Staff Picks No. 81
U Are The Dream : Allyson Dwyer (full team below!)
The Brick (as part of The Exponential Festival)
January 24th-February 1st 2025
As the festival wildness winds down, this show is the perfect slide from one reality to another. Allyson writes sorta like my dreams feel, so it feels almost mystical for me. She also wrote this show thinking about The Brick, which is a beautiful intention that I am very happy to see coming into physical being. I honestly do not know what to expect, even though I have read the play. It has always been one that needs to be off the page and in the air. Can't wait!
Full Amazing Team:
Performed by Catt Filippov & Ben Holbrook
Written & directed by Allyson Dwyer
Prop & costume design by Hannah Birch-Carl
Scenic design by Forest Entsminger
Illusion design by Reuven Glezer
Stage managed by Rishita Chowdary
Sound design by Alyse Lamb
Lighting design by Christina F. Tang
Produced by Mind Dream Theater & Most Unwanted Productions
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister
Ghost Porn : Brendan Drake
Kestrels
February 5th-15th 2025
Performed by Matthew Bovee, Brendan Drake, Ollie Iturrieta, Nikkie Samreth, Marcus Serjeant, and Nattie Trogdon, "Ghost Porn" promises a kaleidoscopic journey led by two f-words with a pension for trauma bonding and poppers. Color me intrigued: there's dance, darkness, and desire. We'll see where the sweaty journey leads.
Staffer: Billy McEntee
Brendan Drake’s “Ghost Porn” at ?! New Works 2024 blew me away. It was maybe the sexiest thing I’d ever seen onstage, and also one of the scariest. I’ve been so hungry for more, and cannot wait to spend an evening in Brendan’s world. This time, there’s a bigger team, there’s video, there’s GOGO dancing - the whole shebang. I cannot wait.
Staffer: Matthew Antoci
HOLE PICS: SOPHIE. : MTHR TRSA and many other excellent transsexuals
Judson Memorial Church
Thursday, January 30th 2025
If you like drag shows at a bar but wish they had more mystery and production value, if you like performance art but wish it was more exciting and profane, if you want to cry about hyperpop in a church, please come to HOLE PICS: SOPHIE! This is the third rendition of HOLE PICS' tribute to Sophie on the anniversary of her death, where trans artists come together to celebrate Sophie's legacy in sexy, gorgeous, and disgusting ways. Come in a fit and be sure to tip your performers!
Staffer: Noa Rui-Piin Weiss
Symphony of Rats : Richard Foreman, Elizabeth LeCompte & Kate Valk (full team below!)
The Performing Garage
January 7th-25th 2025
I feel like I should of done this earlier... but all of a sudden, here we are.
This show is not to be missed. It sticks in my head but also slides off and through my brain. I want this to be an album I listen to at the gym.
I want this to be a show that tours the midwest.
I want to never forget the feeling of sitting sitting between friends I love on those uncomfortable benches having a real experience in the theater.
Full Amazing Team:
From a play by Richard Foreman
Directed by Elizabeth LeCompte & Kate Valk
With Niall Cunningham,* Jim Fletcher, Ari Fliakos, Andrew Maillet, Tavish Miller, Michaela Murphy, Guillermo Resto
Production Design: Elizabeth LeCompte
Sound Design/Music: Eric Sluyter
Video Design: Yudam Hyung Seok Jeon
Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton & Evan Anderson
Costume Design: Antonia Belt
Additional Sound & Video: Andrew Maillet
Assistant Director & Stage Manager: Michaela Murphy
Dramaturg: Matthew Dipple
Technical Director: Tavish Miller
Production Manager: Bona Lee (through 2023); Aaron Amodt (REDCAT 2024-present)
General Manager: Monika Wunderer
Producer: Cynthia Hedstrom
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister
Improve Nights 2025 - A Tribute to Derek Bailey (night 1) : Patricia Brennan, Nava Dunkelman, Wendy Eisenberg, Gabby Fluke-Mogul & More!
Roulette
January 23rd-25th 2025
For the third year in a row, Roulette hosts an incredible rotating cast of dozens of New York’s very finest experimental musicians, paying tribute to pioneering guitarist Derek Bailey. Folks improvise in varied arrangements, small and large, in combinations of players who do not often perform together. The result is singular and stunning. Jan 23-25, every night looks so great! Come through!
Staffer: Joshua Dumas