Nuclear Love Affair, a bold new spectacle that looks at the journey of the American Dream, created by Built for Collapse (www.built4collapse.wordpress.com), will have its world premiere at Theater for the New City, (155 First Avenue), opening August 14th and playing through September 3rd, as part of The Dream Up Festival.
In this spectacular multi-media investigation of America in the Atomic Age, unnerving images, vibrant rhythms, disturbing text, and violent slapstick collide to create an erotic pop culture explosion. Focusing on the period of 1941-1969, Nuclear Love Affair traces America's obsession with violence through the social and political chain reaction caused by dropping of the atomic bomb. Iconic figures, historical tales and stock film footage are layered with a frenetic music score that combines hits from the era with modern beats to build an expressive and surreal landscape. Featuring
Elvis Presley dancing through Vietnam,
Charlie Chaplin at Hiroshima,
Lucille Ball doing a commercial for an electric chair, and
Marilyn Monroe teaching us all how to "Duck and Cover," Nuclear Love Affair is a daring and twisted take on the journey of the American Dream.
Directed by Sanaz Ghajarrahimi (Romeo & Juliet, Orpheus & The Plastic Masquerade) and Ben Hobbs (Fuerzabruta), Nuclear Love Affair will have costume design by
Michael Krass (After Miss Julie, The Constant Wife) and projection design by Room 404 Media (The History of War, Wanted).
Tickets for Nuclear Love Affair are priced at $15.00. Nuclear Love Affair plays Sunday August 14th at 7pm, Tuesday August 16th at 9pm, Thursday August 18th at 9pm, Thursday August 25th at 7pm, Friday August 26th at 9pm, and Sunday September 3rd at 5pm. Tickets can be purchased by visiting SmartTix at
www.SmartTix.com. For more information, please visit:
www.dreamupfestival.orgBuilt for Collapse is a New York City-based arts organization dedicated to building multi-disciplinary communal celebrations that stimulate the senses. At times a neo-burlesque opera, at times a freakish and violent circus, Built for Collapse has been described as a subversive and "creative new approach to theatre."
BIOS
Sanaz Ghajarrahimi (Director/Writer) is an Iranian-American director and choreographer. With Built for Collapse she has directed and choreographed: NUCLEAR LOVE AFFAIR (Theater for the New Cty, The Tank, East River Amphitheater); ORPHEUS AND THE PLASTIC MASQUERADE (Galapagos Art Space); ELEPHANT MAN (Wings Theatre); STORK AND OWL (Bleecker Street Theater); HAMLET (Galapagos Art Space, Grace Exhibition Space); ROMEO AND JULIET (Access Theater). Other selected directing credits: KILL TO EAT by Caridad Svich (Hangar Theatre); HOUSE (Brooklyn Lyceum); THE STATES OF PANIC by Jon Marans (The Barrows Group); MELANCHOLY PLAY by Sarah Ruhl (Robert Moss Theater); JET OF BLOOD by Antonin Artaud (Studio Theater). Recent Assistant Credits: PRIMA DONNA by Rufus Wainwright directed by Daniel Kramer (Manchester International Festival) and MAP OF THE WORLD directed by Robert Moss at New York University. Sanaz is a Drama League Alumnus, Artistic Director of Built for Collapse, and earned her BFA at New York University.
Ben Hobbs (Director/Writer) is a performer, choreographer and visual artist. Currently a cast member of the Off-Broadway hit FUERZABRUTA, Ben earned his BFA in Drama from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He also studied Traditional Chinese Opera at Shanghai Theater Academy and Dance at Point Park University. He has over 18 years of dance and acrobatic training. With Built For Collapse he has choreographed and performed in: NUCLEAR LOVE AFFAIR (The Tank, East River Amphitheater, Theater for the New City); ORPHEUS AND THE PLASTIC MASQUERADE (Galapagos Art Space); ELEPHANT MAN (Wings Theatre); HAMLET (Galapagos Art Space, Grace Exhibition Space); ROMEO AND JULIET (Access Theater). Other selected performance and choreographic credits include: LYNN BARR DANCE THEATRE (Judson Church, Kaatsbaan, 2007-2010); THEATER MITU'S HAIR (Skirball Center for the Arts); Savage:Love (Edinburgh Festival Fringe).
Michael Krass (Costume Design) Broadway: AFTER MISS JULIE; 2006 Tony Award nomination for THE CONSTANT WIFE; TWELVE ANGRY MEN; ‘NIGHT MOTHER; RECKLESS; AFTER THE FALL; HEDDA GABLER; THE LION IN WINTER; YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN; THE REHEARSAL (Drama Desk nomination); A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (1997 Revival), more. Off-Broadway: THE NEW YORK IDEA (Atlantic Theater); THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE (Roundabout Theatre); SHIPWRECKED (
Primary Stages); DISTRACTED (Roundabout Theatre); MACBETH (Public/Delacorte); SLOANE; WOMEN ON FIRE; LOBBY HERO; THIS IS OUR YOUTH; FULL GALLOP; DRIVING MISS DAISY among many others. National Tours: ANGELS IN AMERICA; TWELVE ANGRY MEN; DRIVING MISS DAISY. Regional: Nine seasons at Williamstown; ten at the Hangar Theatre; Old Globe, Chicago Shakespeare (two Jefferson nominations),
Arena Stage, McCarter, Guthrie, etc. Film:
Campbell Scott's HAMLET.
Room 404 Media (Media Design) is an award-winning media company founded by Kate Freer and Dave Tennent. Their designs have been called "chilling" and "sharply executed" by the New York Times. Selected Theatrical Designs: HOUSE (Brooklyn Lyceum), JOHN FAUSTUS AND THE OVERCLOCKED DEATH DRIVE (The Tank); HOLIDAY REVUE (World Premier, Oregon Ballet Theater Company), THE HISTORY OF WAR (NYMF), SEED (Hip Hop Theater Festival, Classical Theater of Harlem), THE GIRL IN THE PARK (Players Theater, 2010 NYC Fringe Festival), WANTED (PS 122, soloNOVA Festival), THE OFFICE AND THE METAL BLOB (The Cherry Lane Theater, NYC Fringe Festival), and THE FOOTAGE (The Flea).
