Juli Crockett
Encyclopedia
Juli Crockett is a playwright
and theater director, retired (undefeated) professional boxer
and amateur champion, lead singer of the alternative country
band The Evangenitals, and producer of The 1 Second Film
. Born in Coffee County, Enterprise, Alabama
she is the daughter of fiction writer Linda Crockett
and non-fiction writer Daniel Savage Gray.
of Media and Communication at The European Graduate School
where she is the Director of Alumni Relations, Juli began her education in Theater at Pinellas County Center for the Arts
in St. Petersburg, Florida
. Crockett went on to receive a BFA in Acting
at New York University
's Tisch School of the Arts
and an MFA in Directing at the California Institute of the Arts
, where she also serves on the Alumni Association's Board of Directors.
opera "(or, the whale)" -- an adaptation of Herman Melville
's Moby-Dick
written and directed by Crockett with music by sonic artist and Avatar: The Last Airbender
composer Jeremy Zuckerman
-- debuted in Los Angeles in 2001. It was also presented at the 2001 Moby Dick Conference at Hofstra University
and also performed by the TENT group in Portland, Maine
.
"The Dawn of Quixote: Chapter the First", an adaptation of the first chapter of Don Quixote by Cervantes
, has been performed several times in Los Angeles and was featured in EdgeFest and EdgeFetish, a Los Angeles cutting edge theater festival, and in the sprit of Don Quixote performed without an admission charge for the EdgeFest performances (gleaning partial standing ovations from the audiences), as well as being made part of the Saturday Explorer Series at the 24th Street Theatre. Most recently, the play was presented at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland
at Venue 13, produced in part by the California Institute of the Arts
. Crockett's band, The Evangenitals, provided the live score for the play.
"Orpheus Crawling", an experimental opera based on the myth of Orpheus
and Eurydice
, was composed by Zuckerman, with libretto and direction by Crockett. Orpheus Crawling was workshopped at the 24th Street Theatre and premiered in NOW Fest at the REDCAT
in Los Angeles in August 2007.
Crockett's original work, "History of Water", premiered at the 24th Street Theater's Saturday Explorer Series on May 10, 2008 and was performed as part of the Downtown Film Festival's Sustainable LA festivities.
"History of Water" and "The Dawn of Quixote" have been adapted as radio dramas and performed on KPFK
's Pacifica Performance Showcase and are available in the Pacifica Radio Archives.
Crockett's directing-only credits include Bertolt Brecht
's "In The Jungle of Cities" at the Red Room in New York City, "Living in Boxes" at the Salvation Theater in Los Angeles, and the US Premier of R. Murray Schafer
's "Loving" at the CalArts Modular Theater.
In addition to writing and directing experimental theater, Crockett has studied modern dance
and choreography
, improv
at the iO WEST in Hollywood.
, US News and Music Connection Magazine due to her professional connection to Jerry Boyd (a.k.a. F.X. Toole
) and the film Million Dollar Baby
.
A slight media storm also occurred after her first professional bout, in which she knocked out her opponent 70 seconds into the first round. This fight was televised on Fox Sports
. Crockett's second professional bout, against Christina Rodriguez, went the distance (4 rounds) and was televised live on ESPN2.
Crockett retired undefeated at 3-0 (2 KO's).
, Music Connection Magazine, and other publications & radio stations for their singular brand of "hillbilly truckstop lullabies." They are considered a unique presence in the neo-folk/freak-folk movement. As stated on the Orphan Records website, "Though not entirely unclassifiable, the Evangenitals are versatile and multi-layered, and will likely carry a 'slash' in their genre classification for as long as they exist as a band of Southern Californian country bumpkins."
The band's first album - "We Are The Evangenitals" - received rave reviews from fans, selling out of its first printing and receiving a 5 star rating on iTunes
. The Evangenitals' second album "Everlovin" was recorded in South Pasadena at Del Boca Vista studios in January 2007 and released in October 2007.
In the fall of 2007 The Evangenitals went on the "Road to Oprah" tour with a documentary film
crew from The 1 Second Film
. The Evangenitals are composing songs for the The 1 Second Film's "making of" documentary that will accompany its lengthy credits. The Evangenitals will also be appearing in the documentary. So as to appear more media friendly during this time, The Evangenitals went under the moniker, The Love Punks.
Writer Colum McCann
spoke in an interview of Juli Crockett and the music of the Evangenitals saying, "For pure craziness, there are lots of other bands, including one that I can't write to but I've become a big fan; they're called the Evangenitals. They're from Los Angeles. One of the front singers is a former boxer-slash-philosopher. She's a fantastic singer. Her name is Juli Crockett." (Powells.com/Colum McCann).
In addition to fronting The Evangenitals, Crockett also performs with Cash'd Out, the world's premier Johnny Cash
tribute band
, singing the June Carter parts in their stage show.
Crockett and Lisa Dee also perform outside of the band under the name Evangina.
& human rights
, and an active member of the animal protection organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA), and a member of several environmental, animal rights
, and human rights organizations. Crockett is a producer of The 1 Second Film
, the worlds largest nonprofit collaborative art film and a Comedy Mentor with the organization "Laughter For A Change" which brings the healing power of laughter to at-risk communities through comedy and improv training and workshops.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and theater director, retired (undefeated) professional boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and amateur champion, lead singer of the alternative country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
band The Evangenitals, and producer of The 1 Second Film
The 1 Second Film
The 1 Second Film is a non-profit collaborative art project being created by thousands of people around the world, including many celebrities....
. Born in Coffee County, Enterprise, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
she is the daughter of fiction writer Linda Crockett
Linda Crockett
Linda Crockett, born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is an American author and teacher, best known for her horror, romance, and psychological thrillers. Linda Crockett published over a dozen books which were translated into as many languages, under the pen names Linda Crockett, Linda Crockett Gray,...
and non-fiction writer Daniel Savage Gray.
Education
Currently pursuing her PhD in the PhilosophyPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
of Media and Communication at The European Graduate School
European Graduate School
The European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland is a privately funded graduate school founded by the non-profit European Foundation of Interdisciplinary Studies. Its German name is Europäische Universität für Interdisziplinäre Studien...
where she is the Director of Alumni Relations, Juli began her education in Theater at Pinellas County Center for the Arts
Pinellas County Center for the Arts
Pinellas County Center for the Arts Program AdministratorRalph M. Nurmela M.S.School typePublic / Magnet SchoolReligious affiliationNoneFounded1984LocationSt...
in St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
. Crockett went on to receive a BFA in Acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
and an MFA in Directing at the California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
, where she also serves on the Alumni Association's Board of Directors.
Theatre Work
As a playwright/director, Crockett is best known for her adaptations of classic works of literature and philosophy. Her spoken wordSpoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
opera "(or, the whale)" -- an adaptation of Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
's Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
written and directed by Crockett with music by sonic artist and Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender is an American animated television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The series was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who served as executive producers along with Aaron Ehasz...
composer Jeremy Zuckerman
Jeremy Zuckerman
Jeremy Zuckerman is an American composer and musician mostly known for composing the score of the TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender. He studied at Berklee College of Music, Boston, and California Institute of the Arts and has collaborated with musicians such as David Lee Roth.Jeremy is one half...
-- debuted in Los Angeles in 2001. It was also presented at the 2001 Moby Dick Conference at Hofstra University
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
and also performed by the TENT group in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
.
"The Dawn of Quixote: Chapter the First", an adaptation of the first chapter of Don Quixote by Cervantes
Cervantes
-People:*Alfonso J. Cervantes , mayor of St. Louis, Missouri*Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, 16th-century man of letters*Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban composer*Jorge Cervantes, a world-renowned expert on indoor, outdoor, and greenhouse cannabis cultivation...
, has been performed several times in Los Angeles and was featured in EdgeFest and EdgeFetish, a Los Angeles cutting edge theater festival, and in the sprit of Don Quixote performed without an admission charge for the EdgeFest performances (gleaning partial standing ovations from the audiences), as well as being made part of the Saturday Explorer Series at the 24th Street Theatre. Most recently, the play was presented at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
at Venue 13, produced in part by the California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
. Crockett's band, The Evangenitals, provided the live score for the play.
"Orpheus Crawling", an experimental opera based on the myth of Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
and Eurydice
Eurydice
Eurydice in Greek mythology, was an oak nymph or one of the daughters of Apollo . She was the wife of Orpheus, who loved her dearly; on their wedding day, he played joyful songs as his bride danced through the meadow. One day, a satyr saw and pursued Eurydice, who stepped on a venomous snake,...
, was composed by Zuckerman, with libretto and direction by Crockett. Orpheus Crawling was workshopped at the 24th Street Theatre and premiered in NOW Fest at the REDCAT
REDCAT
Opened November 2003, REDCAT is a contemporary arts center that is an extension of CalArts campus, and serves as the professional presenting arm of the Institute...
in Los Angeles in August 2007.
Crockett's original work, "History of Water", premiered at the 24th Street Theater's Saturday Explorer Series on May 10, 2008 and was performed as part of the Downtown Film Festival's Sustainable LA festivities.
"History of Water" and "The Dawn of Quixote" have been adapted as radio dramas and performed on KPFK
KPFK
KPFK is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, United States, which serves the Greater Los Angeles Area, and also streams 24 hours a day via the Internet...
's Pacifica Performance Showcase and are available in the Pacifica Radio Archives.
Crockett's directing-only credits include Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
's "In The Jungle of Cities" at the Red Room in New York City, "Living in Boxes" at the Salvation Theater in Los Angeles, and the US Premier of R. Murray Schafer
R. Murray Schafer
Raymond Murray Schafer is a Canadian composer, writer, music educator and environmentalist perhaps best known for his World Soundscape Project, concern for acoustic ecology, and his book The Tuning of the World...
's "Loving" at the CalArts Modular Theater.
In addition to writing and directing experimental theater, Crockett has studied modern dance
Modern dance
Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
and choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
, improv
Improvisational theatre
Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
at the iO WEST in Hollywood.
The Fighting Life
As a boxer, Crockett was brought to the attention of the general public in 2005 after being featured in Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, US News and Music Connection Magazine due to her professional connection to Jerry Boyd (a.k.a. F.X. Toole
F.X. Toole
F.X. Toole is the pen name of boxing trainer Jerry Boyd . Toole is most noted for writing the collection of short stories Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner, which were adapted into the Oscar-winning movie Million Dollar Baby in 2004. F.X. Toole's posthumous novel Pound for Pound was released in...
) and the film Million Dollar Baby
Million Dollar Baby
Million Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman...
.
A slight media storm also occurred after her first professional bout, in which she knocked out her opponent 70 seconds into the first round. This fight was televised on Fox Sports
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
. Crockett's second professional bout, against Christina Rodriguez, went the distance (4 rounds) and was televised live on ESPN2.
Crockett retired undefeated at 3-0 (2 KO's).
Music career
The Evangenitals, co-founded in 2003 with jazz/gospel/opera singer Lisa Dee, have received considerable media attention in the LA WeeklyLA Weekly
LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
, Music Connection Magazine, and other publications & radio stations for their singular brand of "hillbilly truckstop lullabies." They are considered a unique presence in the neo-folk/freak-folk movement. As stated on the Orphan Records website, "Though not entirely unclassifiable, the Evangenitals are versatile and multi-layered, and will likely carry a 'slash' in their genre classification for as long as they exist as a band of Southern Californian country bumpkins."
The band's first album - "We Are The Evangenitals" - received rave reviews from fans, selling out of its first printing and receiving a 5 star rating on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. The Evangenitals' second album "Everlovin" was recorded in South Pasadena at Del Boca Vista studios in January 2007 and released in October 2007.
In the fall of 2007 The Evangenitals went on the "Road to Oprah" tour with a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
crew from The 1 Second Film
The 1 Second Film
The 1 Second Film is a non-profit collaborative art project being created by thousands of people around the world, including many celebrities....
. The Evangenitals are composing songs for the The 1 Second Film's "making of" documentary that will accompany its lengthy credits. The Evangenitals will also be appearing in the documentary. So as to appear more media friendly during this time, The Evangenitals went under the moniker, The Love Punks.
Writer Colum McCann
Colum McCann
Colum McCann is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He is a Professor of Contemporary Literature at European Graduate School and Professor of Fiction at CUNY Hunter College's Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing with fellow novelists Peter Carey, twice winner of the Man Booker Prize,...
spoke in an interview of Juli Crockett and the music of the Evangenitals saying, "For pure craziness, there are lots of other bands, including one that I can't write to but I've become a big fan; they're called the Evangenitals. They're from Los Angeles. One of the front singers is a former boxer-slash-philosopher. She's a fantastic singer. Her name is Juli Crockett." (Powells.com/Colum McCann).
In addition to fronting The Evangenitals, Crockett also performs with Cash'd Out, the world's premier Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
tribute band
Tribute band
A tribute act is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act - sometimes one which has disbanded, ceased touring or is deceased. Probably the largest class of tributes acts are Elvis impersonators, individual performers who mimic the songs and style...
, singing the June Carter parts in their stage show.
Crockett and Lisa Dee also perform outside of the band under the name Evangina.
Activism
Crockett is a vegan, a passionate advocate for animalAnimal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
& human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, and an active member of the animal protection organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
(PETA), and a member of several environmental, animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
, and human rights organizations. Crockett is a producer of The 1 Second Film
The 1 Second Film
The 1 Second Film is a non-profit collaborative art project being created by thousands of people around the world, including many celebrities....
, the worlds largest nonprofit collaborative art film and a Comedy Mentor with the organization "Laughter For A Change" which brings the healing power of laughter to at-risk communities through comedy and improv training and workshops.