NEW YORK CITY: HERE has announced its 2017-18 season, featuring world premieres by resident artists, multidisciplinary shows, puppets, and festivals.
The season will start with the world premiere of Stairway to Stardom (Sept. 12-13), by resident artist Amanda Szeglowski/cakeface, which features clips from the 1980s TV show “Stairway to Stardom” and honors passionate but untalented people who compete.
Next up will be the world premiere of Thomas Paine in Violence (Nov. 6-18), by resident artist Paul Pinto, described as an electronic psychedelic opera-sermon set in a radio station in the afterlife of Thomas Paine. Joan La Barbara will star.
Following will be the world premiere of TreePop (Nov. 30-Dec. 10), by Lake Simons and John Dyer of HERE’s Dream Music Puppetry Program, which is described as a visual poem meditating upon the life of objects featuring puppetry, dance, and music.
The season will continue with the festival PROTOTYPE: Opera/Theatre/Now (Jan. 7-20, 2018), coproduced by Beth Morrison Projects, featuring new opera, theatre, and music works.
Next up will be the CULTUREMART Festival (March 5-18, 2018), an annual festival of dance, theatre, puppetry, music, new media, and visual art presented by HERE’s resident artists.
The season will continue with the remount of Symphonie Fantastique (begins March 29), by Basil Twist, a response to Berlioz’s 1830 “Symphonie Fantastique” featuring a 1,000-gallon water tank onstage. Pianist Christopher O’Riley will play the Listz transcription for the production, which had its premiere at HERE in 1998.
Following will be Assembled Identity (April 24-May 13, 2018), by Purva Bedi, Kristin Marting, and Mariana Newhard, about twin sisters who discover they are clones and embark on an unexpected journey searching for their own authenticity.
The season will conclude with American Weather (June 15-30, 2018), by resident artist Chris Green with the Dream Music Puppetry Program. The immersive performance, created with a multidisciplinary ensemble, reframes the troubling American narrative as a folk epic. Green will direct.
HERE, founded in 1993, is a presenting house for Off-Off-Broadway works and provides resources for multidisciplinary artists.
