Sowelu Theater
Portland, OR
503.730.9066

Sowelu Theater and Film Action Oregon
are proud to present

An original film by Aaron Katz
Extended run March 23 thru 28

DANCE PARTY, USA

*This film is not yet rated and contains graphic language of a sexual nature.

DANCE PARTY, USA was made in Portland and features artists trained in directing, writing and acting programs at Sowelu, Pacific Crest Community School and North Carolina School of the Arts. Mr. Katz was mentored throughout this project from first draft to final product by Sowelu Artistic Director, Barry Hunt.

Mr. Katz's talent and tenacity, as well as that of his young ensemble, has taken this project to festivals around the country. DANCE PARTY, USA has garnered exceptional notices in the national press including The New York Times. A short run in New York received a pick in New York Magazine and ultimately placed DANCE PARTY, USA on the Top Ten Films of 2006 in The New York Sun. This will be the first screening in Portland.

Featured performers

Mr. Katz's cast stars Anna Kavan, Cole Pensinger, Sarah Bing and Brendan McFadden. (You can also glimpse Sowelu Associate Artistic Diretor, Lorraine Bahr!)

Synopsis

Apathetic seventeen-year-old Gus hangs around doing nothing with his buddy Bill most of the time. Gus likes to tell half-true stories about all the girls he's slept with and all the drugs he's done.

Jessica is seventeen too. She doesn't seem to have much in common with anyone anymore – not even her best friend Christie. Every year this one guy Brian throws a 4th of July party. The party is never that great, but there's free beer, so people always go.

Gus and Jessica meet each other there. They watch fireworks outside and light sparklers. Gus says that he's not the sort of guy she thinks he is. He tells her a secret. Things are different after that.

Mr. Katz's Director's Statement

My goal with DANCE PARTY, USA was to create a film that felt like real life. Most films about teens are filled with people who don't act how anyone really acts.

I wanted to make a different kind of film. I had the idea to use some portions of overheard conversations I jotted down while riding on a train. With those seeds I wrote what would eventually become DANCE PARTY, USA. Two years later I had the opportunity to make the film.

My chief objective was to strip away everything unneeded and create an environment that gave the actors the opportunity to be present in the moment, really listen to each other, and really respond to each other. During the two years that followed, in which we cut the film, our constant aim was to find the moments of truth, where the actors were just real people dealing with what was going on around them.

Throughout the process I have tried to remain true to my initial goal of creating something simple, honest and direct. Read a review of DANCE PARTY, USA. »

For more information call: 503.730.9066

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