Presenting the world premiere of “Being Future Being,” BroadStage introduces Los Angeles audiences to a groundbreaking multi-disciplinary production this Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 8-10, at 7:30 p.m. Performed on the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, there are additional site-specific offerings, titled “Being Future Being: Land/Celestial,” occurring Thursday, Sept. 8, at 11:15 a.m. and Saturday, Sept. 10, at 1 p.m. on the Santa Monica College Main Campus.
With a cast of collaborating artists from divergent indigenous roots, the evening-length work weaves movement, images, story and sound into a kinetically rich social architecture. Through these expansive elements, the resulting contemporary creation celebrates ancestral cultures and experiences. Yup’ik Nation’s Johnson is joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning Diné composer Raven Chacon to mold a transformational human and more-than-human event. A constellation of activities, performances and gatherings invites audiences to re-think the ways we interact with ourselves and our environment and to examine our basic assumptions.
Johnson labels herself a land and water protector and an activist for justice, sovereignty and well-being. She is a Doris Duke, Guggenheim and United States Artists Fellow, a Bessie Award-winning choreographer and a published writer. Her work has been presented across the country and in Australia. Born and raised in Soldotna, Alaska, she now calls Lenapehoking/New York City her home.
—Benn Widdey, Culture Spot LA
Location: The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, 1310 11th St., Santa Monica 90401 and
Santa Monica College Main Campus, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica 90405
Tickets: Pay What You Choose $20-$100
Info: https://broadstage.org/performances/2022-23/dance/beingfuturebeing
https://www.catalystdance.com/
Photo credit: Photo by Cerylynne Tsushima of Sugar Vendil in EmilyJohnson/Catalyst’s “Underneath: Processions Toward, Being Future Being”