Recess

Author: Una Aya Osato

During the wake of one of my closest friends, her 5-year-old daughter stood up and said: "It's ok to cry everyone, crying's ok, but it's not gonna change nothing, it's not gonna bring my mommy back."  Moved beyond tears, this got me thinking about the insight children have that we, as adults, usually fail to notice.  Young people's perspectives of the world, so often filled with compassion and different ways of understanding, are often readily written off.  This experience was the seed that grew into my one-woman show Recess.  

Having grown up attending New York City public schools and then teaching in them for several years, I have been witnessing first hand what is happening to many of our youth.  As products of "No Child Left Behind" we are telling children that their role is to listen and do well on tests; essentially to just be seen and not heard; rather than actively developing their minds and persons in order to critically participate in the world around them.  My concerns about the education system compelled me to act.  I see Recess as one mean of shedding light to these issues. Recess is an attempt to give voices to those we rarely take seriously. The show deals with how our actions as an American society affect our children and their future tomorrow. Recess examines the ways in which the violence that is occurring in the world (continuing wars; police brutality; families who are being split apart because of ICE raids; workers loosing their jobs, racism, etc) ends up affecting kids, how they see themselves and how they treat one another.

What to expect from this show: Kids. Teachers. Fun. Fast pace. All over the place. Happy times. Sad times. Silly times. Difficult questions. Imagination. (Everything a good recess has... hope to see you there!)

Una Aya Osato, writer/performer

The Expatriates

Produced by The Beggar's Group

F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Dorothy Parker first met in the cafes and salons of Paris on the cusp of  the Great Depression and in the rubble of World War I.  They developed intense relationships that at once nurtured and wrecked havoc on all involved.  The Expatriates is a four part cycle exploring the nature of artistic creation by focusing on the lives of this exceptional group.

The Expatriates, as presented in The Frigid Festival, represents the first movement in this larger piece.  It is a kaleidoscopic window into the world of one of the United States' most talented and most tormented literary luminaries, F. Scott Fitzgerald.  By eschewing a traditional narrative for a non-linear, image and idea driven framework and by employing a host of experimental techniques, The Beggars Group provides a lens through which to view not just the life of one historic genius, but the very nature of artistic creation with its many payoffs and  commensurate perils. The Expatriates explores the ways that the artist can create the world in which we live while simultaneously destroying their own in the process.

Harrison Williams, writer/co-director

On Second Thought

Produced by Wog Productions

Author: Paul Hutcheson

On Second Thought is an autobiographical piece of physical hilarity!  Humorous stories woven under the theme of those "How did I get here??" moments in life that everyone can relate to. 

Often, in this technology driven society we forget to look back on our lives and relive the moments in life that helped shape us.  Whether it be a school yard incident, familial relationship or a near death experience, we all have stories.  On Second Thought reminds audiences to take stock of their lives and to remember that we are all extraordinary.

On Second Thought has toured to a few festivals garnering fantastic reviews and even some awards.  It has always been a dream of this small town Canadian boy to perform in New York City.  I am bringing a show I am confident audiences in the "theatre mecca" will enjoy and relate to.

Paul Hutcheson, performer/writer

Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun

Produced by Sleepless Lookout Players

Author: Bradley Rand Smith

Johnny Got His Gun is a solo show based on the classic 1939 novel by Dalton Trumbo.  It is the story of Joe Bonham, a young WWI soldier who, in his service, loses his limbs, sight, hearing and speech.  The audience witnesses his discovery of his condition, and his attempts to communicate with the outside world and retain his sanity in the face of potentially endless isolation.

The show becomes more relevant as medical technology advances in relation to the destructive potential of combat.  Even though soldiers now survive injuries that are more and more horrific, war is presented to us as a distant and abstract affair.  The protagonist in Johnny wants to confront people with his ravaged body, to show people that war has real, living consequences that cannot be swept under the rug.  This show just does that.

Revivals always carry with them the threat of obsolescence, but Johnny's immediacy was clear to me from the start.  The psychology of this soldier is timeless, and while experiencing the performance it is easy to forget the war he fought in occurred almost a century ago.  And, though the play is incredibly dark, it is nevertheless an incredibly inspiring and hopeful story, following one man's journey back from the grave to stand and fight to be heard. The text is very powerful and elicits introspection in its audience, both about war and human connection.

Ricardo Pérez-Gonzalez, performer

habeas corpus

Produced by the real kim harmon

habeas corpus is  a year-long project on the topic of getting rid of things. we have been and are currently soliciting responses from folks on the topic of "what would you get rid of?" and responses  are built into a multi-media theatrical performance, incorporating what turned out to be both expected and completely unpredictable themes. habeas corpus invites audience interaction (both during the show and RIGHT NOW at www.therealkimharmon.com), contains original live music, physical theatre elements, a spiraling structure, and is both ridiculously silly and devastatingly sincere. We do not recommend this show for children, though childish adults are particularly welcome!

habeas corpus is as today as it gets — we adapt the show as responses come in, so it is about what is happening, right now, for people across the United States as well as abroad; there are both unique and universal perspectives to each show. What I love most about this show is the fun of the dark, dark comedy inherent in its extremely intimate nature. I don't know of another show like it in New York right now.

Part of the goal of the real kim harmon is about bridging east and west coast styles of performance experimentation together. Our cast for the New York presentation is half New York artists and half San Francisco artists, which creates a particularly dynamic feel. This is part of what inspired our investigation into how people are affected by things, how they feel limited, how they limit themselves, and we are interested in exploring the idea of how to find freedom — basically, to have unlimited access to one's self, one's personal body — habeas corpus.

Kim Harmon, artistic director

Jet of Blood or the Ball of Glass

Produced by No. 11 Productions

Author: Antonin Artaud

Jet of Blood or the Ball of Glass is a visceral exploration of violence and the power of art.  Audiences should expect an experience that is as much an art exhibition as it is a music concert as it is a puppet show as it is live theatre.  Musicians, artists, dancers, designers, puppeteers and actors have created this production as a personal response to violence in our world today.  Actors push the limits of physicality while a live band pushes the limits of musicality.  This intimate production engages all five senses and is intended to shock.  There are also scorpions.  Lots of scorpions.  

Movies, videogames, the war in Iraq — violence is ubiquitous.  Jet of Blood or the Ball of Glass confronts violence head on and digs to the root of it.  We are bombarded by a cacophony of images everyday, and this production intensifies this discord to lead to a reassessment of modern life.  Our aim is to explode the boundaries of theatre through the intense inclusion and redefining of other art forms.

Artaud writes without any regard to physical or spiritual boundaries; he furiously enters directly into the territory he wants to explore.  We wanted to use his play as inspiration and courage to enter directly into unknown territory.  No. 11 Productions is committed to creating theatre that juxtaposes seeming reality with the unpredicted, and of all the plays we have encountered, this play is pregnant with imagery and ideas of the unexpected.

Ryan Emmons, director