Bushnell Premiers Original Short Film 'While You Were Gone'

BUSHNELL COLLABORATES WITH OLIVIER & EMMY AWARD NOMINATED CHOREOGRAPHER, JENNIFER WEBER, TO CREATE ORIGINAL SHORT FILM, “WHILE YOU WERE GONE,”

CELEBRATING THE RETURN OF LIVE PERFORMANCE AFTER 18-MONTH CLOSURE

HARTFORD — Tonight at 6pm on Facebook and YouTube, The Bushnell will premiere an original short film directed and choreographed by acclaimed artist, Jennifer Weber. The film, a “love letter to The Bushnell,” celebrates the reemergence of The Bushnell and other performing arts venues from the 18-month closure necessitated by the covid-19 pandemic. Featuring lead dancer Gabriel Emphasis as well as 30 local dancers from Hartford’s Studio 860 and the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, and scored with original music by Doug Rockwell Tova Litvin, who earned a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Original Song in the Netflix series, Julie and The Phantoms, While You Were Gone evokes the thrill and wonder of theaters coming back to life.

EVOLUTION OF WHILE YOU WERE GONE
In late 2020, when stages across the country and around the world were dark with an uncertain future, a small group of creatives dared to dream about a time when those stages were enlivened again. The idea started with a simple, but familiar image. One that has come to symbolize both the dark days of shuttered venues, as well as the hope that kept everyone looking toward the future: the ghost light. It is that hope, set to music and hip hop dance, that’s at the core of the short film While You Were Gone.

From her location in Los Angeles, Olivier Award nominated choreographer and director, Jennifer Weber collaborated virtually with artists from around the country to bring this vision to life. Heading up the crew, alongside Weber, were Director of Photography, John Kopec, whose resume includes numerous films and iconic TV ads for Adidas, Asics and Red Bull; Lighting Designer Brandon Stirling Baker, who brought his experience with many of the world’s leading dance companies, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and co-founder and lead designer of Iron Bloom Creative Production, Gabriel Evansohn who served as Set Designer and who specializes in immersive-theater design.

While You Were Gone is a celebration of The Bushnell, brought to life through performance throughout the building. “It really is a love letter to The Bushnell,” said Weber. “I wanted to showcase the beauty and the magic of the theater — this theater specifically. It’s so magical be in Mortensen Hall performing, celebrating, and sharing the arts. My goal was to showcase the beauty of the arts community and the energy of live performance in this project.”

Jennifer Weber is an Olivier and Emmy Award nominated choreographer based in New York City and Los Angeles. She made her West End debut with & Juliet (Olivier Award Nominee, Whatsonstage Award Nominee), a new musical featuring the songs of pop songwriter, Max Martin, currently playing at the Shaftesbury Theater in London. Weber made her film debut as the choreographer for the Disney Channel Original Movie, Disney Zombies 2 which was released in February 2020. Her choreography for the music videos from that film have been viewed over 500 million times. She recently choreographed Petrushka Reimagined for the virtual series, A New Stage, presented by CLI Studios and starring NYC Ballet principal dancer, Tiler Peck, international ballet star, Brooklyn Mack, and hip hop icon, Lil Buck.

Weber is the co-creator, director, and choreographer of The Hip Hop Nutcracker, featuring rap legend Kurtis Blow, touring annually across the U.S. and airing on PBS ALL ARTS Network each holiday season (Emmy Nomination). Off-Broadway choreography credits include KPOP (Upcoming Broadway Transfer/Lortel Nomination), Teenage Dick (The Public/Ma-Yi Theater Company), Cruel Intentions (LPR/US National Tour), Stockholm (U.S. premiere). Her concert dance work has been performed at Jacob’s Pillow, New York City Center, The Apollo, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Southbank Center, and The Stanislavsky Music Theatre, Moscow.

While You Were Gone premieres Monday, September 20 at 6pm on The Bushnell’s Facebook and YouTube Channels (@thebushnell).