Chamber art in dance, music and drama has a long and rich tradition which has surfaced as recently as the late 20^th century in Bosnia, early 20^th century in Russia and Eastern Europe, 19th century in America, as well as  in the 1^st century Greek-Roman world. In a unique mixture of fine art and ordinary setting, it has served as a protest against the exclusiveness of aristocratic art venues while making art available to ‘every man’.  

         Kathleen Ann Thompson holds several degrees in Theatre Arts and Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan and San Diego State University. As well, Ms. Thompson has studied dance, mime and commedia dell'arte in Paris, Germany, New York and California; and received an honorary professorship from Yunan Institute for the Arts in Kunming China.

         She has been the Artistic Director of Belleherst Productions since 1983.  Belleherst, a San Diego based company, is committed to crossing cultural, ethnic, age and socio-economic borders by communicating through the arts.Her professional experience has taken her to performance opportunities at the Old Globe Theatre, Lamb's Players and the La Jolla Museum for Contemporary Art in San Diego, as well as, many other theatres in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Detroit.  Kathleen has directed and choreographed over 50 productions in the U.S., as well as, Europe and Eastern Europe.

NEW PREMIERES


The Belle of Amherst: Double Vision
by William Luce
..the effect of her Dickinson’s punctuation and words becomes so much clearer once her words reach the body. K.Thompson



     Thompson... is riveting as she touches upon the most emotionally charged moments in Dickinson’s life. Immersed fully in the character of Emily Dickinson,               Thompson is believable as an awkward young teenager and later, a pained woman. Dancing on stage, Thompson’s Dickinson is coquettish,
wild, fun.....it is as if Dickinson’s innermost thoughts are exposed. ...what we see is freedom of expression – both Thompson’s and Dickinson’s.
 The wonderful words of this poetry are brought to light before us. Ruth Christie.THE SKINNYINDEPENDENT CULTURAL JOURNALISM

                                                               The actress Kathleen Ann Thompson is captivating and her attention to each and every minor detail is amazing; she donates her breath
 to Emily. The visible talent is bound with passion...tw rating 5/5   THREEWEEKS

                                Thompson is so exacting and studied in her physical portrayal of Dickinson ... using a wide palette of gestures to paint her picture of                    Dickinson’s  personality, that no text is wasted and seems always to serve the physical presence on stage  
... this physicality is set free and leads the spoken text to ever greater heights of expression. Darran Laine, Fringe Reviews


Kathleen Thompson is a truly extraordinary performer. Her work in physical theatre, her gifted choreography, her mesmerising acting,
 her ability to communicate to mind, soul and spirit: Kathleen is a rare visionary, an ardent communicator,
 an experienced professional, a woman who knows what's of value and embraces it. Patricia Beal, Fringe Reviews




                                      The Belle of Amherst. The play is a witty, entertaining and profoundly moving drama on the gifted and inspired life of poet, Emily Dickinson. Kathleen
 offers viewers a unique and evocative encounter with the mysterious, ever elusive American poet, whose personality remains as enigmatic as her poetry remains infamous.

The growing interest in this eccentric poet,

The Belle of Amherst: Double Vision

observed by the new biographies and international translations of her poems is               met by Belleherst with a duo performance of Luce’s play, contrasting Emily’s culturally shackled 19^th- century life style with               her passionate and bold inner spirit. In alternating performances; one drama, one dance, the contrasting perspectives build               layered understanding of the poet. Kathleen Ann Thompson weds Luce's dramatic text to movement and music depicting                   Dickinson’s life as a kinetic and visual poem. The proto-surrealist quality of images in Dickinson’s poetry lends apower of surprise   and suggestion to Thompson’s dance pictures.                                  

The self-proclaimed anchorite of poetry, Emily Dickinson, dressed always in vestal white, often received guests as a disembodied voice behind a screen at the top of the stairs and only once in twenty-five years was she seen outside her father’s house. Still, through both friendships and correspondence, she negotiated passage through the most prestigious international literary groupings of her day. Brilliant and witty, the miniature woman transfixed the conventional literary critics of her time in ‘shock’ n’awe’ with her plethora of irregular poetic devices. But, today, a growing international literary audience designates her as a stunningly innovative 19th-century poet whose own words are the most telling; “Why did they shut me out of heaven?  Did I sing too loud?”

The Belle of Amherst: Double Vision - HOMEPAGE
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See Me!  Hear Me

                                                                         Kathleen Ann Thompson is a powerful, intense, intelligent performer...you should see this show.

                                                                Hear what Thompson has to say. So go and be provoked. Scotsman, Edinburgh Fringe Festival

The purpose of theatre is to show the truth"...and Kathleen Ann Thompson does that unflinchingly...there's no doubting Thompson's sincerity.

Three Weeks, Edinburgh Fringe FestivalOn behalf of David Batstone and the whole Not For Sale team in San Diego, we want to thank you

...your performance was outstanding, Not For Sale team, San Diego

          See Me! Hear Me!  Belleherst’s world premiere opened in Europe in August 2009 and toured the U.S.  during September and October supporting nation-wide campaigns against global slavery and human trafficking. There are more than 27 million victims world-wide without a voice - without representation.  They are the invisible, silent cries waiting for The Truth, A Defense, Rescue. Robbed of their dignity, their suffering should not be hidden from us.

     Gertrude Simmons, an Ivy League economics professor has\ a life goal; write a book, secure tenure.  However, when she embarks on a sabbatical  journey to research entrepreneurship in global markets, she realizes that one of the most lucrative entrepreneurial markets is Human Slavery.  Her number-crunching intellect is forced to confront the human faces that loom behind the statistics. This is a jarring, surreal play about how a woman struggles to orient herself as the shrieking voice of human suffering drowns out all others.

     Kathleen Ann Thompson, as a solo performer, presents this original multi-media movement piece using projections and the movement skills of physical theatre to create a filigreed journey through the souls of victims, rescuers and defenders. Her journey takes her to Poland, Berlin, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Dubai, Uganda, Haiti and Ithaca, New York in an effort to impact the viewer with an understanding of the enormity of this heinous crime: its global economic profile, its devastating consequences on communities and cultures, as well as its defining inhumane brutality.  A change must occur at the end of the journey …first in us, then for the victims.  The truth of Fredrick Buechner’s words will then be realized:

                                               Compassion is the knowledge that there can never be any real peace and joy

                                                                                             for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.

SEE ME!  HEAR ME! - HOMEPAGE

http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=9pzxwfdab&oeidk=a07e3ib53pb1d60c4e5

God Laughed...No Joke!