Jessica Burr of “This is Modern Art”

Blessed Unrest presents THIS IS MODERN ART, written by Idris Goodwin and Kevin Coval, directed by Jessica BurrListen in as Jessica Burr, Artistic Director of Blessed Unrest and director of the company’s new production of This is Modern Art, discusses grabbing opportunities when they’re presented, how they “bombed” (graffiti-style) their set, getting invited into “the institution,” the company’s mission and what they’re up to next, the importance of having an incredible team, and “who gets to decide what art is, and where it goes.”

“…we decided that [it] had to be true to the act itself, in that it needed to be difficult, it needed to be physical, and there needed to be time pressure…and it needed to be fun, and we needed to be able to play loud music.”

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Jessica Burr of “Platonov, or, A Play with No Name”

Blessed Unrest presents PLATONOV, or, A Play with No Name, translated and adapted by Laura Wickens from the play by Anton Chekhov, directed by Jessica BurrListen in as Blessed Unrest Artistic Director and director of Platanov, or, A Play with No NameJessica Burr, discusses the company’s staging process for the round, adapting early Chekhov, finding the humanity in “dreadful” people, putting the audience in the world of the characters, sleepless nights thanks to blocking, and the similarities between this 140-year-old play and our current world.

“…I guess for me, ultimately, I don’t go to the theatre to see Platonov, or to see Hamlet. I go to the theatre to see actors, to see human beings being exposed…that’s really what I want to see. Of course it’s story, it’s narrative, it’s context, but it’s really about the humans, we put these humans in this situation, and we watch and see what they do. And hopefully we learn from them.”

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