Brandon Kazen-Maddox He has always felt an affinity with the sirens.
«We both spoke two worlds,» MX said. Kazen-Maddox, 36, an American sign language dancer, choreographer and filmmaker who is not binary and uses them/pronouns.
Mx. Kazen-Maddox, like his two parents, is listening. But they grew up living with their mother in their parents’ house in the state of Washington, where their maternal grandparents, who are deaf, spoke with their hands.
Soon, mx. Kazen-Maddox learned to do the same. «I like to say that my words are just for the trip,» they said.
Mx. Kazen-Maddox has been interpreting professionally since 2012 and has worked on Broadway production of «Aladdin» and for former President Joe Biden, composer Lin-Manuel Miranda and actress Marlee Matllin.
In half an hour of PBS scheduled for Tuesday «,»Alma (signals): make visible music«MX. Kazen-Maddox documented the process of choreography, filming and realization of an ASL music video for Morgan James»Drown«Sanding light on their own relationship with music and sign language.
«I see a lot of ASL as a late occurrence or interpretation that has just been included,» they said, «and ends up not serving the deaf community.»
In 2020, MX. Kazen-Maddox began Until now collective with Kevin NewburyA director and MX. Kazen-Maddox’s partner, five years old, and Jecca Barry, a producer. The collective, whose projects include «Soul (Signs)», has a multidisciplinary approach in inclusive narration.
As a person who and between several projects, MX. Kazen-Maddox loves having a base of operations in a cozy duplex on the upper west of Manhattan along the Hudson River, where they live with Mr. Newbury, 47, and more than a dozen plants.
«My Sunday is essentially five lives in one day,» they said.
Sun, sun, sun here comes I wake up at 8 in the morning, I do everything possible to not use an alarm. I only think it is healthier. Sometimes I’m going to sleep with open windows, so I wake up in the sun.
Soul session I like to put on Spotify and play healing and meditative sound bowls when I am in the shower. It is a good way to get into tune with my own spirituality and be punished. Then I will ignite something like «Telepathy tapes«By Ky Dickens: Information that feeds my soul and my curiosity for the universe.
Around I will drink a shake or eat a Pitaya bowl of a fresh fresh juice bar on the west side. Then we laugh my plants with my partner, Kevin, we are vegetable parents, and that reminds me that they feel punished and take care of the earth. We have 16, so it takes about half an hour.
Meditation and mud Around 9:30 am, I will take the train or jump in the car through the FDR to the FDR Russian and Turkish Baths In East Village, where he spent four hours, at least, working in my body, mind and spirit. The bathrooms are very special because they are my danger room, in the language of X-Men: they help me practice the extremes.
I will go to the Russian room, which is like 160 degrees, it is intense. And the Hammam, the steam room, is this place where there is moisture. Brought my oils; I will put a lavender in the air and mint and breathe them. It is very good for your skin, your lungs and any opening to your body.
When I can pay it, I get a series of treatments: a mud massage with Israel mud, a salt exfoliant and soap washing. When they apply the mud, they let it dry for 15 to 20 minutes, during which you meditate.
Stretch it Then I make the dry sauna, where I will stretch my divisions, my back and my shoulders. That keeps my dance alive and is meditative. And it is a bit exhibited of, such as, caring for your body, everyone. I also love the fall of the cold because, when I enter, I think about what it feels like to be in the outer space and what it feels like to be at the bottom of the ocean.
A store that rockea I entered one of my favorite stores, Garden of crystalsthat is on the other side of the streets. They have dream receptors, incense, plants and a large number of crystals and rocks and handmade things. It is a good place to find gifts to send family or friends.
Food mode I’m going to Joe and Pat’swhich is just around the corner and ask for a cauliflower bark pizza. They have this incredible broccoli Rabe, and I put it in the pizza, which is red sauce and pepperoni. And then I put his cheesy Salsa Alfredo on top of everything. I can eat everything after one morning in the bathrooms, and it makes me feel very good because it is cauliflower and wheat cortex.
Or could go to this Japanese place called Ramen Takumiwhich is located in the northeast corner of the Washington Square Park. Steinhardt’s roll is my favorite. I love that area, which is a base of operations for me: when I was in school in Nyu, I would always be around the Washington Square Park and walked through the town. They also have great comics things on the walls.
Often, Kevin and Jecca will come to meet me, and we will talk about something we are doing so far collective.
Checkle checks At 2 in the afternoon, I go to Club Cumming for an essay for a presentation that we are doing on April 15, the day my Special PBS is broadcast. We will have a public projection of «Alma (signals)». Then we are creating a program called «Soul (signs): 3x3x3«Which is the music of Nina Simone. I am asking three Soul Black singers to each one who chooses a Nina Simone song to sing, and then signed, and Jazz pianist Lance Horne will play in the keys. And I will work with a deaf director of artistic sign language, Patrice Creamer, translate the three of these songs from my perspective.
Aerial Arts Is in another essay at 4 pm, this in One day one In Dumbo with my air ring coach, New York cat. I began to write a theatrical production of the American sign language dance theater called (Freedom), which is basically my story: it is a black boy Black raised in a White Sorda family. I wanted to add an element that would maintain my really strong body, which is a Air ringAnd I had never seen anyone doing American sign language in an aerial ring before. So I thought, well, let’s do that!
Neighborhood I get home around 6:30 and cook the dinner with food that Kevin collected from Westside Market, our favorite market. Its Portuguese collized collized soup is phenomenal.
Film night Kevin and I ended up watching a movie recommended by «The queer film guide«By Kyle Turner. It is this great book that passes through all these films that may or may not have thought to have something to do with the rarity, such as» The Fy «, for example. Who knew? If it is pleasant, we will bring our projector and we will see it up on the roof.
Hug time After the movie, Kevin and I curled up next to each other and read our books. At this time, I am reading «fourth wing» by Rebecca Yarros, and is very good. Those are the types of books I love, fantasy with mixtures of strong reality. I think that what makes it our subconscious establishes our mood. So I try to make sure that whatever is listening before bedtime is positive and cheerful, or interesting and fantastic, to affect my dreams.
