MEMORY GENERATION to Have NY Premiere at La Mama in May

Pink Fang (formerly Ping Chong and Company) will present the New York premiere of Memory Generation, a new interactive and experiential theater work written by Sara Zatz, Artistic Director of Engagement, and directed by Sherrine Azab Co-Director of A Host of People, a Detroit-based experimental performance collective known for immersive, participatory works that center collective care and lived experience, with engagement support from Community and Project Advisor Andrew Morton (Detroit). The production will run May 2–10, 2026, at La MaMa in New York City, with a Detroit production planned for 2027.

Memory Generation invites audiences into an intimate, intergenerational gathering space that blends theatrical narrative, creative participation, and communal exchange in a memory café environment—creative social spaces designed specifically for people living with dementia, and their friends and families, that focus on creative experiences, not diagnosis. Developed through extensive community interviews, artist gatherings, and lived experience, the work is shaped by real stories of caregiving, memory loss, and connection, reflecting the voices of those directly navigating these journeys.

Memory Generation is designed as an inviting space that welcomes all (no matter what their relationship to memory loss may be) while focusing on needs and experiences of people with dementia as well as family,community, caregivers etc. The theatrical experience explores scenes of caregiving and care-receiving, moments of connection, joy, isolation, and humor, and an invitation to build a more holistic community response, one rooted in support, care, and reciprocity. Each performance begins and ends with 30 minutes of creative activities for all audience members, inviting connection and space for reflection. Through shared storytelling and moments of creative participation, the performance reframes memory not as something that simply disappears, but as something that continues to live collectively through connection, imagination, and care. Balancing tenderness with moments of absurdity, the work reflects the full emotional landscape of caregiving—where grief and joy, frustration and laughter, often coexist.

The production is influenced by, and a natural evolution of, Pink Fang's 's Undesirable Elements series and practice, which exemplifies how an ensemble of individual voices can weave into a collective and translate isolation into connection. This socially engaged approach to creating work, where engagement is embedded as a core artistic practice, invites audiences to participate actively in the creation of the experience through relational exchange, shared authorship, and care-centered interaction. Performances are intentionally designed to be intimate in scale, fostering conditions for collective presence and reciprocity where artists, caregivers, and community members can connect meaningfully. 

Memory Generation has also developed through partnerships with artists, caregivers, and organizations working at the intersection of dementia, care, and creative aging, highlighting the role of collaborative artmaking in community dialogue. At the same time, it reflects both theater companies' current artistic impulses—advancing co-creation, interdisciplinary forms, and care-centered practices that respond to contemporary social and cultural contexts.