In 14 UnNatural Acts, interdisciplinary artists Roberto Sifuentes and Lián Sifuentes explore a political landscape ruled by fear and religious zealotry, in a culture where civil liberties are put in jeopardy for the sake of security. From homeland security to extreme reality television – from video games to military training – from game shows to evangelism -the characters and audience wind their way through a psycho-sexual-political labyrinth, as witnesses, perpetrators and agents. The result is a performance that uses satire, humor and spectacle to peel away our protective layers of comfort and reveal society’s fears, desires and obsessions.
Archives: Archived Events
Archived Events From PS122 Pre 2018
Where’s the Rub?
New Age Spa or Dr. Frankenstein’s Laboratory?
In WHERE’S THE RUB? Choreographer Mei-Yin Ng and Media Artist Eric Koziol dissect and incongruously reconfigure a traditional Chinese Qi-Gong Massage Parlor and it’s denizens. Concept of beauty, health and healing touch are distorted through body image, fractured sound, and real-time bio-mechanical vision.
Hamlet
Shakespeare’s classic tale of revenge and madness is brought to life by a company of dime-store figurines in this adaptation of Hamlet. Created by Dov Weinstein, Tiny Ninja Theater cooks up grand spectacle on a tiny scale with inch-high plastic ninja dolls on a briefcase-sized stage.
Avant-Garde-Arama
Avant-Garde-Arama was very possibly the first officially programmed event at Performance Space122. 25 years later it is still one of the most fun and beloved events on the calendar. A biannual mini-festival of performance, dance, music, film, installations and general mayhem, AGA brings together emerging and established artists in all disciplines to show off their newest stuff in 8 minutes or less. Curated by Salley May, Phantom Louise and the Avant-Garde-Arama committee.
Photo credit: Jim Moore
Nobody’s Lunch
Written and directed by Steven Cosson with songs by Michael Friedman, Nobody’s Lunch is a dark ride through the landscape of American public culture. This latest creation from the Obie-winning company The Civilians asks the thorny question — how do we know what we know when everyone in power seems to be lying?
Is it possible to know what’s really going on in the world when information is manipulated to serve particular interests? Does anyone really care? Delving into the politics of information, the company—in its singular signature style—conducted extensive interviews with subjects ranging from a policymaker at Homeland Security on the verge of a nervous breakdown to a plucky extraterrestrial (channeled by an equally funny human); from every Jessica Lynch in the phone book (who was willing to talk) to soldiers guarding the New York subway with unloaded weapons. Turning these interviews into a mercurial cabaret-play, a versatile cast inhabits an eccentric cast of characters, all taken from real life.