Presented by and developed at 3LD Art & Technology Center
A strange and provocative theatre work that utilizes the construction of a Greek drama and the sensibility of a classic Fairy Tale to examine the ramifications of antique guilt on the modern conscience. Following a Greek king who abandons his war torn country for the safety of a cliff-side cave, the play travels one thousand years through the extended lifespan of the tormented ruler, a man who simply will not make a decision about how to handle his human responsibilities, and until he does so, cannot die. This punishment, or gift, is the verdict of an unnamed political council, who observes but remains distanced during his years of decadent, amoral, ethical elusion.
NYC PREMIERE | THEATRE | OFFSITE at 3LD Art & Technology Center (80 Greenwich St.)
Thu, Jan 6 – Sun, Jan 9 / Wed, Jan 12 – Sat, Jan 15 8PM
Extends beyond COIL 2011 through January 23.
“Dandy theatrical experimenteur…mind bending sex comedy.” – Time Out, New York
“…one of the highlights of the fall season at Performance Space 122.” – NY Times
Downtown’s enfant terrible delivers a frisky and hyper-stylized sex comedy that shoots straight into the heart of marriage in America. Behind this Technicolor Romantic Pastoral lies a glittering and scathing indictment of rules and regulations, rituals and rites of spring. A foursome and a sexton breach the boundaries of matrimonial shackles and dive headlong into a hedonistic lifestyle with complex consequences.
The Archery Contest sends up the tragic-comic foibles of human desire straight-jacketed by antiquated dogmas and outdated notions of marriage, ultimately asking: in a country steeped in tradition yet hungry for change, how can we escape our puritanical past and move into an unfettered future?
Hotel Savant, a theatre company based in New York City, explores the seminal ideologies of history and mythology and their impact on contemporary narrative. Utilizing a variety of performance techniques that include pageantry, dance and tableau, they create original works and revive obscure texts that correlate to present day topics.
Featuring: Richard Toth, Hillary Spector, Carey Urban, Alexander Borinsky, Jeff Worden
Playwright/Director: John Jahnke; sound designer Kristin Worrall; set designer Peter Ksander; lighting designer Miranda Hardy; video designer Andrew Schneider; and costume designer Carlos Soto.
Presented by Performance Space 122. Developed at 3LD Art & Technology Center; with additional support from Art International Radio (AIR), NYSCA, NY Department of Cultural Affairs and The MacDowell Colony and a Commission Grant from the Jerome Foundation. Photo (c) 2009 Josef Astor.
The Archery Contest, a Radio Play is an abstract sex comedy which follows the al fresco adventures of a quintet of players trapped between the Christian rules of the past and the Nihilistic chaos of the future.
A Reverend and his wife pursue a young girl and boy in a contest to claim them as secondary spouses. Encouraged by the teenagers’ guardian – a cemetery Sexton – the chase reaches its zenith during the ritualistic celebration of a long forgotten holiday.
Designed as a serial radio play in 4 parts, the work invokes visuals that remain unseen, challenging the notion that theatre exists only in the realm of the visual stage. A studio recording of Part 1 will be online at ART Radio WPS1.org in October 2007, while Part 2 will be recorded live in a staged performance at PS122 before going online. Part 3 and 4 will appear in 2008. The Archery Contest is an ongoing multi/media theater project whose goal is to embrace modern technology, especially the internet, as a means of disseminating theatrical content to a larger audience.
Written and Directed by John Jahnke
Soundscape by Kristin Worrall
Sound Installation by Andrew Schneider
photos by Plamen Petkov
Presented in association with Art Radio WPS1.org Web Radio Station.
