La MaMa To Present World Premiere Of MIA M.I.A. By Midnight Radio Show
The new genre-bending work will premiere at La MaMa’s The Club.
La Mama Experimental Theatre Club will present the world premiere of MIA M.I.A., a new work by Midnight Radio Show, at La MaMa’s The Club in New York City. Written and created by Charlotte Lily Gaspard, the production is described as a science fiction fairytale that examines grief, love, and the role of imagination in healing.
The production has been developed in residency at La MaMa since 2021 and has been shaped through three Jump Start programs, the organization’s puppet-focused works-in-progress series curated by Denise Greber.
MIA M.I.A. follows Ella after the sudden disappearance of her beloved Mia. Unable to accept the absence, Ella enters an otherworldly dimension marked by space travel, unknown forces, and transformative encounters. The work explores how loss fractures reality and how healing can emerge through connection, courage, and creative expression.
The piece incorporates live singing, original music, live hip-hop performance, and hand-cut shadow puppetry. Hip-hop artist Malik Work performs original material written for the production, bringing elements of oral storytelling traditions into conversation with futuristic soundscapes. Shadow puppetry and costume design are used to create shifting Visual Environments, with performers moving both behind and in front of the shadow screen.
“This project has been years in the making and is very dear to my heart. I began writing the story in 2021 during my residency in La MaMa’s 59th season ‘Breaking it Open,’” said Gaspard. “It was during pandemic times, when I also had personal tragedies unfolding at a time when no one could safely gather in person and support networks were in flux. I was fascinated by the idea of identity in the face of disconnection, and how our understanding of ourselves is informed by being in relation to others, and what happens when that is ripped away. I also wanted to explore these difficult themes with whimsy and playfulness, which I consider to be underappreciated superpowers.”
Midnight Radio Show is a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary theatre collective led by Gaspard. The company creates science fiction fairytales influenced by afro-futurism, shadow puppetry, music, and experimental storytelling practices.
TICKETING AND PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
MIA M.I.A. will premiere at La MaMa’s The Club, located at 74A East 4th Street in New York City. Tickets are priced at $10 for La MaMa Members, $25 for students and seniors, and $30 for general admission. The first 10 tickets for each performance are available for $10, with a limit of two per person.
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