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undergroundzero festival 4 |
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East River Commedia (Paul Bargetto, Artistic Director) announces the 4th annual undergroundzero festival of experimental theater, featuring over twenty New York City and European theater companies and artists at the legendary downtown performance venue Performance Space 122, July 6-25.
Founded in 2007, the undergroundzero festival gives producing artists a platform where risk-taking and innovation are both encouraged and expected. Artists are invited to bring a production of their choosing to join a flying repertory dedicated to radical play and experimentation. It may be a new work or a past production that deserves another life – whatever best serves the individual or collective artists growth and agenda.
The 2010 festival line-up will include new work from downtown New York companies and artists Performance Lab 115, Doris Mirescu, Leigh Evans, Aztec Economy, Pinchbottom Burlesque, José Zayas, Anna Brenner, Mercedes Murphy, Shoshona Currier, David Barlow, Saviana Stanescu, Jeff Grow, terraNOVA Collective, and East River Commedia. Also for the first time this year, the festival is expanding its programming internationally. Experimental theater companies Green Hours Theater (Romania), axis ballymun (Ireland), Compagnia Lafabbrica (Italy) and Theater Bielefeld (Germany) will all be bringing work to the festival for the first time.
Come mix and mingle with festival's artists, supporters, patrons and production team. All events are open to the public with a suggested $5 donation and refreshments provided. Join us each Tuesday for commonground, a meta-theatrical talk show featuring special guests that highlights the cultures of the visiting artists. commonground happens on Tuesdays (July 6, 13, & 20) from 8pm - 10pm in the Upstairs venue at P.S. 122.
* Tuesday July 6 features commonground: Australia
* Tuesday July 13 features commonground: Italy & Romania
* Tuesday July 20 features commonground: Germany & Ireland
On Fridays we invite you to latenightzero, a downtown dance party that welcomes everyone in the arts community and beyond to shake off the work week by getting down. latenightzero happens on Fridays from 11pm - 1am in the Upstairs venue at P.S. 122.
* Friday July 9 latenightzero kicks off the opening week of the festival to welcome our participants.
* Friday July 16 latenightzero hosts the League of Independent Theater, the membership, advocacy and business league for the independent theater community in New York City (www.litny.org).
* Friday July 23 latenightzero invites all movers and shakers from the downtown dance community to celebrate the final weekend.
SOME PRODUCTIONS ARE NOT OPEN FOR REVIEW. PLEASE CONTACT EMILY OWENS PR FOR FURTHER DETAILS.
LA Party
Conceived and Directed by Phil Soltanoff
Written by David Barlow
A fanatical vegan slides off the wagon one night, falling headfirst into a wild L.A. bender. Barlow's spoken story collides with live video in which six performers produce a compelling composite human being. An audience favorite at the Public's 2010 Under The Radar Festival and Austin's Fusebox Festival.
"A really fantastic, hilarious, entertaining and surreal freakout of a show" Andy Horwitz, Culturebot.com
Wed July 7, 8, 9, & 11 @ 7:30pm, July 10 @ 9:30pm - Downstairs Venue
The Ring: Inside the Squared Circle, Part 1
Directed by Dave Dalton & Produced by Performance Lab 115
LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!! PL115 adapts the first opera of Wagner's iconic Ring Cycle into the action-packed world of 1980's professional wrestling. Pumped up by rock and roll and stupendous egos, Wagner's Norse gods step inside the squared circle for power and glory. Stripped of its music and set in this new, unconventional context, The Ring Cycle: Part 1 uses Wagner's story to ask questions about American greed and exuberance.
"Deliriously imaginative and talent-rich..." Jason Zinoman, New York Times
Wed July 7, 8, & 9 @ 9:30pm, July 10 @ 7:30pm, July 11 @ 2:30pm - Downstairs Venue
Father of Lies
Directed & Adapted by Jose Zayas
An adaptation of avant-horror scribe Brian Evenson's novel offers a chilling look at a priest's obsession with young boys and the institution willing to cover it up. Based on actual cases of the abuse of young boys by Mormon lay clergy.
"a collective portrait of a church father gone mad, and the relentless and unrepentant institution that, hiding behind its own robes of authority, follows him spiraling downward to a harrowingly successful doom." (Bradford Morrow)
Wed July 7 @9pm, Thurs July 8 @ 7pm, July 9 @ 9pm, July 10 & 11 @ 5pm - Upstairs Venue
The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer
Created & Performed by Tim Watts, Australia
Produced in Association with terraNOVA Collective
Alvin Sputnik is Earth's last hope. He must venture to the bottom of the ocean to find his wife's lost soul and save humanity. A multi award-winning one-man micro-epic puppet show that melds technology and multimedia into a touching story of enduring love and the end of the world.
"A special piece of theatrical magic ... Using a brilliant blend of multimedia images and video, live ukulele and simply-constructed songs, Watts tells a story that will break global hearts." Matt Bryne, Daily Mail, Australia
Wed July 7 @ 7pm, July 8 - 9pm, July 9 - 7pm, July 10 - 7pm, July 11 - 3pm Upstairs Venue
The National Diet of Japan
Directed by Cole Wimpee & Produced by Aztec Economy
Seven actors endure ecstatic torment and sublime debasement when they confront the transience of organic life, while traveling a course based on Zen garden arrangements and the human digestive system.
Sat July 10 & 11 @ 5:30pm - Downstairs Venue
The Last Burlesque Show in the World
Presented by Pinchbottom Burlesque and produced by Collective:Unconscious
An epic metaphysical journey through the twisted muscle of the human heart, the jagged crevices of the creative mind, the amorphous discord of the libido, and the insouciant profundity of pants-dropping. Starring Pinchbottom co-creator Jonny Porkpie, along with a host of Pinchbottom favorites, in the ultimate Pinchbottom show. Produced by Collective:Unconscious.
"The most imaginative (and funniest) burlesque troupe in the city" Metromix.com
Sat July 10 @ 9pm - Upstairs Venue,Sat July 17 @ 9pm - Upstairs Venue, Sat July 24 @ 9pm - Upstairs Venue
Half Awake and Falling Through the Sky (Reading)
Conceived & Directed by Mercedes Murphy, Written by Mercedes Murphy & Heather Benton
Theatre Trouve presents the first reading of a new play based on found text, misdirected emails, and vengeful blog postings from the world of international law. Follow the email chain of the Tokyo office of "Clinger, Steeme & James" through online suicide clubs, cocaine, cancer, adultery, and public urination as the lawyers and staffers crash into individual and collective crises of doubt.
"Visually fresh and emotionally gripping" Brooklyn Rail
Sun July 11 @ 7pm - Upstairs Venue
playgroundzero:
Marriage of Convenience (Staged Reading)
Written & Directed by Ian Rowlands, Wales
Performed by Christian Conn
A stunning monologue by one of Wales' leading dramatists about a family's whereabouts on the day Prince Charles married Diana encapsulates Wales' complex relationship to its historic oppressor.
"Rowlands creates moments of great theatre: emotional, poetic, dangerous." Nytheatre.com
Sat July 10 @ 2pm - Downstairs Venue
Quiet To Departure
Choreographed & Performed by Leigh Evans
Acclaimed performance artist Leigh Evans' new work is an inquiry into perceptions of the self and other and the illusory nature of form using Butoh dance, voice, and video. Reflection, refraction, and shadow reveal simultaneous transparency and visibility in this journey of self and memory.
"Leigh's body and voice are marvelous, almost magical instruments..." Lauren Noveck, Nytheatre.com
Tues July 13, 14, 16, 17, & 18 @ 7:30pm, July 15 @ 9:30pm - Downstairs Venue
Aspettando Nil (Waiting for Nil)
Conceived & Directed by Fabiana Iacozilli, Produced by Lafabbrica Compagnia, Italy
(Italian with English Subtitles)
From one of Italy's premier experimental theatre companies comes a ferocious, hilarious feminist critique of Italian gender attitudes in the age of Berlusconi, inspired by Waiting for Godot. A mother and a daughter prepare for the arrival of the daughter's bridegroom. And prepare. And prepare.
"The protagonists have given pathos to a persuasive work that provokes both smiles and profound emotions..." Alessandro Carli, La Voce
Wed July 14, 16, &17 @ 7pm, July 15 @ 9pm, July 18 @ 5pm - Upstairs Venue
Are We Here Yet?
Directed by Anna Brenner (Winner of the 2009 undergroundzero "Audience Choice" Award)
Enter the American mind: afraid, allergic, associative, contradictory, and forever searching. Five characters created from the interviews, memories, and observations of the ensemble struggle to connect with each other and the intangible, exposing an uncanny American landscape.
"Anna is an immense talent and I know that she will make a significant contribution to our field. I cannot wait to see what she does next." Anne Bogart
Wed July 14 & 16 @ 9pm, July 15 @ 7pm, July 17 @ 2pm, July 18 @ 3pm - Upstairs Venue
The Concretes (after Vladimir Sorokin)
Directed by Alexandru Mihaescu & Produced by Green Hours Theater*
Bucharest, Romania (Romanian with English subtitles)
In a Moscow of the future, pseudo-anarchist youth gorge mindlessly on a classical literature virtual reality game. A multi-media theater adaptation of Vladimir Sorokin's science fiction novel Le Concretes that skewers globalization, the future, and the political apathy of the young.
"A real multimedia trip, a place where characters and major literature works are mutilated until their limbs and inner organs are thrown out" Mihaela Michailov, Cronica Romana
Wed July 14 & 16 @ 9:30pm, July 15 @ 7:30pm, July 17 & 18 @ 5:30pm - Downstairs Venue
*With generous support from The Romanian Cultural Institute.
Creating Illusion
Written & Performed by Jeff Grow, Directed by Jessi D. Hill
Produced in Association with terraNOVA Collective
Seeing is believing... but perception can be manipulated for beauty or deception. Magician Jeff Grow takes you on a journey where elegant sleight of hand and insight into human behavior collide to dismantle everyday experience and tempts us to question: Why do we choose to believe the unbelievable?
Winner of the 2009 Innovative Theatre Awards for Outstanding Solo Performer & Outstanding Performance Art Production.
"Grow is an appealing technician who brings a boyish charm...he's got us in the palm of his hand." Jo Ann Rosen, NY Theatre.com
Sat July 17 @ 5pm, July 18 @ 7pm - Upstairs Venue
The Human Voice (La Voix Humaine)
Written by Francis Poulenc, Directed by Shoshona Currier, Performed by Kristina Wilson
A desperate woman attempts to confront her lover as he leaves her - over the phone. In this version of Francis Poulenc's solo opera; based on the play by Jean Cocteau, we are in close proximity - yet voyeurs - to the stark realities of loss.
"...Currier packs the play with strong images." NYTheatre.com
Sat July 17 @ 9:30pm, July 18 @ 3:30pm - Sat July 24 @ 9:30pm, July 25 @ 5:30pm - Downstairs Venue
playgroundzero:
Polanski (Staged Reading)
Written by Saviana Stanescu, Directed by Tamilla Woodard, Produced & Performed by Grant Neale
Famed film director Roman Polanski interrogates himself at his Swiss chalet in the small hours of the morning - confronting his past and greatly narrowed existence in the wake of his recent indictment.
"(Neale is) a physical comedian on par with Bill Irwin" Daily News
Sat July 17 @ 2pm - Downstairs Venue
Blue Dress Reduction
Written by Eliza Bent, Jasmin Hoo, & Elizabeth Stevenson
Directed by Meghan Finn
A wedding weekend in the English countryside reunites three childhood friends in an odyssey of modern female friendship. Storytelling, video, song, and dance intertwine in this highly satirical romp full of revelations, 'wedding weed,' sleazy groomsmen and mishaps.
"Writer-performer Eliza Bent...is a rascally amuse-bouche." - Helen Shaw, Time Out NY
Tues July 20, 21, 23, & 24 @ 7:30pm, July 22 @ 9:30pm - Downstairs Venue
The Parting Glass
Produced by axis ballymun, Ireland, in association with terraNOVA Collective, Written by Dermot Bolger
Three friends all pushing 50 gather in the Stade de France on November 18, 2009 to cheer on Ireland in the World Cup play-off only to see their hopes of a championship dashed by French soccer star Thierry Henry's left hand. With caustic wit, acclaimed Irish playwright Dermot Bolger gives sharp insights into the last two decades of Irish history through these stories.
"Profound new work, elegant (and) a rare achievement..." Christine Madden, Irish Times
Wed July 21, 23, & 24 @ 7pm, July 22 @ 9pm, July 25 @ 2pm - Upstairs Venue
From Dawn till Night (The Earth is Uninhabitable Like the Moon)
Directed by Doris Mirescu & Produced by Dangerous Ground Productions
(winner of the 2009 undergroundzero "Best Production" Award)
In this apocalyptical tale of identity, love and death, a man woman reevaluates his her place in the world as the past closes in and the quest for humanity becomes increasingly difficult. Dangerous Ground's third multimedia Fassbinder adaptation, based on the 1978 film In A Year With 13 Moons.
"A theatrical experience unlike any other... unconventional format, engaging stories and striking performances...." E. Michael Lockley, NYTheatre.com
Wed July 21 & 23 @ 9pm, July 22 @ 7pm, July 24 & 25 @ 5pm - Upstairs Venue
Forever Art
Directed by Johanna Zielinski & Produced by Theater Bielefeld, Germany (German with English Subtitles)
Actor John Wesley Zielmann channels Andy Warhol in a solo show that imagines the master-of-pop-art's thoughts on the uniqueness and permanence of art.
"Zielmann convincingly brings to the stage the fragile and artistic side of the Pop Art master with the sense of absurdity and irony." Maria Frickenstein, Neue Westfaelische Zeitung
Wed July 21 & 23 @ 9:30pm, July 22 @ 7:30pm, July 24 @ 5:30pm, July 25 @ 3:30pm - Downstairs Venue
AutoMotive (American Trilogy part 1) Work-in-Progress
Directed by Paul Bargetto & Produced by East River Commedia
East River Commedia presents the first draft of a trilogy exploring American Identity. The search begins in the ubiquitous American machine - the automobile - with appearances by Henry Miller, James Dean, Jayne Mansfield, Curtis Turner and Dwight Eisenhower.
"...Human bodies can astonish too, and that's what Paul Bargetto and the East River Commedia collective do." Margo Jefferson, The New York Times
Sat July 24 @ 2pm, July 25 @ 7:30pm - Upstairs Venue
playgroundzero:
Broke Wide Open (Staged Reading)
Written & Performed by Rock Wilk, Directed by Tamilla Woodard
A young man's search for his biological mother takes the form of a multimedia performance exploring lost and recovered identity.
"Wilk is the Muhammad Ali of hip hop and spoken word...floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee." Michael Raysses, NPR
Sat July 24 @ 2pm - Downstairs Venue |
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Productions