amphitheatre stage and are encouraged to follow the action as the performance unfolds.
Forté-Saunders is a Pasadena, CA native and Harlem, NY resident. She traveled as a performer with Urban Bush Women Dance Co. for five years, and is now co-founder with Nia Love of Love|Forté A Collective. [
www.loveforte.org]. Forté-Saunders is a 2014 Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship Awardee for new work commissioned by Los Angeles-based dance company CONTRA-TIEMPO.
For her work being Here... which is part of a trilogy of works examining the intersections of mental illness, addiction, and systemic poverty, she's received support from the Foundation of Contemporary
Arts-Emergency Grant (2012), Puffin Foundation (2013), 651 Artists Development Initiative Artist (2013), Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (2014), and a New Music USA (2014) grant for a fifth collaboration with husband and composer Everett Saunders in the construction of a 3-D Sound Installation [
www.being-here.org]. Forté-Saunders has also received support from the Jerome Foundation (2013, 2014), Mertz Gilmore Foundation with LOVE|FORTÉ (2013), Yellowhouse (2013), and the Harkness Foundation (2014).
Olga Garay-English, Executive Director of the Ford Theatres said, "We are excited to be able to present Marjani Forté-Saunders in the on-stage configuration of our IGNITE @ the FORD! series, thus allowing audience members to have the most intimate of experiences with the performer, as performance and seating fit entirely on our stage. It's an even more special experience when the performer is one of the most moving and passionate dancer-creators working today. We are keenly aware that at some point Forté-Saunders will primarily be working in larger spaces, so we are so fortunate to offer this performance to our public."
>From the reviews of her previous work being Here... Rebecca Himberger in Pittsburgh Crosscurrents said, "In the hands of Marjani Forté-Saunders, being Here was woven together like a feather-light pashmina. It's something that we don't find much in American choreography."
Meredith Benjamin of The GC Advocate said, "Forté asks us to look more closely at those we so often ignore. This dance is not about making oneself intelligible to others, but about the ways that we view and respond to what we consider unintelligible."
Alexis Clements said in The L Magazine, "Her control and skill allowed her to embody fluidity, rigidity, kinetic energy, spontaneity, and character ... in a split second."
OFFOFFOFF.com said, "In EGO is Forté-Saunders is a powerful and breathtaking mover, shifting so quickly that guessing what she'll do next is impossible. And when she jerks fabric over her head and turns around to us, breasts and face equally visible and invisible, it quickly becomes clear that her emotions can shift equally fast. In superspeed mime, she hits polite, angry, shy, excited, apologetic, fierce and funny."
Seating is very limited for this intimate IGNITE on stage experience. Tickets are available by visiting
FordTheatres.org or by calling 323.461.3673.
About the Ford Theatres
At 1,200 seats, the Ford Theatres creates an intimate outdoor amphitheatre concert experience that is a favorite among Angelenos. This season, the Ford Theatres also introduces performances providing uniquely intimate experiences in which audience and performance fit entirely onto the stage, and others at which the seating has been limited to the first ten rows.
Each summer, the Ford hosts music, dance, theatre, film and family events reflective of the communities that comprise Los Angeles County. Proceeds from IGNITE @ the FORD! events benefit the Ford Theatre Foundation. The Ford is owned by the County of Los Angeles and operated in partnership with the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Ford Theatre Foundation. Nestled in a canyon of a County regional park in the Cahuenga Pass, the Ford Theatres has a rich history dating back to the 1920s. Audiences attending the 2018 Season will enjoy a fully revitalized Ford after the completion of a nearly three-year renovation project, including improved lighting and sound and the Ford Terrace Café on the new terrace - dubbed The Zev - with a menu by Crumble Catering.
The 2018 Season at the Ford Theatres is made possible through the support of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Additional support provided by Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, along with ABC7; the Caruso Family Foundation; the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles; Chamber Music America; City National Bank; Discover Hollywood; First 5 LA; Fusicology; The James Irvine Foundation; KCETLink; KCRW; LAArtsOnline.com; Motev; The National Endowment for the Arts; NBC Universal; Southern California Edison; Union Bank; Univision; The Wasserman Foundation; Wells Fargo; and Yelp.com.
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