Award-Winning Loading Dock Theatre Presents THE DUDLEYS

Brooklyn based award-winning Loading Dock Theatre presents THE DUDLEYS! A FAMILY GAME by Leegrid Stevens. Directed by Jacob Titus, the NYC premiere this fall at HERE features original chiptune music, projection design by Reid Farrington, and life size 8-bit video animation.

In THE DUDLEYS!, family memories are brought to life as a malfunctioning 8-bit video game. Vic returns to his childhood home late one night and discovers his old NES, and as he plays vintage games from his youth, he starts remembering...and his memories become the game itself. By dodging ghosts, undying zombies, and evil Aunts side-scrolling through the neighborhood, Vic tries to win a game that might not be for winning. Featuring 8-bit video animation and music composed on reprogrammed Atari, Commodore, Gameboy, and Nintendo consoles, THE DUDLEYS! is a story of family, regret, and the games we play to get by. Press start. Play The Dudleys.

Chiptune music is synthesized electronic music that is created using retro gaming devices such as NES, Atari, and original Gameboys. "I was fascinated with the idea of taking the objects of entertainment in my youth and transforming them into modern tools of expression," says Leegrid Stevens, writer and composer of the play. "Repurposing video game consoles as synthesizers, light show generators, and art projects is an accumulation of what THE DUDLEYS! is: an 8-bit style avenue to re-engage with my memories and young adult self - and having Reid [Farrington] as a part of this production takes it to the next level."

Reid Farrington is a new media artist, theater director, and designer who has worked with The Wooster Group on many productions including Hamlet, Poor Theater, To You the Birdie!, and Who's Your DADA!? Reid's most recent work, Tyson vs. Ali, premiered as part of the PS 122 Coil Festival in 2014. The New York Times noted that "[Farrington] brings an often spellbinding exactitude to his melding of video and performance" (Charles Isherwood, New York Times), and his work has also been featured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"We are blurring the lines between reality and 8-bit animation," says Farrington, "It's an exciting project."

First presented as a workshop in 2010 at Theatre for a New City at the Dream Up Festival, The Dudleys! was then given a short run at Tutto Theatre in Austin, TX in 2011 where it won 8 B. Iden Payne Awards, including Outstanding Original Script and Outstanding Original Score. The piece was further developed through the Alec Baldwin fellowship at the Singers Forum.

This production is a part of SubletSeries@HERE: a curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical support.

Cast includes Scott Thomas, Roger Casey, Erin Treadway, Ariel Estrada, Amy Bizjak, Marlowe Holden, Joe Burby, Kevin Delano, Erik Kochenberger, Lynnsey Ooten, and Karsten Otto.

Direction by Jacob Titus, Video Design by Reid Farrington, Lighting Design by Simon Cleveland, Set Design by Jonathan Cottle, Choreography by Melinda Rebman, Costume Design by Heather Carey, Sound Design by Dana Haynes and Prop Design by Justin Cox. Chiptune music composed by Leegrid Stevens. The production is stage managed by Jessica Schmidt, assistant directed by Callie Jane Farnsworth, and co-produced by Lianne Kennedy and Charles Quittner. Public Relations by Toro Communications.

Loading Dock Theatre is a Brooklyn-based company that explores the extremes in human behavior. They produce emotional, character driven plays with an experimental edge. Loading Dock has earned 8 NY Innovative Theatre Award nominations and 3 wins in its 4 year history. Critics and media have called Loading Dock productions "a work that is among the very best I have seen in the theater this year" (NY Theatre), "an unforgettable experience" (Broadway World Top Eleven Theatrical Experiences of 2015), and "boast[ing] performances that are nothing short of spectacular" (Stage Buddy)".

Since 1993, HERE has been one of New York's most prolific producing and presenting organizations, and today stands at the forefront of the city's presenters of new hybrid art. HERE supports multidisciplinary work that does not fit into a conventional programming agenda. HERE's aesthetic represents the independent, the innovative, and the experimental. HERE has developed such acclaimed works as Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues; Basil Twist's Symphonie Fantastique; Young Jean Lee's Songs of The Dragons Flying To Heaven; Trey Lyford & Geoff Sobelle's all wear bowlers; and Taylor Mac's The Lily's Revenge. As the ultimate in hybrid forms, music-theater and opera-theater premieres developed and produced at HERE include Kamala Sankaram's first opera Miranda, Yoav Gal's Mosheh, Christina Campanella and Stephanie Fleischman's Red Fly/Blue Bottle, and Nick Brooke's Border Towns.

HERE is located at 145 6th Ave (Enter on Dominick, 1 Block South of Spring). For Tickets ($18) & Information: visit here.org, loadingdocktheatre.org, or call 212-352-3101.

Performance schedule: Oct 8, 8.30pm; Oct 9, 4pm; Oct 12, 8.30pm; Oct 13, 8.30pm; Oct 14, 8.30pm; Oct 15, 8.30pm; Oct 16, 4pm; Oct 19, 8.30pm; Oct 20, 8.30pm; Oct 21, 8.30pm; Oct 22, 8.30pm; Oct 23, 4pm; Oct 26, 8.30pm; Oct 27, 8.30pm; Oct 28, 8.30pm, Oct 29, 8.30pm.

Photo Credit: Daniel Brock

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