soloNOVA ARTS FESTIVAL celebrates innovative individuals who push the boundaries of what it means to be an artist, aims to redefine the solo form and uniquely invigorates the audience through the time-honored tradition of storytelling. This year’s festival features comedy, dance theatre, storytelling, music, multi-character thrillers, musical comedies, bilingual cabaret, animation, multimedia, and puppetry.
terraNOVA Collective honors NILAJA SUN
soloNOVA ARTIST OF THE YEAR
MAY 21 at 8
$30
terraNOVA Collective honors Nilaja Sun as the 2010 soloNOVA Artist of the Year on May 21 at 8pm in the Downstairs Theater at Performance Space 122 as part of the 7th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival. Join us as we celebrate the career of Nilaja Sun as a performer and arts educator, featuring performances by Desmond Child (songwriter and producer of such hits as Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” and Aerosmith’s “Angel”), Daniel Banks (Hip Hop Theater Initiative, DNAWorks), students inspired by her Obie Award winning solo play, No Child…, remarks by the Executive Director of Epic Theatre Ensemble, Theatre Development Fund’s Education Director, David Rothenberg (WBAI), Scott Morfee (Barrow Street Theater), Hal Brooks (director of No Child… and Thom Paine, based on nothing), Quiara Hudes (Tony nominee for book writing, In the Heights) and excerpts of scenes from playwrights Eduardo Machado (INTAR), Carmen Rivera (La Gringa, Under the Mango Tree) and Candido Tirado (Mama’s Boyz). The evening will be directed by Steven Dimenna (MCC Youth Program), followed by a post-show reception sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery & Monsieur Touton Wine.
MAINSTAGE FESTIVAL SHOWS
WANTED
storytelling and song
MAY 5, 7, 12, 15 at 7PM
MAY 8 at 2PM
Written and Performed by Shontina Vernon
Directed by Kamilah Forbes
70 minutes
Arrested and locked up for writing hot checks, a ten-year-old Texan girl loses her way in a reality where even the adults themselves are lost. Shontina Vernon merges childhood stories with searing songs of fear and juvenile justice.
Shontina Vernon’s voice is “Blood chilling.”- The Oregonian
BINDING
dance theatre
MAY 5, 7, 12, 15 at 9:15
MAY 8 at 4:15
EXTENDED: See extension page for more dates
Conceived and Performed by Jesse Zaritt
Directed by Basmat Hazan
Produced by Theatre C
45 minutes
Violent. Tender. Erotic. Submissive. Abandoned. The worlds of pop music, myth and video collide in Jesse Zaritt’s movement-based quest for love, connection and the self.
REMISSION
verse storytelling
MAY 6, 8, 10, 18 at 7
MAY 15 at 2
Written by Kirk Wood Bromley
Performed by Daniel Berkley
Remission: 75 minutes w. a 15 minute Q & A
For 45 years, Daniel Berkey suffered the ravages of schizophrenia with attendant addictions to sex, heroin and alcohol. At the age of 51, he experienced complete remission. This is his story.
MONSTER
multi-character thriller
MAY 6, 8, 10, 18 at 9
MAY 15 at 4
EXTENDED: See extension page for more dates
Written by Daniel MacIvor
Directed by Steve Cook
Performed by Avery Pearson
Produced by Really Sketchy
75 minutes
Daniel MacIvor’s celebrated chiller returns to the New York stage with Avery Pearson stepping into the skin of 16 characters. Peeling back psychological layers to reveal the heart of an individual experience, MONSTER dissects the true nature of evil.
“Monster is Mr. MacIvor’s suggestion that the dark side is as intrinsic to our natures as consciousness itself. It not only aspires to creeping you out, it also wants you to examine your own voyeuristic impulse to keep staring after the ax falls”- The New York Times
IT OR HER
a dark comedy
MAY 13, 17, 19, 22 at 7
MAY 16 at 2
*Tickets for IT OR HER $18
Written by Alena Smith
Directed by Jessi D. Hill
Featuring Brian McManamon
45 minutes
Somewhere between Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and The Tell-Tale Heart,
Alena Smith’s provocative dark comedy IT OR HER explores the
basement of a suburban home where Andrew (Brian McManamon) has devoted himself
unconditionally to his incredible collection of figurines. Suffering
the loss of The Red One, he seeks to uncover The Ultimate Arrangement
before his hideout is invaded, and his dark secret is revealed.
Selected by soloNOVA as the Best Solo Performance of FRIGID NY Festival 2010
Winner of the Audience Choice Award, FRIGID NY Festival 2010
ROOTLESS: La No-Nostalgia
bi-lingual theatrical cabaret
MAY 11, 14, 16, 20 at 7
MAY 22 at 2
Written and Performed by Karina Casiano
60 minutes
Sexy. Bold. Bilingual. Take a journey through the emotional life of migrants with songs ranging from tango to rock. Unraveling the psychological toll of displacement, Casiano ferociously and personally criticizes the role of newcomers and probes their responsibility toward their own countries.
THE W. KAMAU BELL CURVE: ENDING RACISM IN ABOUT AN HOUR
comedy
MAY 11, 14, 16, 20 at 9
MAY 22 at 4
EXTENDED: See extension page for more dates
Written & Performed by W. Kamau Bell
Directed by Paul Stein
75 minutes
Black President or not, racism continues to make a comeback. And W. Kamau Bell is here to make (non)sense of it all. Irreverent and thoughtful, The W. Kamau Bell Curve skewers pop culture, news pundits and the man himself, Barack Obama. According to Comedy Central, Kamau told the very first Obama joke way back in 2005
“Smart, stylish, and very much in the mold of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle and Margaret Cho.”- San Francisco Weekly (though he was more excited that they called him “handsome.”)
“W. Kamau Bell is the most important guy doing comedy right now. Do yourself a favor and go see him. He’s got the most astute, hilarious and completely righteous material going and he’s going to be a legend in his own lifetime like Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce. Think Bill Hicks but slightly taller.” – Margaret Cho
PUPPY LOVE: A STRIPPER’S TAIL
musical multi-character comedy
MAY 13, 17, 19, 22 at 9
MAY 16 at 4
EXTENDED: See extension page for more dates
Written and Performed by Erin Markey
60 minutes
Attempting to enter the “real world,” new college graduate Bridget is rejected from employment at Chuck E. Cheese and hired as a stripper at DejaVu in Ypsilanti, MI. Everything seems trashy, unfair and exciting until she falls for a co-stripper named Sky. The irreverent and poetically charged Bridget learns to sell her body while buying what her irresistibly midwestern competitors have to offer. And there’s pole dancing.
“Bizarre, character-shifting performance artist Erin Markey is so totally out there that she fits in perfectly with the OHP (Our Hit Parade) aesthetic. Key song: A funny-creepy version of Jeremiah’s ‘Birthday Sex,’ performed in the diaper, bonnet, bib and voice of a newborn baby.” – Adam Feldman, Time Out NY
May 5-22, 2010