Artists & Projects Directory
Lars Jan/Early Morning Opera
JENNA DIDIER, Aquarium Designer/Project Manager
Jenna Didier is in pursuit of a new approach
to the built environment. Her career began at a fountain company in the Midwest
where she worked as a fabricator, welding stainless steel and bronze fountain
components and building electrical and mechanical systems for large water
features. In Los Angeles, she gained skills in design, engineering, and fine
arts to create mechanical effects, build sets, and fabricate architectural
details.
She has worked as Project Manager in the
architectural scenery industry for several years and completed several large-scale
projects in theme parks, casinos, zoos, retail environments, and other public
spaces. She is currently a Principal at design and engineering firm
Fountainhead. As part of Fountainhead's Research & Development effort, Didier
founded Materials & Applications (M&A) in 2002, a non-profit
organization dedicated to pushing forward new and underused building
technologies. M&A has been awarded three AIA Design Honor awards and most
recently, an award from the Silver Lake History Collective for its lasting
contribution to the cultural fabric of the district. Didier is also a public
artist and has several public art commissions completed and in-progress. Her
projects explore the public experience, the built environment and the
infrastructures we create to tie those forces together. Her belief is that each
city is a living thing - a natural system - that has a pulse of its own.
Through art, we can connect a community to the network of relationships that sustains
it by making that pulse visible. www.fountainhd.com and www.emanate.org
GEOFF SOBELLE, Co-Choreographer/Performer
Geoff Sobelle is a Philadelphia-based theatre artist dedicated to the "sublime ridiculous." He is the co-artistic director of rainpan 43, a renegade absurdist outfit devoted to creating and touring original actor-driven performance works. R43's shows include: all wear bowlers, Amnesia Curiosa, the rube-goldberg-inspired kinetic junk play machines machines machines machines machines machines machines and the upcoming magic spectacular, Elephant Room (commissioned by Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles). He has been an active company member of Philadelphia's Pig Iron Theatre Company since 2001. Geoff's independent work has been supported by grants and fellowships from the New England Foundation for the Arts, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, US Artists International, the Wyncote Foundation, the Independence Foundation and the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative. His work has received an Innovative Theatre Award, a Drama Desk nomination (all wear bowlers) an OBIE award for design (machines machines machines machines machines machines machines), and an Edinburgh Fringe First Award (Flesh and Blood & Fish and Fowl). Geoff received a 2006 Pew Fellowship in the Arts as a performance artist and is a 2009 Creative Capital grantee. He is a graduate of Stanford University, and trained at Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris, France.
CHECK KIRIVONG,
Hydraulic Engineer
Check Kirivong is currently an independent engineering and
project management consultant providing support for various projects like the
development of a Buddhist temple for the community of Kings Mountain, NC
and assisting in launching a professional services company. Prior to being an independent consultant,
Check was a Project Manager at WET where he managed the development of landmark
water features. In addition to counseling project architects, engineers, and
designers, he also served as the engineering link between concept design and
implementation. During his time at WET, he was directly involved with iconic
water features like the Crown Center in Kansas City, Columbus Circle in New
York City, and The Dubai Fountain in Dubai, UAE. He was also involved with the Harborside Fountain
Park development in Bremerton,
WA that received the Waterfront Center's
2008 "Excellence on the Waterfront" award. Prior to joining WET, Check worked for over six years in the engineering
consultant industry. He provided a comprehensive range of services in preparing
and supervising studies, designs, drawings, specifications, estimates, reports,
and construction of a wide variety of environmental and infrastructure
projects. Check is a registered engineer
in California, Maryland,
and Virginia.
He holds a Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering from Clemson University.
He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is also a proud
member of Engineers Without Boarders and has spent time mentoring and working
with the University
of Southern California Student Chapter.
PABLO N. MOLINA, Hydraulic System Programmer
Pablo N. Molina is an LA and NYC based video, lighting and
sound artist. He specializes in emerging technologies and custom software development.
His design work has also been seen in numerous exhibitions, theatrical, music,
and dance works at venues such as RedCat, BAM, The Wexner Center, Beta Level,
the Katmandu International Theater Festival, LACMA, EMPAC, and many others.
Most recently his animated video content was prominently featured in Linkin Park,
Nickelback, Creed, and A.R. Rahman's world concert tours. He is an associate
artist with MODE Studios in Seattle.
Pablo also helped initiate the Video for Performance MFA Specialization at the
California Institute of the Arts School of Theater, where he teaches.
CHRISTOPHER KUHL, Lighting
Designer
Chris Kuhl is a lighting, scenic, installation and conceptual designer for new performance, theatre, dance and opera. Recent work includes ABACUS. Early Morning Opera (Sundance Film Festival, EMPAC Troy NY, REDCAT); John Cage Song Books (SF Symphony, Carnegie Hall); The Elephant Room. Rainpan 43 (Philly Live Arts, Arena Stage, St. Ann's Warehouse, Center Theatre Group); Under Polaris. Cloud Eye Control (REDCAT, EXIT Festival Paris, Fusebox Festival Austin); Trembler/Shifter, Watch her not know it now. Meg Wolfe (REDCAT); Tov. Rosanna Gamson. Horton Award. (REDCAT); There is an Elephant in this Dance. Lionel Popkin (REDCAT); Monster. Pappas and Dancers (UCLA); Motherhood Out Loud (Primary Stages, The Geffen); How to Completely Disappear. Ovation Award (Boston Court Theatre); The Author, Eclipsed (Center Theatre Group); Model Behavior, Monster of Happiness. Ovation Award Nomination (Theatre Movement Bazaar); Everyone Who Looks Like You, Uncanny Valley, Undine, My Mind Is Like A Open Meadow, (Hand2Mouth Theatre), Into The Dark Unknown (Holcombe Waller). He was Lighting Director for Ralph Lemon's How Can You Stay In The House All Day And Not Go Anywhere; Victoria Marks' Not about Iraq, and David Rousseve's Saudade. Kuhl has also had the pleasure of working and making art at REDCAT, On the Boards, The Walker, UCLA Live, BAM, Jacob's Pillow, The Krannert Center, YBCA, Portland Center Stage, Hartford Stage, Dallas Theatre Center, Los Angeles Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Beijing Music Festival, Carnegie Hall, Queer Zagreb, KVS Belgium, MAC France, Reed College, Columbia College and Duke University. In 2011 Kuhl received Sherwood, Drammy, Horton, and Ovation Awards. He is originally from New Mexico and is a graduate of CalArts.
BARRY A. FARLEY, Aquatic performance specialist
Barry A. Farley is an aquatic performance specialist
and certified diver with over twenty years of experience. He is a certified AHA
CPR instructor and Red Cross EMR trainer. Barry has been the Head of Aquatics
at Circque du Soleil's "O" at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas since 2006.