ALTAR NO. 1 – ATEN

Acclaimed theater artist Daniel Alexander Jones’s latest work, ALTAR NO. 1 – ATEN uses our solar system as both metaphor and method for an immersive journey through the celestial, within and without. The work invites you to take part in a dynamic new creative odyssey through the ever-expanding digital portal aten.life. Throughout the fall, ALTAR NO. 1 – ATEN unfolds through a series of weekly installments that include a new album of fifteen original songs by Jones and Josh Quat; connected music videos; a series of probing podcast conversations with special guests; and invitations for visitors to engage on and offline. It is a site for you to return—to replenish, reflect, and contribute to a growing archive of shared reflection and inspiration.

Upcoming Events

Sep 3 @ 7:00 p.m. EST | TCG Virtual Talk

A virtual talk with Daniel Alexander Jones hosted by The Theatre Communications Group

The Theatre Communications Group (TCG) hosts First Fridays with Daniel Alexander Jones, an up close and personal conversation with Jones discussing his forthcoming publication of Love Like Light with frequent collaborator and artistic director of New Dramatists Emily Morse, presented in partnership with publisher 53rd State Press. Tune in to TCG Facebook Page: Facebook.com/TCG.org. Tickets: FREE. 

Sep 15 | Particle and Wave Book Release

Particle and Wave (53rd State Press) is a reflection collection on Jones’s Love Like Light book. In a roving, shimmering conversation that took place in May 2021, scholar, poet, and activist Alexis Pauline Gumbs and playwright, songwriter, performance artist, and educator Daniel Alexander Jones discuss love as a foundational principle of artistic practice and societal change. Purchase: 53rdStatePress.org. 

Sep 20 | Love Like Light Book Release

Love Like Light (53rd State Press) is a collection of Jones’s seven plays and performance texts from the past 25 years. This volume offers a panoramic view of Jones’s shifting, glimmering, transformational body of work. Love Like Light is also a reunion of collaborators and friends, featuring essays by Vicky Boone, Jacques Colimon, Eisa Davis, Omi Osun Joni L. Jones, korde arrington tuttle, Aaron Landsman, Deborah Paredez, and Shay Youngblood and an interview with Faye Price.  Purchase: 53rdStatePress.org. 

Sep 22 | Aten Album Release 

A project of CalArts Center for New Performance, the digital release of Aten (Aries Records) marks Jones’s sixth album. The digital version is slated for 9.22 followed by a vinyl release later in 2021. Composed and performed by Daniel Alexander Jones and his alter-ego Jomama Jones, this 15-song cycle features guest artists Lady Krishna and Rhonda Ross. Aten is commissioned by The Public Theater and created with support from CalArts Center for New Performance and New York Live Arts’ Live Feed Residency, with funding from Rockefeller Brothers Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and the Partners for New Performance.  Purchase + Download: FREE at ATEN.life and all major online retailers.

Sep 22-Dec 1 | Aten Video Releases + “Constellation Conversations” Podcast Series

A project of CalArts Center for New Performance, the digital release of Aten (Aries Records) will be accompanied by weekly music video releases and “Constellation Conversations” podcast series featuring intimate, profound talks between Jones and guest artists starting with Black, Queer shamanic practitioner Langston Kahn. The ATEN.life website serves as an interactive platform for audiences to continue and participate in the conversations online. Aten is commissioned by The Public Theater and created with support from CalArts Center for New Performance and New York Live Arts’ Live Feed Residency, with funding from Rockefeller Brothers Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and the Partners for New Performance.  Learn more and tune in at ATEN.life.

Oct 2 @ 12:00 p.m. EST | DAJ’s Saturday Morning Book Release Party

The 53rd State Press publishing company, along with National Black Theatre, Penumbra Theater, and New Dramatists, hosts a virtual celebration of the launch of Love Like Light with readings and  conversation with Daniel Alexander Jones. Participants include Rhonda Ross, Vinie Burrows, Eisa Davis, Jason Phelps, Sarah Bellamy, Jonathan McCrory, and Omi Osun Joni L. Jones. Tickets: FREE. Watch Facebook Live at 53rd State Press’s Facebook Page.

Dec 3 @ 5:00 p.m. EST | Jomama Jones’s Celestial Holiday Spectacular

Location: New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th Street, New York City

Join Jomama Jones and friends for a celebratory in-person gathering. Along with a live musical set and some exciting games and prizes, Jones will guide everyone together to create a real-time altar in honor of the shifting of the season and the completion of a challenging year. 

Tickets here! 

ALTAR NO. 1 – ATEN launches Daniel Alexander Jones’s multivalent ALTAREDSTATES project, devised over the last two years in collaboration with the creative braintrust of Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Ebony Noelle Golden, Walter Kitundu, Josh Quat, and Sangodare Wallace.

The Live Feed Residency program is supported in part by Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Partners for New Performance.

ALTAR NO. 1 is commissioned by The Public Theater, and created with support from CalArts Center for New Performance and New York Live Arts’ Live Feed Residency, with funding from Rockefeller Brothers Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and the Partners for New Performance.

ALTAREDSTATES is made possible with generous support from the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and additional support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional support provided by the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab.

Produced by CalArts Center for New Performance.