12 Minutes Max

12 Minutes Max is a curated monthly performance series featuring short works by local artists in many disciplines.

One Sunday a month, we present three original pieces in a varied mix, chosen from music, dance, film, theater, performance art, writing, and the like — each 12 minutes or less with a short Q&A after each piece. The whole event is short and sweet, taking about an hour.

The City Library will present a live stream 12 Minutes Max on Sunday, April 18 at 2pm. Please join us using this link. The program is archived on Vimeo after the broadcast and can be viewed later as well.

Choreographer/director Nick Blaylock in collaboration with performing artists Olivia Beck, Callista Mincks, Olivia Suarez, Tenille Taylor, and Caden Thomas will present Right to Be Right (So busy defending myself, I didn't hear your critique.) a work that began as “a reflection of our perspective on society's discourse - whether political or sacred - and the seemingly growing obsession with, and possession of, rightness, resulting in an inability to listen. Performers are working through tasks which - through fixation and google's second definition of compulsion - inevitably lead to busy work and further individuality, and therefore, privatization.” The song lyrics are by Callista Mincks and Caden Thomas; the sound by Dan Brown, Adam Guilliams, and Nick Blaylock. Nick is a dance artist and MFA graduate of the Modern Dance Program in the University of Utah’s School of Dance. He has performed nationally, and his creative research has been commissioned throughout the United States by studios, pre-professional companies, and universities. Nick currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Dance and the Associate Chair, Dance Program Director of Southern Utah University’s Department of Theatre, Dance, & Arts Administration. Nick is a collaborator with Heartland, a multi-disciplinary collective directed by Molly Heller.

RICKSPLUND will present music which "explores a range of styles, instrumental combinations, and approaches within the constraints of what two humans can think up and perform together--the approach is always spontaneous and relies on close listening and responding 'in the moment' to whatever happens." RICKSPLUND is an improvising duo consisting of Christian Asplund (viola, piano, keyboards) and Steven Ricks (trombone, laptop/electronics). They've performed throughout the US, Canada, and Europe at a variety of venues and conferences including STEIM in Amsterdam, the International Society for Improvised Music (ISIM) conference in Waterloo, Ontario, and the Salty Cricket Composers' Collective "Melange" concert in SLC. A forthcoming pfMENTUM record label release features them with improvisers Vinny Golia and Ron Coulter.

Arin Lynn will present I wonder what it must be like to be a paper flower, performed by Tori Meyer, meant to be an exercise in stillness and stimulation. Arin is a hoosier and a dance/multimedia artist currently based in Salt Lake City. After graduating from the UofU, they have worked on several independent and freelance projects which “may or may not see an audience”. Their most current projects have been TV Dinners presents Binary Coding with choreographer Nora Lang and Don’t Dance at the Magic Show! with director Tori Meyer. In the past year, Arin has also found that they love pet sitting and rollerblading.

This program is modeled after 12 Minutes Max, a performance laboratory originated by On the Boards in Seattle.