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.
Category: Performance
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.
US
Fast, funny and furious, Tim Miller’s one-man show Us ricochets between Miller’s love affair since childhood with Broadway musicals and an exploration of gay marriage, exile and the injustices lesbian and gay people face. Nominated for a 2005 New York Drama Desk Award for Best Solo performance, Us rethinks the American musical as inspiration for radical politics and queer identity.
Live Patriot Acts: Patriots Gone Wild!
Live Patriot Acts: Patriots Gone Wiiiild! was produced by Ethyl Crisp Productions and Performance Space 122 in participation with the Imagine Festival ’04.
It was created, curated, and hosted by Taylor Mac with special guests Rinde Eckert, Julie Atlas Muz, Mike Albo, Fake Brain, Naked Puppets,The Dazzle Dancers, Dirty Martini, The World Famous *Bob*, Scotty the Blue Bunny, Brandon Olson, Tigger, Fritzi Collins, Helen Stratford, Lady Ace, Bradford Scobie (as Ukulele Louie), and Bitch providing their own divine madness material to the mish-mash.
It took place during the Republican National Convention in New York and was a political vaudeville bringing together downtown subversives and spring break Americana. Audience members were allowed in for $5 if they wore Red, White, and Blue bathing suits. There was a tailgating community on stage: complete with lawn chairs, Old Glory beach towels, and Murray Hill cooking hot dogs on a George Foreman’s grill. There was puppetry, dance, music, spoken word, giant seditious documentary photographs, a follow-the-bouncing-boobs-dressed-up-like-the-Bush-twins sing-along, and almost enough nudity to counterbalance the Madison Square Garden power-tie bonanza in honor of George W., just up the street.