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Deep Blue Sea

Bill T. Jones
Photo by Howard Schatz

 

Deep Blue Sea
Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Company

April 29 + April 30, 2022


This performance will take place on the Presser Foundation Stage as part our new series, Downstage at the Mann, where both audience and artist are on stage together, in an intimate and unique setting in-the-round. Originally scheduled for 2020, Deep Blue Sea will now be presented on April 29 and 30, 2022.


Deep Blue Sea will be an immersive arts experience that explores the relationships between the individual and the larger community, as well as performer and audience. Directed and choreographed by Tony-Award winning Bill T. Jones, Deep Blue Sea unfolds in three sections: a solo by Jones deconstructing text from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s landmark “I Have a Dream” speech, which evolves over time into the 10-member Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, that further expands into an expansive collaboration with local Philadelphia participants. 

Deep Blue Sea's visual environment was designed by Elizabeth Diller of the architectural firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Tony Award-nominated projection designer Peter Nigrini. Diller’s design utilizes dynamic projections, supported by theatrical lighting. This non-traditional relationship between video and theatrical lighting transforms the entire stage into a large scale, immersive screen. The production creative team also includes lighting designer Robert Wierzel and costume designer Liz Prince. An original vocal score by composer Nick Hallett and electronic soundscape by Hprizm aka High Priest, Rena Anakwe, and Holland Andrews echoes the words of King and Melville.

A key component of this work is the exploration of community, driven by the concept of self-identity within the elusive group. Deep Blue Sea will be created around a diverse group of 60 community members, who will work with the company over a six-month period through a series of residencies. The Company will work with community participants through layers of dialogue, movement exploration, and community building, resulting in a truly Philadelphia-centric performance that reflects the diversity of the communities present. 

Creator & Director Bill T. Jones
Associate Director Janet Wong
Choreography Bill T. Jones, Janet Wong and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company
Visual Environment, Video Projection, and Lighting Design Elizabeth Diller (DS+R) and Peter Nigrini
Lighting Design Robert Wierzel
Composer & Music Director Nick Hallett
Electronic Score Hprizm, Rena Anakwe, and Holland Andrews
Costume Design Liz Prince
Dramaturg Mark Hairston
Co-Musical Director Stacy Penson
Community Choir Director Dr. Jay Fluellen
Produced and Developed by New York Live Arts
Originating commissioner of the Philadelphia performances of Deep Blue Sea The Mann Center or the Performing Arts



Major support for Deep Blue Sea has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

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Major support has also been provided by the William Penn Foundation.

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Additional support made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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Downstage @ the Mann is made possible by The Presser Foundation.

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Deep Blue Sea was commissioned by Park Avenue Armory and Manchester International Festival in Association with the Holland Festival. Additional commissioning support provided by: The Mann Center for the Performing Arts with original support provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.