JAG JUKE JOINT 2022
November 19, 6:00 PM
Cornerstone Community Center
14 Elk St, Hartford, VT 05047
JAG Productions Annual Fundraiser Juke Joint is Back with Southern Soul & Honorary Guests
JAG Productions is delighted to announce the 5th annual JAG JUKE JOINT, the fundraiser gala that brings the Upper Valley JAG community in close every fall.
Saturday, November 19th, JAG Productions presents a special Freedom edition of our annual fundraising night, and JAG is transforming the Cornerstone Community Center in Hartford, VT, into a House of Black Dandyism, so you're invited to have fun with the fashion and get free in your Dandyism attire with us.
This special evening will be hosted by none other than The Maine Attraction, better known as “The Triple Threat of Burlesque," who’ll emcee a stellar line-up of performances. JAG invited some of our favorite artists and alum to present their musical stylings: a medley from the musicals AIN'T MISBEHAVIN and SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD starring JAG artists Darron Hayes (NEXT TO NORMAL), Ines Nassara (THEATRE ON THE HILL starring BRITTON & THE STING), and Jermaine Miles (URINETOWN Residency at New York Theatre Workshop); a tap number performed by Warren James with poetry by Audre Lorde and Langston Hughes recited by Donathan Walters; and an operatic rendition of SENTIMENTAL MOOD by Duke Ellington sung by Tesia Kwarteng. Music Direction by Elijah Caldwell (Music Director for NEXT TO NORMAL at THEATRE ON THE HILL, 2021).
There will be a live auction full of special items curated by JAG, to bid and directly support programming in our 2022/2023 Season! Dinner will be provided by Jarvis’ mother, Peggy Ware, who will be serving authentic South Carolina soul food.
As the evening’s capstone, we will be honoring Aleasha Harris for her achievements in Playwriting, Kirya Traber for their success as a Multihyphenate Artist, Nathalie Batraville for their outstanding work as a Community Organizer & Educator and Zhailon Levingston for his pioneering work as a Director. These honorees are extended members of the JAG family, and each has made significant impacts on the American Theatre and the broader community this year.
Jarvis Green, JAG’s Founder & Producing Artistic Director, says “The JAG Juke Joint is so important because it brings together JAG's audiences, artists, Board, staff, and our Upper Valley community. Everyone will get to connect and revel — and that's an extraordinary gift. This celebration will be an affirmation of artistic belonging, and a recognition of JAG's incredible achievements. So, you can say it's a celebration of life! Because when we celebrate Black culture, we're celebrating humanity. It'll be an excellent opportunity to bask in our shared community, and to become part of JAG's future.”
Ahead of Juke Joint, JAG reiterates its commitment to serve as an Artistic Sanctuary for Black Creatives in the American Theatre, to catalyze compassion, empathy, love, and community through the lens of the Black experience.
You can purchase tables & single tickets for the JAG JUKE JOINT HERE.
THE MENU
Southern Fried Chicken
Three-Cheese Baked Macaroni
Potato Salad with Sweet Pickles and Garlic
Green Beans with Smoked Turkey
Pecan and Coconut Sweet Potato Soufflé
Rolls
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If you are unable to attend we encourage you to make a tax deductible gift HERE and support an organization bringing prolific artists and dialogue to the Upper Valley!
WHAT MAKES THE JUKE JOINT IS SO SPECIAL?
Watch this new video and learn why Juke Joint has become such a pivotal and unforgettable experience for those who love the arts, Black stories and experiences, and, last but never least, having a damn good time!
DRESS THEME:
HOUSE OF MODERN BLACK DANDYISM
Juke Joint will be an immersive experience! Thanks to all the artists involved in Juke Joint, JAG will be transforming the Cornerstone Community Centerin Hartford, VT, into a House of Black Dandyism.
You're invited to have fun with the fashion and get free in your Dandyism attire with us!
Check out our Pinterest page for some fashion inspiration!
AUCTION ITEMS
MEET OUR EMCEE
Maine Anders captivates audiences every time she hits the stage. Coined the “Triple Threat of Burlesque” (dancer/actress/singer) she’s performed domestically and internationally, from MGM Grand*s Studio 54 in Las Vegas, Le Bus Palladium (Paris), Buddha Bar (Beirut, Lebanon) to Dragon-i in Hong Kong. Energetic, sensual, and wildly charismatic, her uninhibited rhythmic style and sense of humor blend an ensemble of samba, belly dance, African, improvisation and contortion, and pole dancing into a movement she’s defined as *Burlesque Fusion.*
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Maine, known on stage as “The Maine Attraction”, landed her first professional dance job as a teenager for MTV's Fight For Your Rights Campaign. Since then, she has performed alongside a number of greats including legends James Brown and Lionel Richie, pop sensations Jessica Simpson and Pharrell Williams, and burlesque divas Dita Von Tease and Gentry de Paris. Her tenacious spirit has helped her become one of New York's most celebrated burlesque performers. A muse for numerous visual artists, she has collaborated with conceptual photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier and multimedia extraordinaire, Matthew Barney, the infamous DJ Tiesto and performed for exclusive fashion events hosted by icons Patricia Field and Marc Jacobs. Her ability to transform herself into a myriad of characters gives her the opportunity to play roles that are left of center, and fuse the elements of sex, comedy and drama effortlessly.
Known for playing herself in Focus Features’ highly anticipated “Pariah”, Maine has also played leading roles in indie features: “Miente” (Cannes, Havana Film Festival), comedy-horror sensation “Nefertitty”, “Nefertitty In Space” and Lower East Side coming-of-age drama, “My Normal”. Her role in “Million In The Mirror”, a PSA for breast cancer research, recently won The Viewers Choice Award on the Lifetime Channel. She was scouted as a featured burlesque performer for an episode on a season of Royal Pains (USA Network) and the popular downtown burlesque murder mystery Lady L’Amour’s Final Bow. Most recently she was a featured dancer for the 2015 Grammy Award Winner Cheek To Cheek PBS Special with Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett. Maine Anders evokes the type of naughty but cheeky glamour in her burlesque, stage and film performances that garner the well deserved comparison to the extraordinary Josephine Baker. She’s a rising star in musical theater, television and film and will continue to grace any stage where she can let her creativity ride.
MEET OUR HONOREES
We are SO proud to introduce you to the Honorees of this year's JAG Juke Joint! These artists are essential to the future of Black and queer theatre, and we look forward to honoring them at the JAG Juke Joint!
1.) Aleshea Harris for exceptional work as a playwright. Aleshea's "What to Send Up When It Goes Down," a play-pageant-ritual response to anti-blackness, had its critically-acclaimed NYC premiere in 2018, and was featured in the April 2019 issue of American Theatre Magazine.
2) Nathalie Batraville or exceptional community organizing and activism. A scholar and educator, Nathalie works as an assistant professor at Concordia University's Simone de Beauvoir Institute, where she teaches and conducts research in the areas of Black feminism, queer theory, and prison abolition.
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3) Kirya Traber for exceptional work as a multi-hyphenate artist. Kirya says, "I define myself as a writer, performer, and cultural worker, and consider the three terms inextricable. I have used my art, in my own life, as a tool for survival, and I believe it is a necessary means for social change."
4) Zhailon Levingston for exceptional work as a director. Zhailon, a Louisiana-raised director who specialized in developing new plays and musicals, made history last year as the youngest director on Broadway for his work on CHICKEN & BISCUITS by Douglas Lyons. He is the director of industry initiatives for the Broadway Advocacy Coalition and the resident director for TINA: The Tina Turner Musical on Broadway.
TRANSFORMING
CORNERSTONE COMMUNITY CENTER
Oh yes, we fully plan to transform the Cornerstone Community Center into an experiential venue for celebrating Black art, culture, history, and perspectives!
Amazing live entertainment, delicious soul food, incredible honorees, and a whole lot of reasons to support JAG's future — Juke Joint will have it all.
Check out these gorgeous Scenic Renderings by Nikolas Serrano