Student Profile

John Zibell
Performance Studies

John’s practice happens in the theatre, cinema, gallery and the street and interrogates that which is fully actual within the virtual. Bringing a quarter century of art practice and political activism to research, John currently focuses his theory around two imbricated strands: technesis or the pulling of technology into discourse; and the practices of what Joe Dumit terms “Bodied story-making” within and alongside the structures of American neo-colonialism.

John’s art work – scripted, scored, and/or improvised – springs from 25 years of professional performance work and rigorous training in New York in divergent disciplines from Stanislavski to Grotowski and with a diverse range of collaborators such as Mike Nichols, Diane Paulus, Paul Sills, and Andre Gregory. Currently a 3rd-year PhD candidate with a Designated Emphasis in Studies in Performance and Practice, John holds an M.F.A. in directing from the department of Theatre and Dance at UC Davis.

John is also an award-winning filmmaker (Sex and Violence, 2001) an actor, and a performance artist. He originated the role of Jimmy Patraglia in Joe Roland’s off-Broadway play On The Line, he acted in the controversial Indie film The War Within – on which he also served as acting coach for Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright and actor Ayad Akhtar. He has worked twice with Macarthur Genius Recipient, Guillermo Gomez-Peña (Corpo Ilicito: The Post-Human Society 6.9).

Current Activities

John currently collaborating with a team of dancers, actors, programmers, theorists, and digital artists to develop DataMining Beckett: A Multi-reality, Performance Installation for Bodies The piece joins players from anywhere on the globe in a virtual playing space not as 3D avatars, but live-streamed, 3D, holograms thus making space for bodies to play within immersive 3D, digital environments. It would not be possible for this work to happen without the UC Davis KeckCAVES.

 

View all UCD Arts departments and programs

Melody Chiang

Art
History

Melody Chiang

Maria
Manetti
Shrem
Art Studio Program

Melody Chiang

Cinema and
Digital Media

Melody Chiang

Design

Melody Chiang

Music

Melody Chiang

Theatre
and Dance

Melody Chiang

Performance Studies

Melody Chiang

Museums