6 Questions for Mazz Swift of GRAND PANORAMA

Photo by nisha sondhe photography

Critically acclaimed as one of America’s most talented and versatile performers today, violin/vox/freestyle composition artist Mazz Swift has engaged audiences all over the world with the signature weaving of song, melody and improvisation Swift calls MazzMuse.

Mazz Swift composed and performs the score for Grand Panorama—created, designed, and directed by Theodora Skipitares—which tells the story of Frederick Douglass's obsession with photography. There are 12 performances in the Ellen Stewart Theatre from February 17–March 6. The opening night performance is Pay What You Can starting at $10. Tickets can be purchased here.

1. What role does the score play in Grand Panorama?

This feels like a better question for Theodora Skipitares (the creator and director of Grand Panorama), but to me it seems that the music is in conversation with the subject matter. I'm trying to create soundscapes and musical ideas that not only support the visual material that is presented, but also allude to or represent some of the unspoken underpinnings of what might have been going on emotionally for the culture during the time period of this new technology, and what it meant to Frederick Douglass as a visionary for the liberation of Black people and Americans in general from the tyranny of slavery.

2. How would you describe your work as an artist?

I am first and foremost an improviser. So when it comes to composition, I am always thinking about organic ways to allow my music to flow. I set up frameworks within which I build textures, hang ideas, sculpt sound, bounce vocalizations off of, etc...I see my work as a sort of practice for mindfulness and presence, a place to learn how to match my actions with my highest self. I don't always hit the mark, which is what makes it a practice; art-making is a place of forever-education. How to set my life up to create more optimal circumstances within which to create and collaborate. 

3. How did you begin composing music?

I simply just started making stuff up. :) First I recorded myself into a little tape recorder I had as a kid. Then I started writing jigs and reels based on the Irish music I was learning when I got older. Then I started collaboration with a theater-maker—the fascinating Tigyst Harmon—where we began experimenting with the creation of works based on our own personal stories. Then I just started telling people I was a composer which forced me to start doing it with more intention.  

4. Who and what has inspired you?

This is incredibly complex and too difficult to answer in this one sitting. I'm gonna decline to name any one person because unless I can name every person who inspires me, you won't get the full picture. So instead I'll list a random selection of energies—in no particular order, and not even close to being comprehensive—that inspire me: ambition; melancholy; improvisation/meditation (two sides of the same coin as far as I can see); things and people I don't understand; newly dead friends; friends who are still here and fighting for their dreams; complex rhythms; drones; purely electronic beeps and boops; the suspicion that greatness is possible even though the odds seem to be against that being true... 

5. What does working at La MaMa mean to you?

As a native New Yorker, I've known of La MaMa for many years, but have only recently found myself in the theater world. So getting to work within this legendary space, alongside the force that Theodora is, feels like a real honor and privilege. It feels like I'm stepping into a world that I have unconsciously been working very hard towards being a part of; it is an affirmation of my belief in experimental and cooperative creativity.

Photo by Jane Catherine Shaw

La MaMa presents

Grand Panorama

Created, Designed, & Directed by Theodora Skipitares
Score Composed & Performed by Mazz Swift
Set Co-design by Donald Eastman
Narrator/Singer: Jayson Kerr

February 17–March 6, 2022

Ellen Stewart Theatre
66 East 4th Street, 2nd floor
New York, NY 10003

Thursdays – Saturdays at 7PM
Sundays at 2PM

Tickets:

Adults: $25 in advance; $30 day of show
Students/Seniors: $20 in advance; $25 day of show
First 10 tickets to every performance $10 each (limit 2 per person)

* Thursday, Feb. 17th performance is Pay What You Can starting at $10

Suitable for ages 10+

LA MAMA 58th SEASON FALL/WINTER BROCHURE

Click Here To Download

First Look: THERE'S BLOOD AT THE WEDDING

All photos by Theo Cote for La MaMa

_____

La MaMa presents

THERE'S BLOOD 
AT THE WEDDING

Directed by Theodora Skipitares 
Music by Sxip Shirey 

May 17, 2018 - June 3, 2018

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

Tickets: $25 Adults; $20 Students/Seniors

For Tickets and Info: CLICK HERE

Winter/Spring Promo Video

  La MaMa | Winter Spring 2018 from La MaMa on Vimeo.

Highlights from our Winter/Spring season include:

The Pill – A Family Memoir

Conceived by Marla Mase

Directed by Randolph Curtis Rand

Series of One:

A Solo Performance Festival

It’s All True

by Object Collection Theatre

time no line

by John Kelly 

Distant Observer:Tokyo/New York Correspondence

by Takeshi Kawamura and John Jesurun

SEAGULLMACHINE

by The Assembly

THERE'S BLOOD AT THE WEDDING: Songs for Lorca

bu Theodora Skipitares

_____

10@$10 Tickets now on sale 

for all shows NOW ON SALE

Winter/Spring 2018 Brochure Preview

Click Here for a digital preview of La MaMa Winter/Spring 2018 brochure

Winter/Spring Season includes:

The Pill – A Family Memoir

Conceived by Marla Mase

Directed by Randolph Curtis Rand

Series of One:

A Solo Performance Festival

It’s All True

by Object Collection Theatre

time no line

by John Kelly 

Distant Observer:Tokyo/New York Correspondence

by Takeshi Kawamura and John Jesurun

SEAGULLMACHINE

by The Assembly

THERE'S BLOOD AT THE WEDDING: Songs for Lorca

bu Theodora Skipitares

_____

10@$10 Tickets now on sale 

for all shows NOW ON SALE

La MaMa's History Through Posters: Panel Discussion

La MaMa's History Through Posters: Panel Discussion 

December 4, 2017 | 6:30pm

MAKE A FREE RESERVATION

Lobby of the Ellen Stewart Theatre, 66 East 4th Street

Panelists: Theodora Skipitares, John Jesurun, Alisa Solomon and Susan Haskins

Moderated by Cindy Rosenthal

Join a panel of La MaMa artists for a discussion about the evolution of avant-garde theatre posters over five decades. Moderated by Cindy Rosenthal (author of Ellen Stewart Presents: Fifty Years of La MaMa Experimental Theatre). Free of charge and open to all.

Richard Schechner and Holly Hughes were originally schedule to participate in this event, but can no longer attend.

This program was funded in part by a Humanities New York Action Grant.

Coffeehouse Chronicles #136: Theodora Skipitares

On Saturday, October 8 at 3pm Coffeehouse Chronicles #136 celebrates the work of Theodora Skipitares.  

Moderated by JoAnne Akalaitis 

Panelists: Andrea Balis, Claudia Orenstein

and Jane Catherine Shaw 

Theodora Skipitares is an interdisciplinary artist and theater director based in NewYork. Trained as a sculptor and theater designer, she began creating personal solo performances in the late 1970's, which revolved around the use of handmade objects that were worn on her body. Gradually she moved away from autobiography to explore social and historical themes. She introduced small 3-dimensional representations of herself into these performances, which she understood (later) to be puppets. She has created 25 works featuring as many as 300 puppet figures, live music, film, video and documentary texts. These projects include UNDER THE KNIFE, a site-specific history of medicine which took an audience to twelve different theater environments, and BODY OF CRIME, a history of women in prison. More recently, she created three plays about the Trojan War: HELEN, ODYSSEY, and IPHIGENIA. In 2014, she devised THE CHAIRS, a take-off on Ionesco's absurdist classic, and in 2016, she created SIX CHARACTERS, a response to Pirandello's play.

La MaMa presents

Coffeehouse 

Chronicles #136:

Theodora Skipitares

Saturday, October 8 at 3pm

Free/Suggested Donation

For Reservations and Info: CLICK HERE

Theodora Skipitares on News 4 New York, WNBC

Watch Theodora Skipitares chat about her new show SIX CHARACTERS (a family album) with Chris Glorioso on News 4 New York.  Puppeteers Jane Catherine Shaw and Chris Ignacio were also on hand to give life to two of Theodora's creations.

Watch the segment HERE.

- - - - - 

La MaMa in association with Skysaver Productions presents
SIX CHARACTERS 
(a family album)

Directed, Designed, and Adapted by Theodora Skipitares
Music Composed by Sxip Shirey and Jordan Morton
Set Design by Donald Eastman
Technical Design by Jane Catherine Shaw
Dramaturgy: Andrea Balis

Featuring: Jan Leslie Harding, Chris Ignacio, Jordan Morton, Jane Catherine Shaw, Thomas Walker, Molly Ballerstein, Brandon Fisette, Maiko Kikuchi, Britt Moseley, Atticus Stevenson.
and Estelle Parsons as the voice of Margaret Mead


March 31 - April 16, 2016
Thursday to Saturday at 7:30pm; Sunday at 4pm

Tickets: $25 Adults; $20 Students/Seniors; La MaMa 10@$10 Tickets available (advance sale only, first come first served)

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

For Tickets & Info: CLICK HERE

Theodora Skipitares

Theodora Skipitares' newest work, SIX CHARACTERS (A Family Album) premiers at the Ellen Stewart Theatre - March 31 - April 16, 2016.  With a nod to Pirandello, SIX CHARACTERS explores the idea of family, reality versus illusion, and displacement.  Featuring giant puppet figures,video and live music by Sxip Shirey and Jordan Morton, the evening is highlighted by guest appearances with Margaret Mead and Pirandello himself.  

We decided to take a look back at some of the hugely creative body of work created by Theodora over her long career.

The Venus Cafe
1979

Micropolis:
Seven Portraits and a Landscape
1982

The Radiant City
1991

Under the Knife: 

A History of Medicine
1994

Medea
2008

THE TRAVELING PLAYERS PRESENT 

THE WOMEN OF TROY
2009

Lysistrata

2011

PROMETHEUS WITHIN
2012

THE CHAIRS

2014

La MaMa in association with Skysaver Productions presents
SIX CHARACTERS 
(a family album)

Directed, Designed, and Adapted by Theodora Skipitares
Music Composed by Sxip Shirey and Jordan Morton
Set Design by Donald Eastman
Technical Design by Jane Catherine Shaw
Dramaturgy: Andrea Balis

Featuring: Jan Leslie Harding, Chris Ignacio, Jordan Morton, Jane Catherine Shaw, Thomas Walker, Molly Ballerstein, Brandon Fisette, Maiko Kikuchi, Britt Moseley, Atticus Stevenson.
and Estelle Parsons as the voice of Margaret Mead


March 31 - April 16, 2016
Thursday to Saturday at 7:30pm; Sunday at 4pm

Tickets: $25 Adults; $20 Students/Seniors; La MaMa 10@$10 Tickets available (advance sale only, first come first served)

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

For Tickets & Info: CLICK HERE

Spring 2016 @ La MaMa

Check out our Spring Brochure!

Tickets now on sale for:

Inkfish

Justin Sayre

Theodora Skipitares

Heather Litteer

Spiderwoman Theater

Yara Arts Group

Dane Terry

and MORE!

The Reviews Are In: Much Love for THE CHAIRS!

"potent, perplexing, inspiring and weird. Consistently, though, it’s quite engaging to watch. 'The Chairs' is wonderfully accessible." 

 - Ken Jaworowski, The New York Times 

"plenty of food for thought...a powerful and beautifully designed theatrical experience." 

 - Zachary Stewart, TheaterMania 

 "The Chairs asks us to listen and look very closely as we observe a parade of visual, textual and auditory artifacts pass before us. And yet, one of my preferred moments included the rare presence of a human being speaking plainly, purposefully and directly onstage. I hearken back to the words of Sister Wendy, one of the many visitors, who reminds us that it is “very hard to make judgments on the works of our own time. We have to wait.” I am waiting to see what Skipitares does next in this new era of her work and grateful that LaMaMa still exists as a home for theatrical experimentation." 

- Catherine Mueller, New York Theatre Review

La MaMa presents 

THE CHAIRS

Conceived and Directed by Theodora Skipitares

NOW – June 8, 2014 
Thursday - Saturday @ 7:30pm / Sunday @ 2:30pm

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

Tickets: $25 Adults - $20 Student/Senior; ten tickets priced at $10 are available, in advance, for every performance via web, phone or box office as part of La MaMa's 10@$10 ticketing initiative. 10@$10 tickets not available day of show. 

For Tickets and Info: CLICK HERE

First Look: Theodora Skipitares' THE CHAIRS

Photos from Theodora Skipitares' stunning production of THE CHAIRS have just arrived.  Don't miss this beautiful show!  All photos by Richard Termine.

La MaMa presents 

The Chairs

Conceived and Directed by Theodora Skipitares

NOW – June 8, 2014 
Thursday - Saturday @ 7:30pm / Sunday @ 2:30pm

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

Tickets: $25 Adults - $20 Student/Senior; ten tickets priced at $10 are available, in advance, for every performance via web, phone or box office as part of La MaMa's 10@$10 ticketing initiative. 10@$10 tickets not available day of show. 

For Tickets and Info: CLICK HERE

6 QUESTIONS: Alice Tolan-Mee

Photo by Omar Amador

Alice Tolan-Mee is a co-composer and performer for Theodora Skipitares' THE CHAIRS, a response to Eugene Ionesco's play of same name, running May 22th - June 8th in the Ellen Stewart Theatre at La MaMa. Here, she answers our six questions.

1. What is it like to write music for Theodora Skipitares?

I'm collaborating with Sxip Shirey who is abroad, he's on tour with a circus, so we're collaborating over Skype and e-mail. He's worked with Theodora a lot before, so whenever I'm confused, or can't figure out where to go with something, I ask him and he gives me guidance.

Working with Theodora specifically is great. She has a really clear idea of the feeling she wants out of the music, which is really helpful. It's helpful to work with someone who knows what they want from you. At the same time, she gives me free rein and lets me try different things. Most of the music is coming out of improvisation and her saying 'oh, that thing you did at that moment - do that more.' So, a lot of it is coming out guided improv.

2. This production is inspired by Ionesco's The Chairs, but does not follow that text exactly. How has the piece developed away from that starting point?

It still comes out of the original inspiration of Ionesco's The Chairs. In that play there are guests coming but there aren't enough chairs. In this play guests come, but each guest is a chair. And each chair gives a political speech. It's like the Old Woman is inviting these people into her home as a summit. It was always like that, in earlier versions of this production, but the text for the Old Woman has changed a lot. It's been heavily influenced by Judith Malina, who plays her, and Judith's ideas, her preferences with the text and her performance... and her ideas about Ionesco. She's not the biggest fan. Also, now Gertrude Stein is one of the 'star' chairs and one of the most vocal. Ionesco is a chair now. So those two have had quite an influence on the emotional structure and the message.

3. As a younger artist, what is it like for you to be around someone like Judith Malina? What do you see in her that interests or affects you?

She is incredibly fierce and forceful. Seeing that in her, it makes sense to me that she's had the career she's had, and that she is as strong of a presence in the theatre scene as she is. And that she is a female artist... I affects me to see a woman who comes into the room and is instantly running it. But at the same time, she always gives over to Theodora and she just wants to serve the piece. Always. So it's like this... fierce service.

I've read some of her diaries from '47, when she was my age. They're published. She's an avid diary keeper and a lot of them have been published. So, back in June, I was reading her diaries and seeing her in rehearsals, and that got to be a little bit much. I thought 'maybe I should wait to read anymore of this'. It felt like a little too much of a personal experience to be having without her involved in it. But... it's really cool being around her. She's badass. She's really badass.

4. You first worked with Theodora as a singer. How is it different to collaborate with her as a composer versus as a performer?

When I performed for her in Prometheus, maybe two years ago, I was mostly working with Sxip. He was composing that, and we were in rehearsals with Theodora but our direct contact was more with Sxip. So this is the first time I feel like I'm intimately collaborating with Theodora herself.

Also, I'm new at composing. Two years ago, when I did that piece, I had never composed. Over the past couple of years I've gone from never imagining that I would write anything, to writing music for Theodora. So just being a composer and trying to bring her ideas into a musical world is new for me. At the same time, it's similar work because I am still working with Sxip from afar and that grounds me. That's like a safety net.

5. What kind of music have you been listening to, or has been influencing you, lately?

That's a funny questions because the band that I'm in, Anawan, is just finishing recording an album, so that's mostly what I've been listening to because we're mixing it. It's five vocals and I play electric bass and there's a Wurlitzer keyboard and a nylon string guitar and electronics.

But I've also been listening to...Hmm... Beyonce's new album... Animal Collective. I've been listening to them a lot because composing on the computer is new for me and Animal Collective is helpful to listen to for that. Also friends' bands, electronic musicians, I've been listening to a lot. Like Andrew Ryder and JX Randall. They're people who've done this a lot and I'm drawing on them for help. I'm playing cello in this and singing a little bit, but most of what I'm doing is creating music in Logic with synthetic instruments. So I've been listening to music that helps me figure out how you infuse deep emotion into music made that way.

6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you?

I was a La MaMa kid. So it's totally crazy now being a La MaMa adult. I grew up going to La MaMa when I don't think anyone my age was going to La MaMa. I was probably three the first time I went with my dad. Working here and coming here every day feels very much like there is continuity in my life. Also, La MaMa feels like the New York I always wished still existed. I wish this was possible, and it is here, somehow. To just do what you believe in and have that be enough to draw an audience and get your work up.

La MaMa presents 

The Chairs

Conceived and Directed by Theodora Skipitares

May 22 – June 8, 2014 
Thursday - Saturday @ 7:30pm / Sunday @ 2:30pm

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

Tickets: $25 Adults - $20 Student/Senior; ten tickets priced at $10 are available, in advance, for every performance via web, phone or box office as part of La MaMa's 10@$10 ticketing initiative. 10@$10 tickets not available day of show. 

For Tickets and Info: CLICK HERE