Video Preview: The Bad’uns: Clown Acts of Contagion

Clowns Ex Machina takes a darkly comic look at transgression, the corruption of dreams, and women in dangerously, dangerously bad moods. Inspired by legends of “the Bad-uns” – famous women criminals, outlaws and killers – the show examines notoriety, morality, defiance, and the social constraints of womanhood. Mischievous, startling, and sublimely ridiculous, this world premiere contains interwoven acts of song, dance, verbal wit, and incredible humor.  

Performances begin November 7th!

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La MaMa presents

The Bad’uns: 
Clown Acts of Contagion

By Clowns Ex Machina 
Created and Directed by Kendall Cornell 
in collaboration with the ensemble

November 7 - November 17, 2019

Thursday - Saturday at 7pm; Sunday at 3pm

The Downstairs @ La MaMa

66 East 4th Street

(between Bowery and Second Avenue)

New York, NY 10003

Tickets: $25 Adults; $20 Students/Seniors

For Information and Tickets: CLICK HERE

Music of DARK STAR FROM HARLEM

Just a small sample of the music of DARK STAR FROM HARLEM: THE SPECTACULAR RISE OF JOSEPHINE BAKER opening at The Ellen Stewart Theatre at La MaMa on November 21, 2019.

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La MaMa presents

DARK STAR FROM HARLEM: 
THE SPECTACULAR RISE 
OF JOSEPHINE BAKER

Book by Glynn Borders
Music and Lyrics by Mario E. Sprouse

November 21 - December 1, 2019   
Thursday to Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 5pm; 
additional perf Monday 11/25 at 8pm

The Ellen Stewart Theatre 
66 East 4th Street
(between Bowery and Second Avenue)
New York, NY 10003

Tickets: $30 Adults; $25 Student/Senior Tickets (+$1 Facility Fee)

For Info and Tickets: CLICK HERE

Look who was at the La MaMa Gala!

Katie Holmes

 Bill Pullman

Gala Honorees: 
Philip Glass, Dr. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel and Sam Rudy

Frank Carucci (La MaMa Board President) and David Diamond

Jill Hanekamp and Jeff Haley

  

Jackie Rudin

Dr. Emily Rafferty

Daniel Nardicio and Heather Litteer

Heather Christian

Philip Glass

Gala Director Dan Safer and Jane Comfort

Stafanie Batten Bland

Ozzie Rodriguez, Michal Gamily and Gala Co-Chair Donald Capoccia

Mia Yoo and Nicky Paraiso

All photos by Theo Cote

2019 La MaMa Gala Performances

"Ring the Bell - A Song for Ellen" written and performed by Heather Christian 

"Ring the Bell - A Song for Ellen" written and performed by Heather Christian 

"Madonna" by Stefanie Batten Bland

"Madonna" by Stefanie Batten Bland

"Disconnected" composed by Woody Pak; Media Design Sangmin Chae; 

Created by CultureHub

Performed by Starr Busby

"Change" (excerpt from La MaMa Cantata by Elizabeth Swadows)

performed by Starr Busby, Jo Lampert, Preston Martin, Alicia Olatuaja; Casey Reed, accompanist

"Change" (excerpt from La MaMa Cantata by Elizabeth Swadows)

performed by Starr Busby, Jo Lampert, Preston Martin, Alicia Olatuaja; Casey Reed, accompanist

"Gee-Whiz, a song for Ellen" written and performed by Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson

"Gee-Whiz, a song for Ellen" written and performed by Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson

"Gee-Whiz, a song for Ellen" written and performed by Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson

All photos by Theo Cote

6 Questions: Anabella Lenzu

1. What is your role in Virgo Star? 
I am a performer, choreographer and collaborator. 

2. What can the audiences learn about love in Virgo Star? 
Love is inclusion, understanding, embracing differences, supporting and sustaining each other. That is what we practice in rehearsals and performances at Pioneers!!! 

3. How can you explode the myth of the American Cowboy? 
For me as an immigrant from Argentina, I had a lot of homework and research to understand this foreign concept. As part of my preparation, I saw at least 15 iconic western movies to grasp the context and culture. Aside from being a lot of fun, I learned a lot about the archetypal world of the American West. 

4. Have you learned anything new from this production? 
As a choreographer for my own company a guest choreographer for different theater and opera productions in NYC (since 2007), it has been a long time since I performed for someone else's show. It's a muscle that I forgot I have. Being in rehearsal with such a fun and creative group is stimulating and refreshing! 

5. Do you have a favorite Western movie? 
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 

6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you? 
Working at La MaMa again is reaffirming my commitment with such an amazing community of artists and audiences. It's about belonging to a genealogical tree of artists that I have admired since I was young. Working at La MaMa saying yes to celebrating works that push the boundaries of language and culture and performing cutting-edge ideas.

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Virgo Star
November 14 - December 01, 2019

$25 Tickets; $20 Student/Senior Tickets [+$1 Facility Fee]

Tickets: http://lamama.org/virgo-star/

World Premiere
By Pioneers Go East Collective

Virgo Star explores and explodes the myth of the American Cowboy. An underground, kinetic ride through the Cowboy myths performed from a queer perspective, this dance-theatre work fuses personal storytelling and movement to re-create scenes from Western Movies.

6 Questions: Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte

1) What was your inspiration to create Virgo Star?
Since I was a little boy, I loved Western Movies, especially Spaghetti Westerns. And I loved Sergio Leone’s cinematography: the wide-angle shots of canyons, the evocative and eerie sound design, and the Saloon scenes contained an impressive microcosm of adventurous individuals, rebels and outlaws. And I loved them! Then growing up, I slowly came to the realization that Film and Television Westerns have historically addressed Western and ‘Cowboys’ iconography with preconceived notions of gender stereotypes. And I felt I didn’t fit in: I didn’t look, or act like the Cowboys in the Western Movies I loved so much.

When Daniel Diaz, Philip Treviño and I first met to discuss Virgo Star – we immediately agreed that we wanted to portray Cowboys from our queer perspective, to be able to relate to their stories, and to ultimately make a statement on cowboys’ toxic masculinity and machismo depicted in mainstream media.


2) Why did you choose to name this production Virgo Star?
Virgo Star is the 4th in a cycle of works devised by a collective of LGBTQ artists. Other projects included: Gemini Stars; Gemini Stars/ Scorpio; CowboysCowgirls (Sagittarius).

Each project is conceived and loosely titled around the Astrological chart as way of fashioning a storytelling platform both universal and humorous. The chart characters establish an artistic problem to solve and veer the dialogue away from the didacticism of social political commentary and towards a more personal and delicate tone.


3) How can you explode the myth of the American Cowboy?
Virgo Star blends elements drawn from mythic, real, cinematic and clichéd forms of the American West and their roles in constructing our ideas of masculinity and femininity, to explore and explode how these ideas have been used to marginalize minority communities and often justify practices to expunge them.

The collective – including Agosto Machado, Beth Graczyk, Anabella Lenzu, Bree Breeden, Gerard Minaya, Hao Bai, Gavin Price, Jon Burklund, Dmitri Barcomi - has been searching ways to relate to familiar themes we love so much – including Western music, Cowboys & Cowgirls iconography and Saloon fights - but presenting them from our queer perspective and drawing both from collective and individual experiences.

4) Do you have a favorite Western movie?
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly by Sergio Leone.


5) What makes Virgo Star different from other Pioneers Go East productions?
The work is aligned with Pioneers Go East Collective’s mission to empower LGBTQ and Feminist Artists.

The first work-in-progress was devised with Agosto Machado (who you’ll see in video interviews during the performance) who is a downtown icon, activist and witness of GLM (Gay Liberation Movement) and the Stonewall riots.

Differently than previous works, artists featured in VIRGO STAR have devised some of the text, while other excerpts are inspired by cinematic scripts – including Western Movies such as Red River with Montgomery Cliff.

Our hope with this new work it to create a socially relevant project that resonates with contemporary lives in New York City. And to engage a broad cross-section of New York City audiences with LGBTQ performance and politics.


6) What does working at La MaMa mean to you?
Since 2001, La MaMa has been like a family to me: I met Ellen Stewart in Italy when I was still in school; and after I graduated she invited me to La MaMa!

I’ve met wonderful artists, collaborators, and friends thanks to La MaMa’s expanded community. I’m happy when I’m away working on other projects; but it feels good to come back to La MaMa.

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Virgo Star
November 14 - December 01, 2019

$25 Tickets; $20 Student/Senior Tickets [+$1 Facility Fee]

Tickets: http://lamama.org/virgo-star/

World Premiere
By Pioneers Go East Collective

Virgo Star explores and explodes the myth of the American Cowboy. An underground, kinetic ride through the Cowboy myths performed from a queer perspective, this dance-theatre work fuses personal storytelling and movement to re-create scenes from Western Movies.

Reviews are coming in for ALL MY FATHERS

“All My Fathers is a clever, circumspect examination of paternity and “how to find it,” ...Young’s humor is salient and sardonic. The actors are just terrific. Yionoulis’ direction reflects the balance needed to move from the dramatic beginning to the humorous, absurdist ending and the lovely reconciliation at the conclusion.” 

- Carole Di Tosti, Theater Pizzazz

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"All My Fathers is a surprisingly nimble and funny fantasia on an issue that affects all of us, even if one's family life wasn't a textbook nightmare and one's forbears have been long correctly identified. Evan Yionoulis stages these games of identity charades with fluency, slipping between reality and fantasy with supple skill." 

- David Barbour, Lighting & Sound America

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La MaMa presents

ALL MY FATHERS

Written by Paul David Young 
Directed by Evan Yionoulis

October 03 - October 20, 2019

Thursday to Saturday at 8PM; Sunday at 5PM

Downstairs @ La MaMa
66 East 4th Street
New York, NY 10003

The playwright's elderly, demented mother says he’s the bastard child of the family pediatrician. The surreal, seemingly scripted disclosure instantly rewrites his devoutly Christian, Southern upbringing. The tragicomedy incorporates Arthur Miller’s All My Sons and other family plays, such as Hamlet, Oedipus, Elektra, Well, and The Seagull.

Tickets: $30 Adult; $25 Student/Senior Tickets (+$1 Facility Fee) 

For Tickets & Info: CLICK HERE

First Look @ LOOK WHO'S COMING TO DINNER

 

All photos by Carlos Cardona

Stefanie Batten Bland's world premiere of Look Who’s Coming to Dinner opens tonight at La MaMa as part of Crossing the Line Festival. Inspired by the 1967 Stanley Kramer film starring Sydney Poitier, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, the work pays tribute to those who paved the way toward acceptance in love and life. Set around a transformative dinner setting, seven dance-theatre artists explore access and ritual as they seek a seat at the table.

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La MaMa presents

Look Who's Coming To Dinner
Co-presented as part of Crossing the Line Festival
produced by the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF)

October 03 - October 06, 2019
This Week Only!

The Ellen Stewart Theatre
66 East 4th Street
(between Bowery & Second Avenue)
New York, NY 10003

Jerome Robbins Award–winning choreographic artist and filmmaker, Stefanie Batten Bland makes her Crossing the Line Festival debut with the world premiere of Look Who’s Coming to Dinner. Inspired by the 1967 Stanley Kramer film starring Sydney Poitier, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, the work pays tribute to those who paved the way toward acceptance in love and life

Tickets: $25 Adult; $20 Student/Senior [+$1 Facility Fee]

For Tickets and Info: CLICK HERE