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Blog Archive

TRICKS FOR GOLD (T4$)

Tricks For Gold is a fable set in late capitalism in which the protagonist, a magician, discovers that she can become the object of her desires – money – and tries to transform herself into it.

The performance studies the concept of trick and its ability to manipulate our experience of space and time through layers of virtuosity, exposure, contortion, concealment, self-assurance and vulnerability. The wish is to unravel the empathic potential of what is typically seen as an act of “service” and highlight the melancholia of tricks as not simply a mode of deceiving the audience – but also of the survival of the performer.

With very little spoken language (English)

Cynthia

Cynthia was a model, an influencer, a socialite, a celebrity and a household name in the USA in 1933.

But unlike other celebrities of her day, she got dismantled into pieces at the end of her day and stowed away in a body bag. Cynthia was a mannequin. Her creator, Lester Gaba, a window display designer in New York City, became her manager, puppeteer, and chaperone, taking her to dinner clubs, theater premieres and fashion shows, and performing for her and answering for her to her adoring fans.

Let this duet between Berlin drag king Alexander Cameltoe as Lester Gaba and a puppet version of himself as Cynthia, take you down the slippery slope from entertaining spectacle into the uncanny valley.

The play will be then performed at House of Yes in New York City in April.

In English

Pleasure Incorporated

What if sex workers could get drunk at the office Christmas party?

Had colleagues they could gossip with? Went to performance reviews with their managers? Pleasure Incorporated asks what it would be like if the oldest profession in the world was just a regular office job.

Drawn from Jemima’s experience of escorting in Berlin, this lyrical one-woman play fuses live performance with video art to explore Jemima’s personal motivations for selling sex; what it means for her to do the work, and how that spools out into friendships, relationships and society.

Welcome to Pleasure Incorporated. We’re happy to have you here with us on another fine work day.

In English

Bypass Portal

Bypass Portal explores the complex interplay of human behavior, the sensation of being observed, censorship and disruptions across various settings.

While examining the nuances of existence within space and crafting strategies for survival, the performance scrutinizes the ongoing influence and potential threats posed by powerful political forces on our lives, regardless of our location. Simultaneously, it invites the possibility of envisioning alternative ways of being—whether alone, together, or somewhere in between.

In English, Farsi and Spanish

Play Bow

Play Bow utilizes a blend of street and contemporary dance, an original electronics and strings composition, voice and costumes informed by Jung’s theory of the animal self to build a moving metaphor of canine play behavior.

We draw parallels between human and canine social roles and explore how they are revealed in human relationships – especially during courting rituals. At times, the piece is set in an electronic music club, where we celebrate, search for a lover and express social dominance / submission.

Ken Christianson (composer) and Sami Giron (choreographer) have been collaborating since 2005, when they met at California Institute
of the Arts while earning their Master’s degrees.

With very little spoken language (English)

No Home

This is a mockumentary performance and a film. A diary and a fable.

Yael is an artist who has immigrated to Berlin. She’s broke, tired of babysitting, and afraid her big dreams won’t be fulfilled. She gets an opportunity for a week’s residency, but the night before it starts a sinister character appears in her nightmare, planting a seed of self-doubt that gets bigger and bigger, making her residency a living hell while she is losing grip on reality.

No Home encapsulates the perpetual sense of liminality experienced by an immigrant in a foreign land. With unwavering hope, she strives to create her haven within the enigmatic backdrop of Berlin. Her daily existence is a relentless battle against the challenges of communication, financial constraints, bureaucracy, and waning motivation.

In this piece, elements of humor, horror and homesickness have been blended to depict a new reality of an immigrant, grappling with the pursuit of her dreams.

In English, German and Hebrew

Best Funeral Ever (My Russian Funeral)

We die alone. We bury together.

This participatory performance that explores the political and theatrical nature of the funeral ritual and deconstructs its settled mechanism. It is a ritual for which it is impossible to be fully prepared, but during this rehearsal any last wish can be fulfilled.

The audience is invited to join the scripted burial ceremony, turn on their common memory of the ritual and bring in their differences of cultures and societies. To rehearse, to
deconstruct, to discuss they will have the conflicted Russian body of the performer whose last wish is to do no more harm and become peaceful compost.

In English

Please note that there are only a very limited number of seats available per performance. There are two separate performances on February 17,  at 5pm and at 8pm.

Natasha Borenko is a Siberian-born fluid theater maker and queer feminist migrant artist who sees participatory art as a tool to deconstruct the system and rehearse the change.

Four-Course Meal ~Hot Pot~

Chōri (調理, 조리, Kochen) is a collective of East Asian artists. Using culinary metaphors, Chōri Collective serves up a hot pot stage inspired by the Asian culinary culture where all dishes are placed together on one table, to get us through the long winter. Through the recipe, which is a living archive and a metaphor for score, three ingredients are simmering in the hot pot with the dreams of change. We welcome foodies and ingredients to our collective flavor journey.

In English, Korean and Japanese

Tender Horror

What do blizzards, hormonal changes and folklore have in common? How does ritual merge with our daily life?

Through surrealist ritual and the examination of the archetypal phases of the feminine, Tender Horror is brought to life.

Tender Horror is conceived of and developed by HOPEFULLY, MAYBE, an emerging international theater group consisting of Josje Eijkenboom, Maureen Gleason, Sigrun Hasselgård Bøe and special guest, Sunniva B. Johansen.

Presented as part of THE LAB, the artist and audience development series at ETB | IPAC, this first public presentation of new work-in-progress will be followed by a post-performance discussion.

Maureen Gleason is an actress and theater artist based in Berlin, Germany. She earned her BFA in studio acting with the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN where she studied the classical canon, voice and Roy Hart. After moving to London to study Shakespeare at the Globe Theater, she completed her MFA in Embodied Dramaturgy with Rose Bruford College London. Maureen specializes in dramatic vocal techniques and also works with textiles. (maureenlgleason.com)

 

 

 

Sigrun Hasselgård Bøe is a performer, choreographer and artistic collaborator based in Drammen, Norway. In 2020 she completed her two year-training of Advanced Devising Practice at Arthaus Berlin. In addition, Bøe has a MFA with a specialization in Performing Arts (2018) and a BA in Theatre Education (2016) from The University of Agder, Norway. Bøe is trained in the arts of physical theater and movement, and has a special interest in choreographed theater. She is currently working with the performance SKREI which is to be seen as part of the European Capital of Culture in Bodø 2024. (sigrunhasselgaardboee.com)

 

 

Sunniva Birkeland Johansen is a performer and director from the Lofoten Islands in Norway. In 2020 she completed an MFA in Advanced Devising Practice in collaboration with Rose Bruford College and Arthaus Berlin. She is currently based in Oslo where she works both in the theater and film industry. Sunniva is a part of the duo Birk/Bo produksjoner who focus on creating accessible theater in rural areas of Norway. In 2024. she will be directing and performing SKREI as a part of the “European Capital of Culture” in Bodø as well as continuing her work for Birk/Bo produksjoner. (sunnivabjohansen.com)

 

 

 

Josje Eijkenboom works as an actor and theater maker. She completed her Master Devised Theater and Performance in Berlin in 2019 (London International School of Performing Arts/Arthaus Berlin) She currently specializes in Physical Theater (Embodied Theater and the Poetic Body and Puppetry) Her predilection for Greek tragedies is often reflected in her work. After completing her Bachelor’s degree in The Netherlands (ArtEZ), she traveled to Brazil with TAMTAM Objektentheater, performing at Oerol and various other festivals. Currently she is working on various projects with Duda Paiva Company where she also performs Vergeten, dieren en Ver- loren zaken and Kinderen van het verdwenen Woud. Besides performing she also teaches aerial yoga and pole dance classes. (josje-eijkenboom.nl)