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Stephan Koplowitz: TaskForce CommissionedbytheTransatlanticArtsConsortium

All photos by Sherri Breyer, Steve Gunther, Scott Groller and S. Koplowitz

TaskForce is a new site-art dance touring company that works on a project to project basis. Fluid in it's conception TaskForce is made up of selected artists and performers drawn from the cultural landscape of its host city or region. It is a process oriented performance laboratory where artists are asked to draw inspiration from the architecture, history, culture and ecology of multiple sites within a single geographic area all connected by a common theme.

Working within an intensive time frame (usually three weeks of rehearsal + one week of performances) under the direction of veteran site-artist Stephan Koplowitz, each artist is given a different creative "task" to be explored and performed at the various sites. The content of each performance is made up of a combination of site-specific choreography, site-adaptive material and improvisational scores inspired by each performance site.

The core of TaskForce is an ensemble of eight highly trained dancers, a composer/performer and a documentary filmmaker. Bringing together new partners and collaborating artists for each location, TaskForce builds creative networks that span the globe. It made it’s debut in Idyllwild, CA in June, 2008 (Mapping Idyllwild). It's current project Liquid Landscapes is a three year triptych based on the theme of water beginning in Los Angeles, California (2008) then traveling to Dartington/Plymouth, UK (2009) and then to Essen City, Germany (2010).

TaskForce 2008-10 is funded by the Transatlantic Arts Consortium (TAC).

Postcard, announcing TaskForce’s tour of Idyllwild (front)

StephanKoplowitz:TaskForceMappingIdyllwild

  First day: Introducing Idyllwild to the members of TaskForce.

TaskForce would create/rehearse

for ten consecutive days and create

one film and six unique site-specific

dance/performance works,

performed over three days.

Trying on TaskForce costumes/shoes

The Re-Make of Elvis Presley’s Kid Galahad, filmed at the same Idyllwild locations

EVENT #1: Opening Night Thursday, June 4, 2008 “Kid Galahad Karaoke”

EVENT #2: TaskForce collaborates with Idyllwild Arts faculty and students to create “Habitat” using the 12 “Troys”, one-time camp housing, now music practice rooms on the Idyllwild campus as the site for an hour long performance installation, performed over two evenings at twilight. Friday and Saturday, June 6,7, 2008. 8-9pm

Sarah Young, TaskForce, collaborated with faculty member Bonnie Carpenter

Idyllwild student Russell Lilie performing in the “Habitat” of his own creation: “The Interrogation Room.”

Idyllwild student Sara Pilchman performing in her creation, “The Bathroom” for “Habitat”.

Marisa Jimenez, TaskForce, collaborated with Faculty member Denise Felton

Nicole Berger, TaskForce, collaborated with Idyllwild student Cody Oyama in “Snow Globe”

Storme Sundberg, TaskForce, collaborated with Idyllwild student Matt Schumacher to create “A Room to Herself”

Kevin Williamson, TaskForce collaborated with Faculty member Denise Felton to create “The Projection Room”

Joshua Marin-Hepfl, TaskForce, collaborated with faculty Denise Felton for “The Ropes Room”

Rachel Butler-Green, TaskForce, collaborated with Cody Oyama, to create “The Pipes Room”

Alexandria Yalj, TaskForce, collaborated with faculty Stephanie Gilliland to create “The Clothes Room”

Stephanie Gilliland, faculty, performing in her own creation involving video and live performance

EVENT #3:TaskForce performs at the Idyllwild Historical Society Museum. Guest artists/collaborators include Renowned singer/cowboy poet Herb Jeffries and local Idyllwild Historian Bob Smith (below)

Saturday, NOON, June 5, 2008

TaskForce creates a performance inspired by historical photographs found in the museum and in response

to poetry written by Herb Jeffries.

Herb Jeffries reads his poetry while TaskForce performs

EVENT #4:TaskForce creates a site-specific performance for the beginning of the Devil’s Slide Trailhead at Humber Park, in association with the United States Forest Service

June 7, 2008 2pm

The performance was performed in collaboration with Local Color, an all women’s accapella singing group from Idyllwild, Anna Ancheta (director)

Paul Chavez, TaskForce composer, played live.

EVENT #5: TaskForce performs a site-specific event at “The Fort” in downtown Idyllwild with four guest dancers directed by local choreographer April Rhodes . Saturday, June 5, 2008, 4pm

EVENT #6: Noon, Sunday June 8, 2008 – Performance at Inspiration Point with local guest artists Judith Schonebaum and Hannah Ruskin who were given the task of creating a visual installation.

EVENT #7: TaskForce creates a double-front Site specific event at Idyllwild’s Town Hall. The audience is divided into two groups, one inside, one outside to see a performance that moves seamlessly between the two spaces. At intermission the two audiences switched places.

Sunday, June 8, 2008 3pm

After one day off, TaskForce begins a three week creation period for Liquid Landscapes in Los Angeles. Liquid Landscapes postcard (front)

Stephan Koplowitz directs a second site-specific short film revisiting locations from the movie, Chinatown. Collaborates with videographer Ki Jin Kim, MFA2 film student at CalArts.

The films is titled: Chinatown: Watermark

On location at Echo Park

DAY ONE: TaskForce’s first event was the premiere of their site/movie-specific film, Chinatown: Watermark and then a full screening of the original film Chinatown, as part of Grand Performances at Cal Plaza. Sunday, June 30, 2008.

DAY TWO: Monday, July 1st , at noon and 5pm, TaskForce premiered an hour long site-specific work made for the plaza and fountains. It was seen by several hundred people at each performance. The work used the entire plaza as its stage in a 360º manner.

Day THREE: TaskForce performs at the historic Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax. The performance consisted of a 90 minute installation inside the food market followed by 45 minutes event outside on the Plaza between the market and The Grove shopping mall. Tuesday, July 1, 2008

TaskForce composer/musician Todd Reynolds with dancer Storme Sundberg

DAY FOUR: TaskForce performed at LA’s premiere alternative dance venue, the Open Space in an evening of site inspired dance improvisation. It was a chance to share with an audience some of the processes learned during the past six weeks of work. Wednesday, July 2, 2008

This concert featured both TaskForce composers, Paul Chavez and Todd Reynolds

Day FIVE: TaskForce partners with the Community Arts Program (CAP) at CalArts and the Dept. of Cultural Affairs for a special performance at the Banning Center at the Port of Los Angeles. Guest artists included ten eighth grade students who created a special visual art installation on site at the port. TaskForce created a three part performance. Thursday, July 3, 2008

BANNING’S LANDING COMMUNITY CULTURAL CENTER

Section two inside the Banning Center

Section three

Day SIX: TaskForce joins forces with the Los Angeles Urban Rangers, a performance art group devoted to creative investigations of the urban landscape. The Rangers collaborated with TaskForce on their Malibu beach access lectures which help the general public understand the legalities of public beach accessibility. Friday, July 4, 2008

Disgruntled Malibu beachfront home owners attempt to vocally and physically disrupt the performance claiming exclusive access to the beach. Both invoke their “rights” on the fourth of July, an ironic moment and one that brought into focus the idea of art and social activism.

Day SEVEN: TaskForce creates a three part site-specific event at Farmlab, a downtown environmental arts center. The performances took place in and around water based sculpture by artist Lauren Bon, Farmlab’s founder. July 5, 2008

Part Two

Part Three

Day EIGHT: In partnership with the Friends of the Los Angeles River (FOLAR), an environmental organization dedicated to the preservation of the river, TaskForce created an all day tour of the LA River. Audience members were able to take a bus (or drive on their own) to four different locations on the LA River. (Executive Director of FOLAR Shelly Backlar pictured at center.

This all day event featured four different site-specific performances at four points along the river. Specially commissioned poems, read by the author, renowned LA poet Suzanne Lummis, lectures on the history and use of the LA River by noted author and expert Jenny Price and live music by TaskForce composer Todd Reynolds. July 6, 2008: 10am to 4pm

The end of the journey: Within six weeks, TaskForce created two films, 13 different site-specific creations (FREE TO THE PUBLIC), collaborated with 41 community artists and was seen by over 3,000 people between Idyllwild and Los Angeles. In both Idyllwild and Los Angeles, it garnered ample press and publicity and brought art making and performance into the public arena.

The next stop in TaskForce’s Liquid Landscapes tour will take place in June, 2009. Performances in Dartington and Plymouth UK are currently being researched and planned with Dartington Arts.

From the home of Sir Francis Drake, the person responsible for bringing water to the city of Plymouth (the William Mulholland of his era), to…

The the last spot the Mayflower Pilgrims walked before embarking to the New World. TaskForce will collaborate with a whole new set of artists and sites in the coming year.

taskforceprojects.com