DBR Lab: Spring 2020
The DBR Lab was scheduled to perform at National Sawdust on April 17, 2020. Due to the pandemic, the trip was canceled and the contributors adapted their performances as a live stream event that received over 2,000 views. The livestream performance was broadcast with live performances via Zoom on May 5, 2020, hosted by ASU Gammage, steamed on Facebook Live.
Livestream production and graphic design by DBR Lab alumni, Malena Grosz
Living Headshot videos and portraits by DBR Lab contributor, Keegan Carlson (keegancarlson.com)
DBR Lab is managed by Malena Grosz, working in close collaboration with SOZO Artists. The program is in residence at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. Special thanks to ASU Gammage for their support of our contributor’s work. The class was co-facilitated by Daniel Bernard Roumain and Jeff McMahon; managed by Malena Grosz; and featured guest lecturer, Lady Caress. Portraits and Living Headshot films were produced and edited by Keegan Carlson.
MY-LINH LE
MFA: Dance
My-Linh Le is a director, choreographer, and dancer whose work revolves around the intersecting socio-political themes of the environmental crisis, racial inequality, and the destructive effects of colonialism and capitalism. She studied performance art and activism at UCLA, where she received a bachelor of arts in World Arts & Culture (Dance). She went on to obtain a juris doctor at UC Davis School of Law, and thereafter practiced environmental law as an attorney while starting and developing the urban dance theater project known as Mud Water , which has been covered by national news media from NPR to PBS. As a competitive freestyle dancer, she represents one of the oldest, competitive popping crews "Playboyz Incorporated" and has danced for artists ranging from Sanford Biggers to Kendrick Lamar.
A piece about the machine-like endurance and work ethic of Vietnamese mothers. More than a reclamation of the line that demeaned and dehumanized Asian women, particularly Vietnamese women, for decades to come... "Me Love You Long Time" is also a look at the rage within.
Wyld tha Bard
Phillip Scruggs, known on stage as Wyld Tha Bard, is a poet and a hip hop/roots performing artist originally from Midlothian, Virginia. He is currently based in Phoenix, Arizona completing his final semester at Arizona State University as a Masters Student in Social Justice.
He studies the role the performing arts have on raising social, cultural and political consciousness. He is currently working on an album alongside Phoenix-based producer Bobby2083 to be released later this year. “Bring it Back 2 God” is an original spoken word performance that invokes a call to action for all humanity to remember what being alive is all about.
MICHELLE DI RUSSO
DMA: Conducting
Born in Buenos Aires (Argentina) Michelle Di Russo is currently Assistant Conductor of the Phoenix Youth Symphony and a doctoral candidate in Orchestral Conducting at Arizona State University where she serves as Assistant Conductor for the ASU Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles. Dedicated to the music of our time, she has participated as a fellow in the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” workshop and Cortona Sessions for New Music in Italy. Michelle’s background is in voice and dance.
She started her studies in ballet at the age of three, singing lessons at the age of sixteen and worked professionally for Disney and Cibrian’s musical theatre production of Dracula. “Intersección” explores the point where being an artist, dancer, performer and conductor meet while reflecting on the introspective journey of how restriction and isolation can lead to rebirth.
KEEGAN CARLSON
BFA: FILM (DIRECTING)
Phoenix-based filmmaker Keegan Carlson is in his final year at Arizona State University concluding his Bachelor’s emphasis in motion picture directing after completing the Scottsdale Film School in 2018. His interest in the human connection and relationships produce unique character-driven stories filled with detailed art direction and visual essence. His passion for photography started at an early age when traveling with his family, which has continued into recent years. In 2018, Keegan won “Best Director” for his film Lemonade at the Scottsdale Short Film Festival and was an official selection for the Phoenix Film Festival.
In the short film “Cone 10,” written and directed by Keegan Carlson, a struggling artist desperate for creative motivation takes advice from a close friend to take a dose of synthetic creativity.
MAGGIE WALLER
BFA: DANCE
Maggie Waller is a dancer, choreographer, and teaching artist born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Heavily involved in the local hip hop community, she pulls from various dance forms, such as Waacking, House, Locking, Breaking, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Tap in her performance work, choreography, and freestyle/battle practice. Maggie recently premiered her thesis presentation, "Reclamation," which explored the individual and collective narrative of apology in women and how dance could be the mechanism by which women find joy, power, and liberation. Maggie is a Fulbright Summer Institute Participant and a recipient of the Joan Frazer Memorial Award for Judaism and the Arts.
"nature/nurture" is a movement exploration of what it means to pause, to come back to our roots of finding the answers in nature, during a time of uncertainty, grief, and loss.
COLE TRAVIS
BA: Human Communication
Multi-instrumentalist, composer, storyteller, obsessive creator...these are all words that describe Cole Travis from Mesa, Arizona. Whether they are running the queer storytelling show ‘Say What?! Storytelling and Standup’, satirizing consumerism and capitalism with fictional propaganda band InfiniCorp, or creating improvisational music with the help of collaborative audiences as Opus Loops, this performer never seems to be satisfied with sticking to just one project and strives to challenge the ideas of what performance art can be.
"Work for Me" is a reflection of the physical limitations and rules we all must accept about our bodies, as well as their own personal experience with body dissatisfaction and chronic pain.