Following sold-out runs at Performance Space 122 in 2008 and 2009 Temporary Distortion return and climb back inside one of their signature box structures to unspool a theatre-cinema hybrid so new it can only be called bleeding-edge as they delve into the world of Japanese ghost stories. Americana Kamikaze is haunted by vengeful spirits, impossible physical manipulations, elliptical storylines, creepy sound designs, equally creepy cinematography, and bizarrely happy endings.
American and Japanese performers are doubled by video doppelgängers in this East-meets-West psychological horror story that fractures reality and narrative beyond existence. Inspired by Japanese ghost stories and a dose of "J-Horror", but translated through Temporary Distortion's idiosyncratic Western sensibilities, Americana Kamikaze explores the fluidity of time and space, the thin line between madness and reason, and the capacity for acts of extreme violence to transform otherwise unremarkable lives.
Since its inception in 2002, Temporary Distortion, with Kenneth Collins as its Artistic Director, has earned a reputation for pushing the boundaries of theatre and bridging the gap between performance, visual art, cinema and installation by staging unsettling, meditative media-infused performances in claustrophobic, boxlike structures. The performers never make eye contact, never touch, and barely move, as a constant stream of video is projected around them. Ironically more physical than the presence of the live actor, the world of the film unfolds in an alternate reality of blood, sweat, sex, and death. This continual juxtaposition of stage and cinema is one of complement, complication, and contradiction. It also forces the questions: how do we define "live" performance? - and how do we experience it?
PS122 Artistic Director
Vallejo Gantner adds, "Temporary Distortion change the theatrical world - they switch seamlessly between the live and recorded, the static and expansive. As we zoom closer to their motionless, installation-esque work - the perspective we receive only grows wider and more terrifying. "
Americana Kamikaze features Brian Geer, Yuki Kawahisa, Lorraine Mattox, and Ryosuke Yamada. Written & Directed by Kenneth Collins; Video Projections by
William Cusick; Costumes by TaraFawn Marek; Music & Sound by John Sully; Motion Graphics by Jon Weiss; Set & Lighting Design by Kenneth Collins.
William Cusick is a recipient of the NEA/TCG Career Development Program. He is one of only twelve recipients - and is the first individual to receive the honor as a projection designer. This prestigious program is administered by TCG, in association with the National Endowment for the Arts, with major support from The
Ford Foundation and includes individual prizes of $25,000 for each of the 12 exceptionally talented recipients, six of whom are directors and six of whom are designers.
Americana Kamikaze is presented by Performance Space 122; Co-Produced by Maison des Arts de Créteil (Paris), Le Manège (Maubeuge), Performance Space 122 (New York). Additional support provided by The Greenwall Foundation, The MacDowell Colony, The Nancy Quinn Fund, a project of A.R.T./New York, and the generous support of individual donors.
Temporary Distortion is based in New York City, where its work has been presented at The Chocolate Factory, The Ontological-Hysteric Theater and Performance Space 122. The company also tours internationally. www.temporarydistortion.com
Performance Space 122 is New York's ultimate destination for cutting-edge theatre, dance, music, live art and multi-media. PS122 is dedicated to supporting and presenting artists who explore innovative form and provocative content and who rigorously challenge the boundaries of contemporary performance; PS122 is committed to a steadfast search for pioneering artists from a diversity of cultures, nations and beliefs.
www.ps122.org
Americana Kamikaze premieres Saturday, October 24th and runs through Saturday, November 14th: Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30; and Sundays at 5:30pm. There will also be two Late Shows Saturday, November 7th and Saturday, November 14th at 10pm.
Approx. running time 70 minutes.
Tickets: $20 and $15 (students/seniors).
Tickets and PS122 Passports are now on sale and available online at www.ps122.org, by calling TheaterMania at 212-352-3101, and at the Performance Space 122 Box Office. Note: The PS122 Passport is a bundle of 5 tickets for only $55 that can be used in ANY combination to the 2009-10 season performances. Performance Space 122 is located at 150 First Avenue @ E. 9th Street, New York, NY 10009
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