World Premiere of BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN to be Presented at Gymnopedie

Houseworld Immersive announced today that Bottom Of The Ocean, a world premiere immersive experience created by Andrew Hoepfner (Houseworld, Whisperlodge) will premiere at Gymnopedie in Bushwick, Brooklyn (1139 Bushwick Avenue). Bottom Of The Ocean is in performances now and will run through Sunday December 19, 2021. Performances will resume in early 2022 and run throughout the year.

In Bottom Of The Ocean, five visitors at a time enter a hidden world below Bushwick and are led by spirit guides into a sequence of invented rituals. With moments ranging from meditative to cathartic, Bottom Of The Ocean's guests are invited to dive inward, considering the meaning and pleasure of ceremony as they sink deeper into a surreal fantasy. Bottom Of The Ocean is the third immersive performance by Andrew Hoepfner and the first that will be open year round. The performance combines elements of his other major works: the raucous fever-dream of Houseworld and the guided mediation of Whisperlodge. The result is an intimate, introspective journey to an inevitable destination.

Andrew Hoepfner is an immersive theater creator based in Brooklyn and the founder of Houseworld Immersive. Hoepfner began making immersive work in 2014 with Houseworld, an interactive lucid dream that was featured in the New York Times, VICE, and American Theater Magazine. Hoepfner's next work was Whisperlodge, a live in-person experience of ASMR, the sensory phenomenon popularized on the internet. Whisperlodge was covered by Buzzfeed, the New York Times, The Atlantic, and was featured on Netflix's series 'Follow This.' Hoepfner's theater experience outside of his own pieces include performing as the bassist in Young Jean Lee's musical, We're Gonna Die, whose London shows featured David Byrne as lead vocalist.

Bottom Of The Ocean began as a one-on-one experience in Andrew Hoepfner's apartment in August 2018, moving to its current home in April 2019 and expanding to a two actor, two audience member experience featuring Hoepfner and Chia Kwa. Over the course of 2020 and 2021, the production has continued to expand and develop, opening for workshop performances in July of 2021. Since then, Bottom Of The Ocean has played for audiences of friends and family and is now opening to the general public for the first time.

Bottom Of The Ocean was created in collaboration with Chia Kwa and features costumes designed by Laura Borys. Howard Rigberg serves as the production's Technology Designer.

Performances will take place at Gymnopedie (1139 Bushwick Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11221), which was created and designed by Andrew Hoepfner. In 2018, Hoepfner received the permission from Bushwick United Methodist Church to restore a 5500 square foot section of their historic basement.

The complex is formed out of a gymnasium, locker room, and school, all artistically reimagined. While the final intention of Gymnopedie was always to house Bottom Of The Ocean, hundreds of works of dance, music, film, and fashion were created in its first three years of operation, including music videos by Redman, Kierra Luv, and Joey Bada$$.

Tickets range from $45-$100 and are available now at www.boto.nyc. The performance schedule is as follows: Wednesdays at 8pm, Thursdays at 8pm, Fridays at 7pm, Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 4:30pm.

All Bottom Of The Ocean performers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and all audience members must be fully vaccinated as well. Each attendee must present valid proof of vaccination at the venue in order to enter the show. We will accept: a physical copy of your vaccination card, the NYS Excelsior Pass, or the NYC Covid Safe App. The name on this record will be matched with a driver's license, state ID, or passport. Performers will not be wearing masks in order to better communicate. Each attendee has the option of wearing their face mask or experiencing the show without it.

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