2012 soloNOVA Arts Festival

 9th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival

May 28 - June 17, 2012

The New Ohio Theatre
154 Christopher Street (between Greenwich & Washington), New York City

_________________________________________________________________________________

RECEPTION

Performed, Written and Composed by 
James Harrison Monaco
Directed by Rachel Chavkin
Genre: Rhythmic Storytelling

Tuesday, May 29 at 7:00 pm
Friday, June 1 at 9:00 pm
Saturday, June 2 at 9:00 pm
Sunday, June 3 at 2:00 pm
Tuesday, June 5 at 9:00 pm

Through body percussion and voice, James Harrison Monaco transports the audience to a gaudy rented mansion on Long Island for a wedding reception. This original tale includes all the huge group dance numbers (performed solo), existential despair, disgust, and love that make up a family gathering. 

‎'Reception... takes the audience on a fully absorbing and thought-provoking ride... I would have loved to hear more.' - Carissa Cordes from New York Theater Review
 

_________________________________________________________________________________

BABY REDBOOTS' REVENGE

Photography and graphic design by Anne Meighan

Performed by Sean Sullivan
Written by Philip-Dimitri Galás
Directed and Designed by Anne Meighan
Produced by Lynne Griffin
Genre: Avante Vaudeville

Tuesday, May 29 at 9:00 pm
Friday, June 1 at 7:00 pm
Saturday, June 2 at 4:00 pm
Sunday, June 3 at 6:30 pm
Tuesday, June 5 at 7:00 pm

Voted "Best in The Fringe" in 1997, performer Sean Sullivan is back with a vengeance in the re-imagined, recharged, rebooted Baby Redboots' Revenge! A former child star, whose voice changed belatedly at the age of 25, is trapped playing stand-up bass in a polka band for all eternity. Determined to free himself from the curse of his old partner, Baby Redboots, he goes on an iconoclasmic joy-rage of nightmarish proportions! "A virtual Nijinksy of performance art" - The New York Times

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EMPANADA FOR A DREAM

Photo Credit: chantel lucier

Performed and Written by Juan Francisco Villa
Directed by Alex Levy
Genre: Spoken L.E.S. Cumbia/Urban Family Mythology

Wednesday, May 30 at 7:00 pm
Thursday, May 31 at 9:00 pm
Saturday, June 2 at 7:00 pm
Sunday, June 3 at 4:00 pm
Wednesday, June 6 at 9:00 pm

Fresh from a sold out run with Ballybeg at the Barrow Group Theatre, EMPANADA FOR A DREAM is a haunting love song to the Lower East Side. Juan Francisco Villa's return to the neighborhood of his childhood is a dangerous and hilarious tale about growing up by getting out.  

_________________________________________________________________________________

WHEN THOUGHTS ATTACK

Photo by Betsy Waddell; Poster Design by Cory Grant

Performed and Written by Kelly Kinsella
Directed by Padraic Lillis
Genre: Comic Monologue

Wednesday, May 30 at 9:00 pm
Thursday, May 31 at 7:00 pm
Saturday, June 2 at 2:00 pm
Sunday, June 3 at 8:30 pm
Wednesday, June 6 at 7:00 pm

Never has the act of ordering lunch been so entertaining!  In this uproarious tragic new show, Kelly is caught in a whirlpool of anxiety. Armed with a good sense of humor, she goes to battle with her mind.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

unFRAMED

Photo Credit: Terrence Cobbs

Performed and Written by Iyaba Ibo Mandingo
Directed by Brent Buell
Producer/Creative Consultant: Jane Dubin
Genre: Storytelling through Poetry and Painting
Running Time: 90 minutes

Monday, June 4 at 7:00 pm
Saturday, June 9 at 7:00 pm
Sunday, June 10 at 4:00 pm
Wednesday, June 13 at 7:00 pm
Saturday, June 16 at 9:00 pm

unFRAMED invites audiences into the studio of the artist where poetry and painting ignite. Using canvas, paint, poetry, prose, and song, Antigua-born Iyaba Ibo Mandingo tells his story of life as an immigrant in America, from "Mommy Me No Wanna Go Merrica" - a prophetic piece that hints at the many trials he will face in a new land - to his powerful political poetry that would lead to his arrest and attempted deportation in post 9/11 America. Throughout the play Iyaba shares his rage, determination, and his hope while he paints his self-portrait.

_________________________________________________________________________________

I LIGHT UP MY LIFE: 
THE MARK SAM CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Photo Credit: Evan Schwartz

Performed and Written by Mark Sam Rosenthal
Direction and Multimedia Design by Todd Parmley
Genre: Comedy/Self-Aggrandizement

Monday, June 4 at 9:00 pm
Saturday, June 9 at 9:00 pm
Sunday, June 10 at 2:00 pm
Wednesday, June 13 at 9:00 pm
Saturday, June 16 at 7:00 pm

At long last! The world's first preemptive celebrity autobiography! Attempt to stomach this smut-fueled, casually offensive road-to-success story of a celebrity who has succeeded nowhere - but in his own mind. From the creators of Blanche Survives Katrina in a FEMA Trailer Named Desire.
 

_________________________________________________________________________________

THE EVENT

Photo Credit: Colin Young with added art by Chris Sorensen

Performed by David Calvitto
Written and Directed by John Clancy
Genre: The Last One-Man Show

Thursday, June 7 at 7:00 pm
Sunday, June 10 at 8:30 pm
Tuesday, June 12 at 7:00 pm
Friday, June 15 at 9:00 pm
Saturday, June 16 at 2:00 pm

A man stands in a pool of light and attempts the ultimate magic trick: disappearing while remaining in full sight. A thought-provoking, comic journey beyond the 4th wall into the dangerous slippery territory that lies beneath the written word.

_________________________________________________________________________________

UBU

Photo Credit: Erica Min

Performed and Directed by Daniel Irizarry
Written by Adam Syzmkowicz
Genre: Comedic Physical Theater/Performance Art/Puppetry
 
Thursday, June 7 at 9:00 pm
Sunday, June 10 at 6:30 pm
Tuesday, June 12 at 9:00 pm
Friday, June 15 at 7:00 pm
Saturday, June 16 at 4:00 pm

Inspired by Ubu Roi, UBU is the King of the Great Expanding Universe who will allow a privileged few into his mansion to watch him eat steak. Along the way, he may play music, read you poetry and tell of his lost loves and purchased politicians - it all depends on the mood of the King. A kinetic romp through the absurdist world of the most powerful CEO in the universe.
 

_________________________________________________________________________________

HUMAN FRUIT BOWL

Performed by Harmony Stempel
Written by Andrea Kuchlewska
Directed by Liam Billingham
Produced by Elizabeth R. English
Genre: Nude Retrospective

Friday, June 8 at 7:00 pm
Saturday, June 9 at 4:00 pm
Monday, June 11 at 7:00 pm
Thursday, June 14 at 9:00 pm
Sunday, June 17 at 2:00 pm

A tub, a scarf, a stool and a naked woman. Structured as a live fine art modeling session, Human Fruit Bowl (WINNER Creative Award for Best Production at Prague Fringe Festival, 2011), investigates the relationship between artist and model. Part story, part mystery, part lecture-demonstration, this fast-paced monologue delivered in stillness asks: What are the stories we tell about artists and their muses? What are the truths, if any, to be found?
 

_________________________________________________________________________________

CONVERGENCE

Performed by Avery Pearson
Written by Jennifer Lane
Directed by Calla Videt
Created by Sightline
Genre: Multi-character, multi-media drama

Friday, June 8 at 9:00 pm
Saturday, June 9 at 2:00 pm
Monday, June 11 at 9:00 pm
Thursday, June 14 at 7:00 pm
Sunday, June 17 at 4:00 pm

How far would you go to protect your family from harm, or to ensure them a spot in the Kingdom of Heaven? A haunting story of fear and love, faith and reason, Convergence explores the intersection of seemingly opposed forces, and the explosive consequences of their collision.

---

The 9th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival Sponsors