Jon Sewell's Lounge Discussions

So, two weeks ago I was let go from my day job. Since then I have released one feature length video (last Friday) and today I found out that another project of mind has won an award. (My first) It's kind of an awesome day for me, and I hope you are all having a great first day of Spring. ~J

Simple concept: we've completed post production of a performance video of an original rock opera and we're launching it next week. Between now and then I have the ability to share a private vimeo link with critics and bloggers if they are interested in reviewing the project. Is there a good place to start looking for folks who would have an interest, or am I on my own? Thanks! ~Jon

I started composing and presenting musical adaptations of esoteric plays in 2000 as a part of a community theater project, just because it seemed like fun. And I loved it, and kept doing it, year after year for over a decade. Now I compose and produce one of these Rites every two years; working with 25 to 35 volunteers, actors, musicians, video production teams and stage, sound and lighting crews, raising money and pulling together sets to develop something truly original. And I still find myself feeling overwhelmed when gifted performers arrive, nervous and excited to audition for these pieces, and all I can do is wonder how I got there, where people as spectacular as this want to impress me? I paint the night sky blue, and the stars come out and shine of their own accord...

Hello all, I've just this minute joined, I'm an actress based in London, I also write and I'm beginning to dabble in producing, hello everybody.

This is my "Super Hero Origin Story", written in the third person. (Because information should be entertaining!) At age four Jon took ballet, drew pictures of mermaids in fishbowls on the backs of flat-bed trucks, and enjoyed playing underneath the piano while his grandfather imparted a love of jazz. By nine he was playing cello himself and beginning a life-long interest in mythology. Growing up in the shadow of an active volcano and a nuclear power plant during strained economic times and under the watchful tutelage of religious zealots, his disposition was shaped by idyllic days in forest and field distorted by the overarching threat of divine retribution and wrathful calamity. As an adult Jon traveled to Seattle to pursue a career in the performing arts as a guitarist, singer and composer. The influences of jazz and psychedelic rock permeated his writing while his exploration of the esoteric aspects of religion, ritual and the occult further impacted his composition and reshaped his view of reality. Wanting to explore something deeper, Jon brought his love of drama and mythology into his creative work. He was inspired to compose music for each of the seven planetary rituals that comprise Aleister Crowley’s Rites of Eleusis. For over a decade he has been composing and performing with his wife, Melissa Holm in these rock operas. Working as a mild mannered project manager by day, by night Jon shreds on the guitar while he runs a community theater company and audio-video production house that has been recognized around the globe for the innovative and entertaining adaptations they develop for stage and video. And Jon is genuinely pleased to meet you!