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More Information About Bias Cut

Website

http://www.highwaysperformance.org/

Description

Highways Performance Space Artistic Director Leo Garcia presents Bias Cut, a performance piece that combines elements of traditional theatre and movement with contemporary art.  Co-directed and created by playwright Laurel Ollstein and visual artist Jane Brucker, the piece weaves together the contrasting stories of a Los Angeles garment worker and a veteran film industry seamstress.  Through personal interviews, the characters are developed along with historical images, artifacts, and immigrant stories to create a poignant and sometimes humorous contrast between the glamour of Hollywood fashion and the reality of the sweatshop. The power of story has often been used within social justice movements as a way of informing, inspiring, and involving others. The narrative performance encourages the audience to reflect upon their choices as consumers, and to celebrate the garment as an expression of culture, craft and creativity.

Jane Brucker is an installation artist creating unique work with textiles and clothing for Bias Cut. Brucker’s work has been exhibited at venues throughout the United States and internationally, in Nepal, Germany, Italy and Czech Republic. She is a professor in the Department of Art and Art History at Loyola Marymount University. Brucker holds an MFA from Claremont Graduate University and an MA in Religion and the Arts from Claremont School of Theology.

Laurel Ollstein
 is an award-winning playwright and director who draws from personal interview and historical research to create the narrative text for Bias Cut. She has worked in new play development as an actress, writer, director and teacher in San Francisco, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and New York. A member of the award winning Actors’ Gang for over ten years, she is currently a member of About Productions as writer/director for Showing Our Age in the spring of 2008 at Inside The Ford. Laurel received her MFA at UCLA, and has been an adjunct faculty at Loyola Marymount University, UCLA, UC Redlands and CalArts.

This project is made possible in part by a Social Justice Research Grant from Loyola Marymount University.

About the Ticket Supplier: Highways Performance Space

Highways Performance Space is Southern California's boldest center for new performance. Founded in 1989, Highways continues to be an important alternative cultural center in Los Angeles that encourages fierce new artists from diverse communities to develop and present innovative works.

Highways promotes the development of contemporary socially involved artists and art forms. Our mission is implemented through four programs (the performance space, workshop/university program and two galleries). Annually, Highways co-presents approximately 250 performances by solo dramatic artists, small theater groups, dance companies and spoken word artists; curates and exhibits approximately 12 contemporary visual art exhibits per year with work that explores the boundaries between performing and visual art forms; commissions and premieres new work by outstanding performing artists; organize special events, curate festival, offer residency and educational programs that engage community members in the arts while providing access to professionally-directed instruction.