Naughty Bits
​​
Created and Performed by Sara Juli
Projection Design and Illustration by Devon Kelley-Yurdin
Production & Stage Management by Justin Moriarty
Production Dramaturgy by Michelle Mola
Original Lighting Design by Justin Moriarty
Costume Design by Carol Farrell
Diary Photographs by Winky Lewis
Administrative Assistance by Delaney McDonough
Songs by
Michael Sambello, George Michael,
Eddie Money, Tears for Fears,
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers,
The Human League, Peter Gabriel,
Rudy Clark/George Harrison,
Elton John, Phil Collins and Aha.
​
​
​​Naughty Bits is a dance-play set inside Juli’s memories that examines trauma while finding levity within the tragic. Using movement, text, digital projections, comedy and a capella renditions of 1980’s iconic male-led songs, Naughty Bits finds the forgotten bits, funny bits (and wobbly bits) of reclaiming one’s body and mind.
Juli’s mission is to explore her own personal struggles through the medium of performance. In sharing her work, she creates space for audiences to access their own challenges or traumas. Her provocative, introspective autobiographical solo performance fuses movement, projections, text, song, audience interaction and comedy to both acknowledge the gravity of her burdens as well as simultaneously laugh at their reality. Sara Juli has been described as a “skilled comedian, actress and dancer” and “a light of the downtown dance and theatre scene.”
Sara Juli’s Naughty Bits was originally commissioned by the Strand Theatre in Rockland, ME through their New Century Series Program. Additional support came from the Maine Arts Commission, and the American Rescue Plan Maine Project Grants, a subgranting program administered by SPACE Gallery for the National Endowment for the Arts. Residency support was also provided in part by New England Foundation for the Arts’ New England Dance Fund, with generous support from the Aliad Fund at the Boston Foundation. Naughty Bits was presented by and had its NYC premiere at Dixon Place with funds from New York State Council on the Arts w/the support of the Governor’s office; NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership w/the City Council; the Scherman Foundation, and the Shubert Foundation.
Please note: This piece explores one person's experience around trauma.
Check the CALENDAR for upcoming performances!
​
Press kit available HERE.
​
Collaborator Bios:
​
Michelle Mola (production dramaturg) As a movement coach and dramaturg Michelle has worked in dance, theater, and film production for over ten years. Upon graduating from The Juilliard School of Dance she founded Peaks Body Pilates Method inspired by her experience in dance and managing chronic pain. To read more please visit peaksbody.com.
Justin Moriarty (light design/sound design) is a lighting designer, playwright, poet, educator, and is the Technical Director of the Theater and Dance Department at Bates College. He is a graduate of Goddard College’s MFA program in Interdisciplinary Arts. One of his plays, The Rounds, was produced at the Theater of the New City’s 2018 Dream Up Festival. His lighting design credits include Sara Juli, Lida Winfield, Annie Kloppenberg, Laura Peterson, The Wonder Twins, Robin Sanders, Headlong Dance Theater, A Company of Girls, TEDxDirigo and others. Justin’s lighting designs have been seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the O’Shaughnessy, the Flynn, the Yard, Theater Emory, Portland Stage, Space Gallery, Portland Players, St. Lawrence Arts, Mayo Street Arts, Bates Dance Festival, Colby, Bates and Bowdoin Colleges. Justin is a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, IATSE local 114. In 2010, Justin founded a summer peace and social justice camp in South Portland, where he spends his summers teaching theater for social change to children beginning at the age of 6.
​
Devon Kelley-Yurdin (projection design) is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, facilitator, and cultural organizer living rurally on Penobscot/Wabanaki land in what is colonially known as midcoast Maine. They were born and raised in Vermont and hold a BFA in Communications Design & Cultural Studies from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. As a former resident of Oakland, CA; Austin, TX; and Eastport & Portland, Maine, they weave a wide net and carry a diverse tool belt. Grounded in the belief that creativity can be found everywhere and plays a deep role in holistic community care, their creative practice connects to the ways they strive to interact with the world; play, curiosity, queerness, accessibility, equity, and skill-building drive my work, relationships, and life experiences. Their creative and professional work spans traditional media (printmaking, cut-paper, installation), design/illustration/art direction, event production, arts administration, and community organizing.
​
Carol Farrell (costume designer) comes from an eclectic background in costume design, puppetry arts, and the creation of devised theater. In 1982, Carol co-founded Figures of Speech Theatre, an award-winning actor/puppet/movement theater with an international touring radius. As FST Co-Artistic Director for 30 years, Carol created and produced numerous original theater works and performed extensively worldwide. Besides a BA in Dance and an MA in Costume Design, Carol has studied Japanese theater and traditional clothing on fellowships from the Japan/U.S. Friendship Commission, and Objectheatre at the Institut Internationale de la Marionnette in France. She has served on the faculties of several colleges, and is currently the costume manager for Bates College’s Department of Theater and Dance.
