John Jesurun is a writer, director and multi-media artist, based in New York City. His work Chang in a Void Moon is a live serial running since 1983, originally at the Pyramid Club in the East Village and now less frequently at venues worldwide. He was born 1951 in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Education Jesurun received his B.F.A. from the Philadelphia College of Art in 1972 and his M.F.A. in Sculpture from Yale University in 1974.
Career From 1976 to 1979, Jesurun was a television content analyst for CBS. From 1979 to 1982, he was assistant producer of the Dick Cavett Show. In 1982 he began his theatrical career at the Pyramid Club with his serial drama/comedy/mystery play Chang in a Void Moon. The story revolves around the exploits of Chang, a businessman with diplomatic immunity and his many exploits. Jesurun received a Bessie Award for Chang in a Void Moon in 1985. La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club has presented episodes of Chang in a Void Moon in 1995, 1997, 2003, 2004 and 2021. John Jesurun's Chang In A Void Moon: Episodes 62-66
Since 1982 he has written, directed and designed over 25 pieces.
Works
Year Title 1982–83 Chang in a Void Moon episodes #1-36Bird's Eye ViewNon Chang pieces 1984 Dog's Eye ViewNumber Minus OneRed HouseChang in a Void Moon, episodes #37-42 1985 Shatterhand Massacree 1986 Deep SleepWhite Water 1987 Black Maria 1988 Chang in a Void Moon, episodes #43-45 1989 Sunspot 1990 Everything that Rises Must Converge 1991 Blue Heat 1992 Iron Lung 1993 Southern CrossPoint of Debarkation 1994 Slight ReturnPearly IridescentJoan D’Ark 1995 Chang in a Void Moon, episodes #46-50 1996 Faust/How I Rose 1997 After ImageChang in a Void Moon, episodes #51-53 at The Kitchen 1999 Land of the Living 2000 Snow 2003 BardoChang in a Void Moon, episodes #54-56 at La MaMa 2004 Chang in a Void Moon, episode #57 at La MaMa Chang in a Void Moon, episode #58 at Berliner Festspiele 2005 Septet, part 1Stoned LoveChang in a Void Moon, episode #56 2006 Septet, part 2Firefall 2009Liz One (Her Secret Diaries in the Land of 1,000 Dances) 2014Chang in a Void Moon, episodes 59–61 at Incubator Arts Project
Style Jesurun's presentations integrate elements of language, film, architectural space and media. His exploded narratives cover a wide range of themes and explore the relation of form to content, challenging the experience of verbal, visual and intangible perceptions. His work features integrated creation of the text, direction, set and media design.Chris Salter Entangled: Technology and the Transformation of Performance, p. 132, MIT, 2010 Describing his process, Jesurun explains, "Usually everything happens at the same time. I write with a typewriter on one side and a sketchbook on the other side. So then the words and images and ideas happen simultaneously."Gholson, Craig. "John Jesurun", ‘’BOMB Magazine’’ Winter, 1985. Retrieved on March 6, 2013
Touring Jesurun's company has toured extensively in Europe and the United States. His work has been produced and presented by numerous venues including La Mama, The Kitchen, Dance Theater Workshop, the Walker Arts Center, On the Boards, Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Wexner Center, Kampnagel Theater, Prater Theater, National Theatre of Mexico, Mickery Theater, Theater am Turm, Granada Festival, Eurokaz Zagreb, Bogota International Festival, Vienna Festival, Kyoto Performing Arts Center and Spoleto USA. His short films have been shown at festivals and alternative spaces in Europe and the US.
Teaching Jesurun has taught theater at Goethe University, Frankfurt; Justus Liebig University, Giessen; DasArts, Amsterdam; New York University; La Mama, Umbria; Tokyo University; Kyoto University of Art and Design; and The New School.
References
External links Article by John Jesurun BOMB Magazine interview with John Jesurun by Craig Gholson (Winter, 1985)