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These two programs present early-career artists as they develop their own vision and voice.

Mum Puppettheatre, 115 Arch St.
$10 • 65 minutes • Wednesday 9/15 6:30pm *followed by post-show discussion
Thursday 9/16 - Saturday 9/18 6:30pm
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Elisa Lane, a founding member of the physical theater ensemble Hotel Obligado, presents a solo work exploring what is underneath the masks that we wear, the smile that we hide behind, and the mountains of pain and beauty that determine our who, what, where, and why. Her unique performance style comes from a background in dance, clown, commedia dell'arte, and mime. She was a New Edge Mix award recipient in 2003.

Eight dancers riff on the American cult of independence. It's not a commentary on war between nations, but on the individual's struggle with major life decisions. Pageant straddles the line between narrative and abstraction, attempting to turn personal crisis into a parade float. Workshop for Potential Movement mines basic human activities for movement vocabulary, often blurring the lines between dance and theater, narrative and lyric, art and everyday life.

Robert Lennon's poem Substitution Chart lays out a series of equivalencies: 1 hug = 5 handshakes; 1 C Coke = 1 C Pepsi; empty parking lot = dream-within-a-dream. Using these formulas and other sources to connect vignettes about love and loss, this Substitution Chart is an exploration of how to tell a story - played out in movement and text - and finally asks the question: "Can we ever say what we mean?" Dead Genius Productions presented last year's popular Apple of Discord.

Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American St.
$10 • 75 minutes • Thursday 9/9 7:00pm • Saturday 9/11 2:00pm & 7:00pm
Sunday 9/12 7:00pm *followed by post-show discussion
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Inspired by the dead girl's body at the beginning of most legal and crime dramas, Woods/The Dead Girl connects popular culture to Western traditions about feminine vulnerability and madness. Drawing on sources as diverse as Giselle and campy horror movies, the piece invites the darker obsessions - fear, mystery, violence, sensuality - onto the stage. Choreographer and new media artist Sasha Welsh collaborates with lighting designer James Murphy, filmmaker/projectionist David Neal, and electronic music composer/ visual artist Billy Dufala.

In this solo, dancer/ choreo-
grapher Kristen Shahverdian combines text with live musical accompaniment to explore a dreamlike world that leads to the awakening of sexual identity - and the reality of living the life that follows. Kristen has presented her work in New York and Philadelphia and danced with Paule Turner, Ann Vachon, and Charles O. Anderson, among others. She received the New Edge Mix award in 2003 and is a co-founder of the Junto Society dance collective.

Every artist seeks the perfect forum for self-expression. Elrey C. Belmonti began his search studying theater, but one class in movement, ostensibly to serve his art, turned his world around. He became a dancer who creates theatrical works, and this solo, an homage to that transformation, is dedicated to his teacher, Myra Bazell. Elrey has since performed with Bazell and with dance theatre X and Jeanne Ruddy Dance, among others. He is a company member of Group Motion Dance Company.

Two characters - part creature, part human - emerge into a mysterious world, their story formed by both Indonesian and Western performance traditions. Cross Hatch, a duet with musical accompaniment, began as a collaboration between choreographer/ dancer Aryani Manring and composer/musician Thomas Whitman. The music sets the piano against the gender wayang, a form of gamelan music that accompanies Balinese shadow puppet theater. The choreography comes from Balinese and modern dance, but aims for a new language that speaks from the heart of these gestures.