TAYLOR MACA 24-Decade History of Popular Music MAR 15, 17, 22 & 24,2018 THE THEATRE AT ACE HOTEL LOS ANGELES Photo by Little Fang Photography, Costume by Machine Dazzle, Makeup by Anastasia Durasova MESSAGE FROM THE CENTER East Side, UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance is proud to have been one of the early co-commissioners of this uncompromising and brilliant work of art. Taylor Mac’s creative capacity for shaping American history through the marginalized voices of each era, is nothing short of genius. Drawing on a West Side, resilient and exuberant queer aesthetic, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music is a production that is so big that it—and every discarded historic community explored in it—simply cannot be ignored. An epic work in every sense, Taylor’s All Around LA generous threading of popular song with maverick theater tropes could not be more relevant to the current moment. It is a rollicking approach to illuminating Welcome to the Center how we might reconsider all that has led us to now. for the Art of Performance His production is a towering achievement and one that will undoubtedly be remembered for years to come. Los Angeles is the perfect city to celebrate how The Center for the Art of Performance is not a place. It’s about the persistence of this artist’s vision serves to ignite what is possible in the live mobility and a state of mind that embraces experimentation, theater space, how collaboration lifts a democracy of inclusive principles, and why the arts are vital to our cultural commons, communities and continuity of encourages a culture of the curious, champions disruptors and belonging. dreamers and supports the commitment and courage of artists. We promote rigor, craft and excellence in all facets of the per- —Kristy Edmunds, CAP UCLA Executive and Artistic Director forming arts. UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) is dedicated to the advancement of the contemporary performing arts in all dis- ciplines—dance, music, spoken word and theater—as well as emerg- ing digital, collaborative and cross-platforms utilized by today’s leading artists. Part of UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture, CAP UCLA curates and facilitates direct exposure to contemporary performance from around the globe, supporting artists who are creating extraordinary works of art and fostering a vibrant learning community both on and off the UCLA campus. The organization invests in the creative process by providing artists with financial backing and time to experiment and expand their practices through strategic partnerships, residencies and collaborations. As an influen- tial voice within the local, national, and global arts community, CAP UCLA serves to connect audiences across generations in order to galvinize a living archive of our culture. cap.ucla.edu #CAPUCLA Photo by Ryan Miller THU, MAR 15, 2018 THU, MAR 22, 2018 CHAPTER I: 1776 - 1836 CHAPTER III: 1896 - 1956 Where else to start but with the birth of America? Taylor Mac takes on our Coming to America—family life in the Jewish tenement, the War to End all country’s roots in a lush extravaganza like no other… 24 musicians, a choir, Wars, a speakeasy, a zoot suit riot and white people flee the cities. Dandies, blindfolds, beer pong. The American Revolution, the advent of women’s lib and a colonial heteronormative narrative debunked. SAT, MAR 17, 2018 SAT, MAR 24, 2018 CHAPTER II: 1836 - 1896 CHAPTER IV: 1956 - PRESENT Walt Whitman and Stephen Foster go head-to-head for the title of Father Bayard Rustin’s March on Washington leads to queer riots, the Cold War of the American Song culminating in the queerest Civil War reenactment gets hot, sexual deviance leads to revolution, radical lesbians unite, and a in history. A contentious “big American family dinner,” an escape on the community under siege builds itself into a movement. Underground Railroad and things get real on the frontier. Oh… and a psychedelic dinner theater production of The Mikado set on Mars. 6pm | Running time: Approx. 6 hours | No intermission Photos by Sarah Walker (top left) and Teddy Wolff The Theatre at Ace Hotel UCLA’S CENTER FOR THE ART OF PERFORMANCE AND THE THEATRE AT ACE HOTEL IN ASSOCIATION WITH POMEGRANATE ARTS AND INTO present A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC Conceived, Written, Performed and Co-Directed by TAYLOR MAC Music Director / Arranger Costume Designer Co-Director MATT RAY MACHINE DAZZLE NIEGEL SMITH Photo by Teddy Wolff Scenic Designer Lighting Designer MIMI LIEN JOHN TORRES A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC is commissioned in part by UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, ASU Gammage at Arizona State University; Belfast International Arts Festival and 14-18 NOW WW1 Centenary Dramaturg Choreographic Consultant Art; Carole Shorenstein Hays; Carolina Performing Arts at the University of JOCELYN CLARKE JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR North Carolina at Chapel Hill; The Curran SF; Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa; International Festival of Arts & Ideas (New Haven); Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; Melbourne Festival; Museum of Contemporary Production Stage Manager Production Manager Company Manager Art Chicago; New York Live Arts; OZ Arts Nashville; Stanford Live at Stanford JASON KAISER JEREMY LYDIC MICHELLE STERN University; University Musical Society of the University of Michigan. This work was developed with the support of the Park Avenue Armory residency program, MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art), New York Stage Executive Producer Associate Producer and Film & Vassar’s Powerhouse Theater, SPACE at Ryder Farm, and the 2015 LINDA BRUMBACH ALISA E. REGAS Sundance Institute Theatre Lab at the Sundance Resort with continuing post- lab dramaturgical support through its initiative with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The World Premiere of the complete A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF Co-Produced by POPULAR MUSIC was presented in its entirety at St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn, POMEGRANATE ARTS AND NATURE’S DARLINGS NY in a co-presentation with Pomegranate Arts September/October 2016 A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC was made possible with funding by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The CAP UCLA Los Angeles presentation is funded in part by the Doris Duke Foundation Endowment Fund, J. Ben Bourgeois, James Costa, Fariba Ghaffari, Kiki Gindler, Diane Levine, Ginny Mancini, Anne-Marie Spataru and Karyn Orgell Wynne. TOURING COMPANY LOCAL DANDY MINIONS Centennial High School Company Manager Michelle Stern Taylor Mac Vocals Ambrosia Salad, Anita Procedure, Ashley Marching Band (Chapter IV) Technical Director Janet Clancy Matt Ray Piano, Vocals Romano, Chelsea Rector, Christopher Manuel Castañeda, Jr., Music Director, Properties Designer Raphael Mishler Machine Dazzle Performer Scoles, Coco Ono, David Tran, Diana Rodrigo Aguilar, Arturo Aguilar, Margarita Makeup Designer Anastasia Durasova Wyenn, Dianya Birthday, Dottie, Elliot, Erin Alfaro, Floy’reanna Alvarado, Audio Supervisor and Monitor Engineer WITH Carere, FREEda SLAVE, Gregory Barnett, Jocelyn Gonzales Angel, B jon Baker, Jimin Brelsford El Beh Cello/Vocals Jazabel Jade, Jason Jenn, Jeff Rose, Jose Ledesma Beltran, Maria Bernal, Assistant Scenic Designer Danton Boller Bass Jennifer Jonassenn, Justin Sayre, Kristina Sinthya Cadenas, Tishouna Charles, Brittany Vasta Bernice “Boom Boom” Brooks Drums Wong, Miss Barbie Q, Veronica Moonhill Zunny Corona, Dior Cross, Denise Espinoza, Lighting Assistant Paul Frydrychowski Colin Brooks Drums Alexandro Ponce Gil, Bianca Gonzalez Front of House Audio Engineer Harlow Carpenter Trumpet SPECIAL GUESTS Gomez, Cristain Gonzalez, Will Neal Heather Christian Vocals L. Frank (Chapter I) Kamren Johnson, Mykala Jones, Jaconia Assistant Stage Manager Steffanie Christi’an Vocals Kennedy, Joshua Knox, Jaqueline Cassey Kivnick Thornetta Davis Special Guest Vocals Tonality (Chapter I) Balmaceda Lovio, Kevin Mercado Medina, Assistant Company Manager Viva DeConcini Guitar/Banjo Alex Blake, Founder, Music Director, E’monni Mitchell, Victor Moncada, Willa Ellafair Folmar Maiani da Silva Violin Joshua Bennett, Sam Capella, David Kimberly Moreno, Nickolas Ortiz, Drexton Wardrobe Assistant Emma Bizzack Antoine Drye Trumpet Connors, Dominic Delzompo, Adam Perona, Monserrat Settle, Yancy Taylor, Timothy White Eagle Dandy Minion Faruqi, Jett Galindo, Saundra Hall Hill, Dylan Vasquez, Britney Vines, Darielle SPECIAL THANKS Artistic Director, Performer Nathan Heldman, Chris Hunter, Taj Williams, Jazmin Zaragoza, Brianna Ellen Kuras James Tigger! Ferguson Dandy Minion, Jegaraj, Faith Liu, Vera Lugo, Anastasia Zepeda RSA FILMS: Jules Daly, David Mitchell, Morna Burlesque Performer, Random acts of Malliaras, Marguerite Mathis-Clark, Carla Cikaki, Jason Groves fabulousness Miller-Kupchenko, Stefanie Moore, David Amber Coffman (Chapter IV) KESLOW Cameras: Mel Mathis, Nick Lanata Diane Max Greg Glassman Trumpet Morales, Arie Moriguchi, Tu Nguyen, Robert Perkins J. Walter Hawkes Trombone Hannah Penzner, Jaquain Sloan, Gabrielle Margaret Cho (Chapter IV) Maiani da Silva Erin Hill Harp Thompson, Hope Thompson, George Kristy Edmunds and the amazing team at CAP Marika Hughes Cello Whitaker IV “A 24-DECADE” UCLA and the Theatre at Ace Hotel Dana Lyn Violin PRODUCTION TEAM Jon Natchez Baritone/Tenor/Alto Sax/ Troupe Vertigo (Chapter II) Production Manager Jeremy Lydic Special thanks to all the willing and spirited Clarinet/Flute Aloysia Gavre, Founding Director Production Stage Manager audience