On Friday, June 7 and Saturday, June 8, 2024, at 8:30pm Highways Performance Space will celebrate 35 years of presenting groundbreaking performances with the Southern California premiere of Sean Dorsey Dance’s The Lost Art of Dreaming. During the Saturday performance Highways will honor The Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an Order of 30th Century Nuns dedicated to the promulgation of universal joy and the expiation of stigmatic guilt, with the inaugural BEHOLD! Award. Tickets are priced at $35 for general admission and $25 for students and seniors and are on sale now at https://www.highwaysperformance.org/shows
“Highways commemorates 35 years of facilitating dialogue among artists, critics, and the public, with a steadfast commitment to inclusivity for marginalized communities of color, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity.” – Highways press release.
Highways Exterior Entrance – Photo by Leo Garcia.
Highways Performance Space and Gallery was founded in 1989 by writer and activist Linda Burnham and performance artist and writer Tim Miller. Highways is situated within the 18th Street Arts Center campus in Santa Monica, the brainchild of artist, activist, and philanthropist Susanna Dakin in 1988.
Executive Director Leo Garcia and Artistic Director Patrick Kennelly graciously agreed to a Zoom interview with LA Dance Chronicle to discuss and promote the 35th Anniversary of Highways Performance Space, a venue that I personally have attended numerous times since it opened.
Leo Garcia – Photo courtesy of Highways Archive.
Leo Garcia mentioned that he was working with playwright and theater director María Irene Fornés in 1992 when he unexpectedly stumbled upon Highways. “I was on my way to Italy to perform in the Dionysia World Theatre Festival, participating in a show written and directed by Irene,” Garcia recalled. “This was during the L.A. riots, and my flight was canceled. I noticed that Annie Sprinkle was presenting at Highways.” The atmosphere at Highways reminded him of venues like Theater for the New City and La Mama in New York City, prompting him to continue attending performances, volunteering, and eventually being invited by Board Member Doug Sadownick to facilitate his writing workshops at Highways. This ultimately led to Garcia assuming the position of Artistic Director at Highways in 2003.
Patrick Kennelly – Photo courtesy of Highways Archive.
Patrick Kennelly grew up in the Chicago area and moved to Los Angeles to attend California Institute of the Arts to study film/video His interests began shifting to the live arts and he first came to know of Highways through an article he read in the L.A. Times on the occasion of its 15th birthday. “Then when I saw Highways listed in the LA County Arts Commission paid student internship programs I applied and, well, here we are today.” Kennelly said. After his internship, Kennelly continued with the space in different capacities, from house manager to administrator to his current position as Artistic Director. In that time he completed an MFA in Theater Directing at UCLA.
Highways – Film Maudit 2.0 – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
Among his early projects at Highways, Garcia wrote and performed his one-person show, My Alien Abduction. Garcia mentioned that as the artistic director, Patrick helms Highways’ artistic vision. Outside of his role as Executive Director, Garcia serves as a special projects curator for several series. These include the BEHOLD! LGBTQIA+ Festival, celebrating and amplifying the voices of LGBTQIA+ artists, the Margins, Fringes, and Borders Series, which delves into the intersections of art, culture, and social justice, and the a/o/x: Annual Latinx New Works Series, spotlighting emerging and established Latinx artists.
Highways also holds a special presentation on World AIDS Day, honoring the legacy of those affected by HIV/AIDS and raising awareness about ongoing challenges.
Highways – Ian MacKinnon – Photo by Leo Garcia.
In addition to his overarching responsibilities at Highways, Patrick, as the curator of Highways’ overall programming, oversees initiatives such as the New Shoes Dance Series, a platform showcasing groundbreaking contemporary dance performances, and the Film Maudit 2.0 Film Festival, dedicated to celebrating experimental and unconventional cinema.
Kennelly curates the Film festivals which he claims can be difficult to bring in audiences. “We’re getting a profile with it internationally, so that’s good,” he said. “The thing with LA is it’s really hard to get people out to new movies, foreign films, art films – the stuff that doesn’t play at the AMC Theaters.” He added, however, that LA is now doing incredibly well with repertory theater, “But in places like Europe, festivals of new films like ours fill 1,200 seat houses, but it’s just a different perspective on film, and that’s reflected in the support of governmental funding. Our government has never really been interested in funding the arts and we have a different perspective on what film means for the culture,” Kennelly said.
Highways – Ironstone – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
Among the thousands of artists who have presented or performed at Highways, I asked who has gone on to contribute the most to their field, be it dance, film, performance art or the visual arts. Garcia said that there is a large list of artists who have been very successful in their own field and in other aspects of the arts.
Highways – Nehara Kalev – Photo by Leo Garcia.
“Among our local artists there’s Luis Alfaro who is now a very distinguished playwright and who’s works are presented in regional theaters across the country,” Garcia said. Alfaro is a Chicano playwright known for his work in theater, performance, poetry, and journalism. “Two of our people have received the MacArthur Genius Award. That would be Alfado and Guillermo Gómez-Peña who was one of our founding artists and Board members, and the well-known and articulate artist Ron Athey.”
Highways – Kate Crash – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
Other well-known artists who have presented work at Highways include American film director, film producer, writer, editor, actor, photographer, and cinematographer Charles Burnett; The Dark Bob, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter, Patrisse Cullors; American rapper, and singer-songwriter Daveed Diggs who won a Tony for the musical Hamilton.
Highways – Post Racial America – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
“We have worked with the Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD),” Garcia continued. “I was there when Sir Ian McKellen presented his one man show titled Knight Out in Los Angeles. And then there were the early artists like the Hittite Empire, an African American collective of politically outrageous artists.”
Highways – Latino New Works – Photo by Leo Garcia.
Others included Dancer Rudy Perez; performance artist Rachel Rosenthal; dancer Mehmet Sander; Kristina Wong, an American comedian known primarily for her work as a solo theater performer, performance artist, and actor; and Dorian Wood who is skyrocketing as an international music artist. Garcia’s dear friend Annie Sprinkle, an American certified sexologist, performance artist, former sex worker, and advocate for sex work and health care.
Simone Forti – Photo by Carol Petersen.
“The incredible Simone Forti. Barbara T. Smith. I could go on forever,” Garcia added.
Highways has also worked with International and local Bhutto artists. Some of the Los Angeles based dance artists who have presented their early works at Highways include Lula Washington, Rosanna Gamson, Stephanie Zaletel, and Micaela Taylor. Highways’ very first anniversary celebration was hosted by none other than the iconic stand-up comedian George Carlin.
Highways – Patty The Revival – Photo by Leo Garcia.
The top earner and most attended show at Highways was “Lypsinka!”, followed by Kennelly’s production. Kennelly’s show, titled “Patty the Musical”, drew a large audience, being the second most popular after Lypsinka’s one-month reign in 1995. This musical, created and directed by Patrick Kennelly, was nominated for five L.A. Weekly Theater Awards, including Best Musical. It explores the merging of Patty Duke and Patty Hearst, delving into our fascination with celebrity culture and our tendency to shape young female celebrities into pop icons, as noted by L.A. Weekly.
Highways – Joan Padeo – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
At Highways, we offer artists access to space, technical equipment, administrative support, front-of-house management, and marketing within a one to two-week residency,” Garcia explained. “Any practicing artist knows the thrill of exploring without constraints. We encourage artists to push boundaries and take risks in their creative journey. While we don’t advocate for failure, we recognize its value in the process of discovery. We want artists to feel empowered to explore until they reach the edge, to the point where they feel like they’re falling off a cliff, and then find original ways to navigate and move forward.
Sean Dorsey Dance- THE LOST ART OF DREAMING – Photo by Kegan Marling.
Featured on both June 7 and 8 is a 75-minute dance-theater work and LA premiere of the Sean Dorsey Dance’s The Lost Art of Dreaming. I asked why they chose this particular company to perform at their anniversary performance.
Garcia began by stating that Highways is a collection of artists or community and that they work with artists during times of crisis and provide a home for them when they need a safe place to work. I remember this being extremely clear during the 1980s and ‘90s AIDS epidemic.
Sean Dorsey – Photo by Lydia Daniller.
Sean Dorsey is a highly accomplished choreographer, a national treasure who tours the country if not the world, as a trans male choreographer,” Garcia stated. “The community that is most at risk these days is our trans community and I want to bring the attention to the world that we are a trans safe space and pro human artists. This is a place where we’re going to share the beauty and magnificence of an acclaimed trans artist who is creating beautiful work.”
“So besides the aesthetic and the quality and the exploration and the learning that Sean offers, he also offers a beautiful evening of community and performance. For us, as always, it’s timely to share that with the world. We do it all the time. Our past birthdays have been complicated evenings of multi artists presenting all different forms of performance. This year I felt that I’d like to focus just on our trans artists, Sean Dorsey Dance. It is also a commitment to our touring process,” Garcia added.
Sean Dorsey Dance- THE LOST ART OF DREAMING – Photo by Kegan Marling.
Garcia is primarily interested in local artists, but he also feels that he needs to recognize that Highways has a tradition of national and international touring. Having Sean Dorsey Dance is a way to bring an artist from San Francisco to Los Angeles and also as an extension of the artist community nationally that Highways wishes to support who already has a large following in Los Angeles.
On their website, Sean Dorsey Dance describes The Lost Art of Dreaming as “an invitation to embrace expansive imagination, reconnect with longing, connect with joy and pleasure, and propel ourselves toward loving Futures… brought to life by a powerhouse ensemble of five queer, trans, and gender-non-conforming dancers: Sean Dorsey, Brandon Graham, Héctor Jaime, David Le, and Nol Simonse.”
The Bay Times wrote: “Visually stunning, emotionally rich, and profoundly timely … one of the nation’s most visionary choreographers.”
The Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Posing in Griffith Park – Photo courtesy of LAS.
The other group that will have a unique part in Highways’ 35th Anniversary celebration are The Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of drag nuns who continue to do exceptional work with the LBGTQ+ community. As they so beautifully state on their website: “An order of 30th Century Nuns dedicated to the promulgation of universal joy and the expiation of stigmatic guilt. Our ministry is one of public manifestation and habitual perpetration. More simply put: we make people happy, stamp out guilt brought on by a judgmental society and help various organizations and charities.”
The Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will be presented the inaugural Highways BEHOLD! Award during the Saturday, June 8th performance. “The L.A. Sisters are being honored for their exceptional qualities of Benevolence, Enchantment, Hilarity and flamboyance, Old School Activism, Love, and Devotion to amplify and uplift souls while boosting the experience of Queer identity.” – Highways press release.
The 35th Anniversary Celebration of Highways Performance Space featuring Sean Dorsey Dance’s The Lost Art of Dreaming takes place Friday, June 7, 2024 at 8:30 PM and Saturday, June 8, 2024 at 8:30 PM
For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit the Highways website.
Trailer for Sean Dorsey’s The Lost Art of Dreaming https://vimeo.com/799694809
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured photo: Highways – Julia Bianco – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
