A Dramatis Personae Workshop with Zell Miller, III
Monday, April 21st, 7:30-9 PM
Violet Crown City Church,
1300 Morrow St.,  Austin 78757

Admission: Sliding Scale $15 – $40
Grab Your Spot HERE

Using elementary elements of Jazz Aesthetic* performance techniques this workshop will explore using gesture, language, and breathwork to make text come to life off the page. Participants should wear comfortable clothes and be prepared for light movement and breathwork, and writing for personal stories

     Zell Miller, III is a poet, theater artist, and creative force known for his thought-provoking works that explore identity, culture, and the human experience. With a passion for storytelling and performance, Miller has made significant contributions to the arts, particularly in the realms of poetry and theater. In 2004, he was voted the best poet-writer in the Austin Chronicle. In 2017, he was inducted into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame.

He has toured nationally, and internationally as a performer. He has opened for legendary artists like Nikki Giovanni, and the Last Poets. Zell’s poetry often weaves together elements of history, race, and emotion, creating powerful narratives that resonate with audiences. As a theater artist, he has utilized his unique voice to craft performances that challenge conventional boundaries and encourage reflection on societal issues. Recent theatre productions include CHRONICLES OF AN INDIGENOUS OFFSPRING and BALLOT EATS THE BULLET: U MATTER, both at Hyde Park Theatre.

Miller’s approach to both poetry and theater is marked by an intense focus on language, rhythm, and the connection between artist and audience. His performance style, taught to him by his mentor Laurie Carlos, is steeped in the Jazz aesthetic. Whether performing on stage or sharing his written work, he brings a raw and genuine energy to his art, drawing viewers into the intimate spaces he creates with words and movement. An open book, Miller loves to say that his greatest creations are his children Zell IV and Marley, and his relationship with his amazing partner Ashley Miller.

Through his work, Zell Miller III continues to inspire others to explore their own creativity and question the world around them. His dedication to using art as a platform for dialogue and change has made him a distinctive and influential voice in the contemporary arts scene.

*“Theatrical jazz is a distinctive way to make work and life; indeed, theatrical jazz acknowledges the necessary seamlessness of the two. While this aesthetic leans heavily on elements of jazz including ensemble and individual virtuosity, improvisation, polyrhythms, “the bridge,” and “the break,” it also references the modern dance idioms, the blues sensibilities, the performance art antecedents, and the ancestral calling that position theatrical jazz as a distinctive performance genre. The texts and productions made from this artistic sensibility are diverse, yet some features reoccur through the range of works. Most often, theatrical jazz is nonlinear and transtemporal.”  

Excerpted from THEATRICAL JAZZ by Omi Osun Joni L. Jones