Jack Ferver Explained
Jack Ferver |
Nationality: | American |
Alma Mater: | Interlochen Arts Academy |
Known For: | Choreography |
Birth Date: | 1979[1] |
Birth Place: | Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, USA |
Jack Ferver (born 1979) is an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and professor. They are known for their dance-theatre shows that examine trauma, otherness, and queerness, as well as for their portrayal of a character known as the Little Lad in a 2007 Berries and Cream Starburst commercial.
Upon graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy, Ferver moved to New York City and appeared in their first film role in Outside Providence (1999). After acting in film, television, and theater for several years, Ferver began performing their own full-length dance pieces in 2007. Their work with artist Marc Swanson on the performance piece Chambre in the mid-2010s earned a nomination at the 2016 Bessie Awards. Ferver teaches at Bard College and cohosts a podcast about the dance world.
Early life
Jack Ferver grew up in rural Wisconsin, U.S., first in Prairie du Sac and later in Sauk City, where they experienced harassment and bullying throughout their youth as "a little gay kid".[2] [3] Ferver began working with a teacher who was influenced by Martha Graham when they were 13.[4] They received a scholarship to Interlochen Arts Academy for their senior year of high school, where they trained and met future collaborator Reid Bartelme.[5]
Career
After attending Interlochen, Ferver moved to New York City. In 1997, intending to dance and act, Ferver was hired to perform in several commercials as well as for their first film role in Outside Providence (1999).[6] Ferver hoped to land more film roles but had trouble finding a talent agent and recalled rejection from casting directors who had trouble viewing them as a young person, despite being eighteen years old when Outside Providence was filmed. Around this time, they began to take classes at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance.
Ferver continued to appear onstage and act in television and film. In 1999, they performed in the premiere of Betty's Summer Vacation at Playwrights Horizons. In 2000, they appeared on several episodes of the Comedy Central TV series Strangers with Candy.[7] [8] Throughout the early and mid-2000s, Ferver performed in theater, film, and television, appearing in plays in New York, Washington, D.C., and San Diego.[9] [10] [11] In 2001, they appeared in the film Way Off Broadway and in 2005 they performed in the New York Musical Theatre Festival adaptation of the film But I'm a Cheerleader.[12] [13] With the QWAN Company, which Ferver founded, they created and performed in satirical live readings of the films Notes on a Scandal and Black Swan titled Notes!!! (2010) and Swan!!! (2011), respectively.[14] [15] [16]
In 2007, Ferver began performing full-length dance pieces with their work When We Were Young and Filled with Fear.[17] In the late 2000s, they presented their work at Dixon Place (When We Were Young and Meat), Danspace Project (Death Is Certain), and Abrons Arts Center (A Movie Star Needs a Movie), the latter as part of the American Realness Festival.[18] [19] As a dancer and choreographer, Ferver has collaborated with Interlochen classmate Bartelme, dramaturg Joshua Lubin-Levy, and artist Marc Swanson.[20] [21] [22] [23] Chambre, one of Ferver's pieces with Swanson, was nominated in 2016 for a Bessie Award.[24]
Ferver appeared as a character known as the Little Lad in a 2007 commercial for Berries and Cream Starburst candies.[25] The advertisement, which features Ferver performing a simple dance while singing "Berries and cream!", spread widely and generated parodies and mashups on YouTube that year, as did a second video in which Ferver as the Lad led a tutorial for the dance.[26] Ferver briefly revived the character in late 2021 when the tutorial video was reposted to TikTok by podcast host Justin McElroy and the Little Lad's dance became a popular TikTok trend.[27]
As of 2020, Ferver taught at Bard College and was also a visiting professor at New York University.[28] In addition to their dance work, Ferver has appeared in other movies and TV shows, including Gayby (2012) and High Maintenance (2016).[29] [30] Ferver choreographed and appeared as Tinker Bell in Bard College's 2018 production of Leonard Bernstein's musical Peter Pan.[31] They also signed on in 2019 to choreograph Jeremy O. Harris's play A Boy's Company Presents: 'Tell Me If I'm Hurting You, but the show was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ferver and Bartelme, who had both been fellows at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, began hosting the podcast What's Going On with Dance and Stuff in 2017, with a consistent rule of releasing an episode every Friday.[32] Topics discussed, which often tend to be "more about the 'stuff' than the 'dance,'" according to Dance Magazine, include contemporary dance performances, books, Martha Graham, astrology, and Ferver and Bartelme's own work.
Style
Ferver is most known for their dance-theatre shows that examine trauma, otherness, and queerness.[33] In interviews, Ferver has cited Martha Graham and her autobiography Blood Memory as a particular influence in their exploration of concepts like "contraction and release", dark facets of the human psyche, as well as ritual and repetition. Expression of gender and sexuality are central themes throughout Ferver's work. Their piece Two Alike, described as a "psycho-sexual semi-autobiographical choreographic piece" explored their childhood through repetition. In Everything Is Imaginable, Ferver choreographed four soloists to "collectively exhume their personal queer histories and celebrate their childhood icons."[34]
Personal life
In 2008, Ferver lived in Brooklyn, New York. Their partner is filmmaker and artist Jeremy Jacob.[35]
Performances
Dance
Year | Title | Venue | Role | Notes |
---|
2007 | When We Were Young and Filled with Fear | Dixon Place | Choreographer, dancer | |
2008 | Meat: A Diptych | Dixon Place | Choreographer, dancer | |
2009 | Death Is Certain | Danspace Project | Choreographer, dancer | |
A Movie Star Needs a Movie | Abrons Arts Center | Choreographer, dancer | |
2010 | Rumble Ghost | Performance Space 122 | Writer, choreographer, dancer | [36] |
2011 | Two Alike | Contemporary Arts Museum Houston | Writer, choreographer, dancer | [37] |
Me, Michelle | Museum of Arts and Design | Choreographer, dancer | [38] |
2012 | Mon, Ma, Mes | French Institute Alliance Française | Creator, performer | [39] |
2013 | All of a Sudden | Abrons Arts Center | Choreographer, dancer | [40] |
2014 | Chambre | Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts | Choreographer, dancer | [41] |
2015 | Night Light Bright Light | Abrons Arts Center | Choreographer, dancer | [42] |
2016 | I Want You to Want Me | The Kitchen | Writer, choreographer, dancer | [43] |
2018 | Everything Is Imaginable | New York Live Arts | Choreographer, dancer | |
2020 | Nowhere Apparent | New York Public Library for the Performing Arts | Choreographer, dancer | [44] |
2022 | Is Global Warming Camp? and Other Forms of Theatrical Distance for the End of the World | Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art | Choreographer, performer | [45] | |
Theater
Film
Television
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Jack Ferver . Foundation for Contemporary Art.
- News: May 18, 2012. Jack Ferver Tells All. February 6, 2022. Portwood. Jerry. Out. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20170528061936/https://www.out.com/entertainment/theater-dance/2012/05/18/jack-ferver-two-alike-kitchen-marc-swanson. May 28, 2017. live.
- Millman, Debbie (host) . May 12, 2018 . . Podcast . https://designobserver.com/feature/jack-ferver/39839. February 6, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20200725183330/https://d.rip/debbie-millman/posts/design-matters-with-jack-ferver-faJYU.html . July 25, 2020. Jack Ferver . Design Matters Media . live.
- News: Gladstone . Valerie . Choreographer, artist team up for 'Two Alike' . February 24, 2022 . . July 8, 2012 . N1, N4. Newspapers.com.
- Web site: Perel. Marissa. October 6, 2012. Jack Ferver in conversation with Marissa Perel. February 6, 2022. Movement Research. en. Critical Conversations. https://web.archive.org/web/20210719012751/https://movementresearch.org/publications/critical-correspondence/jack-ferver-in-conversation-with-marissa-perel. July 19, 2021. live.
- News: Off beat . February 24, 2022 . . September 26, 1999 . 1C. Newspapers.com.
- News: Jones . Kenneth . Betty's Summer Vacation Packs Up Its Things April 18 in NYC . March 12, 2022 . . April 16, 1999 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201021113744/https://www.playbill.com/article/bettys-summer-vacation-packs-up-its-things-april-18-in-nyc-com-81304 . October 21, 2020. live.
- News: Polly . John . Berries & Cream! Little Lads! Remixes! . March 12, 2022 . . May 4, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220312201209/http://www.newnownext.com/berries-cream-little-lads-remixes/05/2007/ . March 12, 2022. live.
- News: Jones . Kenneth . Everything You Wanted to Know About Male Sexuality Answered in New Comedy, Sex*But, Starting Oct. 10 Off-Bway . May 3, 2022 . . October 7, 2004 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220503033855/https://www.playbill.com/article/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-male-sexuality-answered-in-new-comedy-sex-but-starting-oct-10-off-bway-com-122378 . May 3, 2022. live.
- News: Rousuck . J. Wynn . 'Camelot' shines in shadows of war, love . May 2, 2022 . . November 22, 2003 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210624050610/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2003-11-22-0311220232-story.html . June 24, 2021. live.
- News: Hernandez . Ernio . Christmas on Mars Lands at San Diego's Old Globe June 3 as Kondoleon Comedy Starts . May 3, 2022 . . June 3, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210423073844/https://www.playbill.com/article/christmas-on-mars-lands-at-san-diegos-old-globe-june-3-as-kondoleon-comedy-starts-com-132942 . April 23, 2021. live.
- News: Gans . Andrew . But I'm a Cheerleader Comes of Age in NYMF Run Sept. 13–25 . May 2, 2022 . . September 13, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211201221016/https://www.playbill.com/article/but-im-a-cheerleader-comes-of-age-in-nymf-run-sept-13-25-com-127981 . December 1, 2021. live.
- Web site: Christmas on Mars program . . March 12, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220312205335/http://pressarchive.theoldglobe.org/_pdf/Programs/2005-06/Christmas%20on%20Mars%20Program.pdf . March 12, 2022.
- News: D'Addario . Daniel . Avian Fever: Jack Ferver and Friends Camp Out With Swan!!! . July 10, 2022 . . March 9, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150309021946/http://observer.com/2011/03/avian-fever-jack-ferver-and-friends-camp-out-with-iswani/ . March 9, 2015. live.
- News: March 12, 2011. Spawn of 'Black Swan': A new parody from Jack Ferver's QWAN Company. July 10, 2022. Dance Magazine. https://web.archive.org/web/20220710195720/https://www.dancemagazine.com/spawn-of-black-swan-a-new-parody-from-jack-fervers-qwan-company/. July 10, 2022. live. Siobhan . Burke.
- News: Furlan . Julia . 'Black Swan' Becomes 'Swan!!!' at P.S. 122 . July 10, 2022 . . March 8, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140821033858/http://www.wnyc.org/story/117514-black-swan-becomes-swan-ps-122/ . August 21, 2014.
- News: Sierra . Gabrielle . PS122 Presents Jack Ferver's QWAN Company's SWAN!!! 2/10 . July 10, 2022 . BroadwayWorld . February 10, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220710184548/https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/PS122-Presents-Jack-Fervers-QWAN-Companys-SWAN-210-20110210 . July 10, 2022. live.
- News: Sierra . Gabrielle . Jack Ferver Presents I Am Trying to Hear Myself And An Excerpt Of Candam Goodbar At PS122 7/22-26 . May 31, 2022 . BroadwayWorld . July 21, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220531173724/https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/Jack-Ferver-Presents-I-AM-TRYING-TO-HEAR-MYSELF-And-An-Excerpt-Of-VANDAM-GOODBAR-At-PS122-72226-20090721 . May 31, 2022. live.
- News: Horowitz . Andy . American Realness Festival . July 3, 2022 . Culturebot . December 26, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210623085423/https://www.culturebot.org/2009/12/5158/american-realness-festival/ . June 23, 2021. live.
- News: Kourlas. Gia. May 5, 2020. Where Dance Fans Can Escape From Our 'Sci-Fi Horror' Moment. The New York Times. February 20, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20200520213525/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/arts/dance/reid-bartelme-jack-ferver-podcast.html. May 20, 2020. live.
- News: Barker . Jeremy M. . Prelude.12: An Interview with Jack Ferver & Josh Lubin-Levy . July 10, 2022 . Culturebot . October 4, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210508082211/https://www.culturebot.org/2012/10/14708/prelude-12-an-interview-with-jack-ferver-josh-lubin-levy/ . May 8, 2021. live.
- News: Gaertner Gerbracht . Kerry . A Dance Pairs Jean Genet and Lady Gaga . July 10, 2022 . . September 24, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220113173811/https://hyperallergic.com/239016/a-dance-pairs-jean-genet-and-lady-gaga/ . January 13, 2022. live.
- Franko. Mark. 2013. Ferver Between Fear and Hope. . 35. 1. 58–63. 10.1162/PAJJ_a_00125. 26376117. 57566380 .
- News: Shaw . Helen . Dance, Dance, Revolution: Bessie Awards name the 2016 nominees . July 10, 2022 . . July 15, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210503220754/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/blog/dance-dance-revolution-bessie-awards-name-the-2016-nominees-071516 . May 3, 2021. live.
- News: Nudd . Tim . Brief interviews with commercial actors: Jack Ferver on being Starburst's Little Lad . July 10, 2022 . . October 24, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170618085322/https://www.adweek.com/creativity/brief-interviews-commercial-actors-jack-ferver-being-starbursts-little-lad-15122 . June 18, 2017. dead.
- News: Fuhrer. Margaret. November 19, 2021. The Little Lad? Berries and Cream? Call It Performance Art. The New York Times. July 10, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220311081921/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/arts/dance/berries-and-cream-tik-tok.html. March 11, 2022. live.
- News: September 2, 2021. How this 'cursed' 2007 Starburst commercial became TikTok's latest trend. July 10, 2022. Newsweek. https://web.archive.org/web/20211008041844/https://www.newsweek.com/how-this-cursed-2007-starburst-commercial-became-tiktoks-latest-trend-1625357. October 8, 2021. Fowler. Kate. live.
- News: Marius . Marley . Anatomy of a Play Put on Hold: Jeremy O. Harris's A Boy's Company Presents: 'Tell Me If I'm Hurting You . July 10, 2022 . . July 9, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210812142817/https://www.vogue.com/article/anatomy-of-a-play-put-on-hold-a-boys-company-presents . August 12, 2021.
- News: Walsh . Katie . Review: 'Gayby' Is A Slightly Amusing Little Comedy About…You Guessed It, Babymaking With Your Best Gay . March 12, 2022 . . October 10, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210303175654/https://www.indiewire.com/2012/10/review-gayby-is-a-slightly-amusing-little-comedy-about-you-guessed-it-babymaking-with-your-best-gay-105120/ . March 3, 2021. live.
- News: Russell . John . Exclusive: Colby Keller On Stripping Down On The Set Of HBO's 'High Maintenance' . May 2, 2022 . . September 18, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201006233710/https://www.queerty.com/exclusive-colby-keller-stripping-set-hbos-high-maintenance-20160918 . October 6, 2020. live.
- Edgecomb . Sean F. . Queer Rurality and the Closet Door Ajar on the Contemporary American Stage . . 2021 . 73 . 1 . 37–59 . 10.1353/tj.2021.0004. 234168653 .
- News: What to Listen to: Our Top 3 Dance Podcast Picks. August 17, 2019. Dance Magazine. February 20, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220128175427/https://www.dancemagazine.com/top-dance-podcast-picks/. January 28, 2022. live. Shadle. Caroline.
- News: Barone. Joshua. December 19, 2017. Gibney Dance Expands Its Residency Program. The New York Times. July 22, 2020. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20181031203415/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/arts/dance/gibney-dance-jack-ferver-alice-sheppard.html. October 31, 2018.
- News: Talijancic . Ivan . Jack Ferver with Ivan Talijancic . July 3, 2022 . . May 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210917211055/https://brooklynrail.org/2018/05/dance/JACK-FERVER-with-Ivan-Talijancic . September 17, 2021. live.
- News: Shadle . Caroline . Jeremy Jacob Explores the Choreography of Filmmaking . July 10, 2022 . . July 7, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211228023941/https://www.dancemagazine.com/dance-filmmakers/ . December 28, 2021. live.
- News: Kourlas . Gia . Laughing and Crying at Ghosts, Fictive and Real . July 3, 2022 . . December 10, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220617091237/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/11/arts/dance/11ghost.html . June 17, 2022. live.
- News: Flores Alvarez . Olivia . Jack Ferver & Marc Swanson: Two Alike . July 3, 2022 . . September 15, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220703161921/https://www.houstonpress.com/arts/jack-ferver-and-marc-swanson-two-alike-6591056 . July 3, 2022. live.
- News: La Rocco . Claudia . Two Performa 11 Duets, Distinct Yet Conversant in Their Shared Themes . July 3, 2022 . . November 16, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220617063816/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/arts/dance/performa-11s-me-michelle-and-antigone-jr-review.html . June 17, 2022. live.
- News: La Rocco . Claudia . Telling Almost All, and With a Wink . July 3, 2022 . . October 10, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220617033056/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/arts/dance/jack-fervers-mon-ma-mes-at-le-skyroom.html . June 17, 2022. live.
- News: Seibert . Brian . A Meeting of Two Elizabeths, Not at All Related . July 3, 2022 . . May 3, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220617010707/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/arts/dance/all-of-a-sudden-by-jack-ferver-at-abrons-arts-center.html . June 17, 2022. live.
- News: Burke . Siobhan . Visual Arts Come to the Theater as Genres Blend and Bend . July 3, 2022 . . November 23, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220616163620/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/arts/dance/jack-ferver-and-ralph-lemon-at-the-fisher-center-at-bard.html . June 16, 2022. live.
- News: Seibert . Brian . Anguish, Wackily Recalled . July 3, 2022 . . January 15, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220616162001/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/16/arts/dance/jack-fervers-night-light-bright-light.html . June 16, 2022. live.
- News: Seibert . Brian . Review: An Innocent Abroad (Beware the Boss's Bite) . July 3, 2022 . . July 1, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220616132746/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/02/arts/dance/review-jack-ferver-i-want-you-to-want-me-the-kitchen.html . June 16, 2022. live.
- Jerome Robbins Dance Division Annual Report FY20. Murray. Linda. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. 2021. July 3, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220703170741/https://live-cdn-www.nypl.org/s3fs-public/fy20_annual_report_1.pdf. July 3, 2022. live.
- News: Mass MoCA's fall season includes a massive roller coaster-inspired exhibit, concerts, a world-premiere dance and performance art . May 4, 2023 . . September 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230128224122/https://www.berkshireeagle.com/arts_and_culture/arts-theater/mass-moca-2022-fall-season-soccer-mommy-jack-ferver/article_440a78e0-2940-11ed-8835-536e369b7e0b.html . January 28, 2023. live.
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- News: Johnson . Malcolm . 'Princess Turandot' Opens a New Era at Playhouse . May 2, 2022 . . June 11, 2001 . https://archive.today/20220503014332/https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2001-06-11-0106110332-story.html . May 3, 2022. live.
- Web site: Stark. 2001 . Larry . 'What Happened in Boston, Willie' . The Theater Mirror . May 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061120064910/http://www.theatermirror.com/sromomtls.htm . November 20, 2006 . live.
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- News: Moen . Matt . Jack Ferver Mourns a Lost Generation in 'Nowhere Apparent' . February 3, 2024 . . March 6, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240203154537/https://www.papermag.com/jack-ferver-nowhere-apparent#rebelltitem25 . February 3, 2024.
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