Actor, countertenor, painter, performance artist, dancer, director, and choreographer, the protean John Kelly makes worlds as much as he makes inventive, moving solo and ensemble works. Often described as a performance artist, Kelly has called himself "an artist who creates live performances of mixed-media dance theatre and song." As he updates the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice or portrays, really becomes, such characters as Egon Schiele, Joni Mitchell, Jean Cocteau, Maria Callas as they live through a rite of passage, audiences are reminded that at the root of theatre and performance lies magic and transformation.

  "Art has always been my calling. Never for one second have I questioned this. My journey has taken me from painting and drawing, to ballet and modern dance, to exploring the theatrical possibilities of film and video, to the power of song. A dramatic convergence of these seemingly disparate threads into an ephemeral but legible tapestry is to me logical. My works attempt to utilize all the options as a creative artist and performer. I aim to channel emotions, to affect the senses, to live and work in the heightened moment. I pride myself on being a non-linear storyteller. My goal is to express myself, and to simultaneously engage and communicate with my audience."