TaskForce is a new site-art dance touring company that works on a project to project basis. Fluid in it's conception TaskForce is made up of selected artists and performers drawn from the cultural landscape of its host city or region. It is a process oriented performance laboratory where artists are asked to draw inspiration from the architecture, history, culture and ecology of multiple sites within a single geographic area all connected by a common theme.

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Stephan Koplowitz: TaskForce
Commissioned by the Transatlantic Arts Consortium
All photos by Sherri Breyer, Steve Gunther, Scott Groller and S. Koplowitz

2. TaskForce is a new site-art dance
touring company that works on a
project to project basis. Fluid in it's
conception TaskForce is made up of
selected artists and performers drawn
from the cultural landscape of its host
city or region. It is a process oriented
performance laboratory where artists
are asked to draw inspiration from the
architecture, history, culture and
ecology of multiple sites within a single
geographic area all connected by a
common theme.

3. Working within an intensive time frame
(usually three weeks of rehearsal + one
week of performances) under the
direction of veteran site-artist Stephan
Koplowitz, each artist is given a
different creative quot;taskquot; to be explored
and performed at the various sites. The
content of each performance is made
up of a combination of site-specific
choreography, site-adaptive material
and improvisational scores inspired by
each performance site.

4. The core of TaskForce is an ensemble
of eight highly trained dancers, a
composer/performer and a
documentary filmmaker. Bringing
together new partners and collaborating
artists for each location, TaskForce
builds creative networks that span the
globe. It made it’s debut in Idyllwild, CA
in June, 2008 (Mapping Idyllwild). It's
current project Liquid Landscapes is a
three year triptych based on the theme
of water beginning in Los Angeles,
California (2008) then traveling to
Dartington/Plymouth, UK (2009) and
then to Essen City, Germany (2010).
TaskForce 2008-10 is funded by the Transatlantic
Arts Consortium (TAC).

5. Postcard, announcing TaskForce’s tour of Idyllwild (front)

6. Stephan Koplowitz: TaskForce
Mapping Idyllwild
 First day: Introducing Idyllwild to the
members of TaskForce.
TaskForce would create/rehearse
for ten consecutive days and create
one film and six unique site-specific
dance/performance works,
performed over three days.

7. Trying on TaskForce costumes/shoes

8. The Re-Make of Elvis Presley’s Kid Galahad, filmed at the same Idyllwild locations

10. EVENT #1:
Opening Night
Thursday, June 4,
2008
“Kid Galahad Karaoke”

11. EVENT #2: TaskForce collaborates with Idyllwild Arts faculty and
students to create “Habitat” using the 12 “Troys”, one-time camp
housing, now music practice rooms on the Idyllwild campus as the site
for an hour long performance installation, performed over two
evenings at twilight.
Friday and Saturday, June 6,7, 2008. 8-9pm

12. Sarah Young, TaskForce,
collaborated with faculty member
Bonnie Carpenter

14. Idyllwild student Russell Lilie performing
in the “Habitat” of his own creation: “The
Interrogation Room.”

16. Idyllwild student Sara Pilchman performing in her creation,
“The Bathroom” for “Habitat”.

19. Marisa Jimenez, TaskForce,
collaborated
with Faculty member Denise Felton

21. Nicole Berger, TaskForce,
collaborated with
Idyllwild student
Cody Oyama in “Snow Globe”

24. Storme Sundberg, TaskForce, collaborated
with Idyllwild student Matt Schumacher
to create “A Room to Herself”

26. Kevin Williamson, TaskForce collaborated with
Faculty member Denise Felton
to create “The Projection Room”

28. Joshua Marin-Hepfl, TaskForce,
collaborated with faculty
Denise Felton for
“The Ropes Room”

30. Rachel Butler-Green,
TaskForce,
collaborated with
Cody Oyama,
to create
“The Pipes Room”

32. Alexandria Yalj, TaskForce,
collaborated with faculty
Stephanie Gilliland to create
“The Clothes Room”

34. Stephanie Gilliland, faculty, performing
in her own creation involving video and
live performance

36. EVENT #3:TaskForce performs at the
Idyllwild Historical Society Museum.
Guest artists/collaborators include
Renowned singer/cowboy poet
Herb Jeffries and local Idyllwild
Historian Bob Smith (below)
Saturday, NOON,
June 5, 2008
TaskForce creates a performance
inspired by historical photographs
found in the museum and in response
to poetry written by Herb Jeffries.

38. Herb Jeffries reads his poetry while TaskForce performs

40. EVENT #4:TaskForce creates a
site-specific performance for the
beginning of the Devil’s Slide
Trailhead at Humber Park, in
association with
the United States Forest Service
June 7, 2008
2pm

41. Paul Chavez, TaskForce
composer, played
live.
The performance was
performed in collaboration
with Local Color, an all
women’s accapella singing
group from Idyllwild,
Anna Ancheta
(director)

43. EVENT #5: TaskForce performs a site-
specific event at “The Fort” in downtown
Idyllwild with four guest dancers directed
by local choreographer
April Rhodes . Saturday, June 5, 2008,
4pm

46. EVENT #6: Noon, Sunday June 8, 2008 – Performance at Inspiration Point
with local guest artists Judith Schonebaum and Hannah Ruskin
who were given the task of creating a visual installation.

50. Sunday, June 8, 2008
3pm
EVENT #7: TaskForce creates a
double-front Site specific event at
Idyllwild’s Town Hall.
The audience is divided
into two groups, one inside, one
outside to see a performance
that moves seamlessly between
the two spaces. At intermission
the two audiences switched
places.

54. After one day off, TaskForce begins a three week creation period for Liquid Landscapes in Los
Angeles. Liquid Landscapes postcard (front)

55. Stephan Koplowitz directs a second
site-specific short film revisiting locations
from the movie, Chinatown. Collaborates
with videographer
Ki Jin Kim, MFA2 film student at CalArts.
The films is titled: Chinatown: Watermark

56. On location at
Echo Park

57. DAY ONE: TaskForce’s first event was the premiere of their site/movie-
specific film, Chinatown: Watermark and then a full screening of the
original film Chinatown, as part of Grand Performances at Cal Plaza.
Sunday, June 30, 2008.

58. DAY TWO: Monday, July 1st , at noon and 5pm, TaskForce
premiered an hour long site-specific work made for the plaza
and fountains. It was seen by several hundred people at each
performance. The work used the entire plaza as its
stage in a 360º manner.

62. Day THREE: TaskForce performs at the historic Farmers Market at 3rd
and Fairfax. The performance consisted of a 90 minute installation inside
the food market followed by 45 minutes event outside on the Plaza
between the market and The Grove shopping mall. Tuesday, July 1, 2008

63. TaskForce composer/
musician Todd Reynolds with
dancer Storme Sundberg

65. DAY FOUR: TaskForce performed at LA’s premiere alternative
dance venue, the Open Space in an evening of site inspired dance
improvisation. It was a chance to share with an audience some of
the processes learned during the past six weeks of work.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

66. This concert featured both TaskForce composers, Paul Chavez and
Todd Reynolds

67. Day FIVE: TaskForce
partners with the
Community Arts Program
(CAP) at CalArts and the Dept.
of Cultural Affairs for a
special performance
at the Banning Center at
the Port of Los Angeles.
Guest artists included
ten eighth grade students
who created a special
visual art installation
on site at the port.
TaskForce created a
three part performance.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
BANNING’S LANDING COMMUNITY CULTURAL CENTER

68. Section two inside the Banning Center

69. Section three

71. Day SIX: TaskForce joins forces with the Los Angeles Urban Rangers, a
performance art group devoted to creative investigations of the urban
landscape. The Rangers collaborated with TaskForce on their Malibu
beach access lectures which help the general public understand the
legalities of public beach accessibility. Friday, July 4, 2008

72. Disgruntled Malibu beachfront home owners
attempt to vocally and physically disrupt the
performance claiming exclusive access to
the beach. Both invoke their “rights” on the
fourth of July, an ironic moment and one that
brought into focus the idea of art
and social activism.

76. Day SEVEN: TaskForce creates a three part site-specific event at Farmlab, a downtown
environmental arts center. The performances took place in and around water based
sculpture by artist Lauren Bon, Farmlab’s founder. July 5, 2008

78. Part Two

80. Part Three

86. Day EIGHT: In partnership with the Friends of the Los Angeles River (FOLAR), an
environmental organization dedicated to the preservation of the river, TaskForce created an
all day tour of the LA River. Audience members were able to take a bus (or drive on their
own) to four different locations on the LA River. (Executive Director of FOLAR Shelly Backlar
pictured at center.

87. This all day event featured four different site-specific performances at four points along the
river. Specially commissioned poems, read by the author, renowned LA poet Suzanne Lummis,
lectures on the history and use of the LA River by noted author and expert Jenny Price and live
music by TaskForce composer Todd Reynolds. July 6, 2008: 10am to 4pm

93. The end of the journey: Within six weeks, TaskForce created two films, 13
different site-specific creations (FREE TO THE PUBLIC), collaborated with 41
community artists and was seen by over 3,000 people between Idyllwild and
Los Angeles. In both Idyllwild and Los Angeles, it garnered ample press and
publicity and brought art making and performance into the public arena.

94. The next stop in TaskForce’s Liquid Landscapes tour will take place
in June, 2009. Performances in Dartington and Plymouth UK are
currently being researched and planned with Dartington Arts.

96. From the home of Sir Francis
Drake, the person responsible
for bringing water to the city
of Plymouth (the William
Mulholland of his era), to…

97. The the last spot the Mayflower Pilgrims walked before
embarking to the New World. TaskForce will
collaborate with a whole new set of artists and sites in
the coming year.

98. taskforceprojects.com