Michelle Ellsworth Returns to The Chocolate Factory Theater Next Month

Michelle Ellsworth returns to The Chocolate Factory Theater with two distinct but related and intermingled premieres: Evidence of Labor and Post-Verbal Social Network. Tickets may be purchased in advance at www.chocolatefactorytheater.org.

Evidence of Labor: State of the Kitchen

Evidence of Labor functions as a reverse Turing test and a prototype for life After-AI (AA).  By putting the allegory back into algorithm, Evidence of Labor reconstructs our accident and considers the ethics of living in a cave with shadows and smoke, using dance’s innate methodologies (black box) to replace the labor of AI to create glitch-heavy kitchen hygiene. Evidence of Labor is the sequel to the Post-Verbal Social Network, and continues to propose that the labor involved in disseminating  ideas should be more proportional to the impact of the disseminated ideas.

Evidence of Labor: Dish Towels Division
 

A subsidiary of “State of the Kitchen,” “Dish Towels” are less technically complex but share the Kitchen’s commitment to alternative language-based thought representations and publishing platforms. Predictably, the venue of the “Dish Towels” is 100% cotton fabric dish towels. The content includes several original kinetic alphabets and multiple new fonts (including sand ball font, dead-man pant font, ceramic q-tip font, and hair font), as well as instructions on how to make several language disposal systems. Central to this work is the knowledge that if the language-based ideas expressed on the “Dish Towels” are unhelpful intellectually/politically/spiritually - they are at least still absorbent.

Evidence of Labor: Audience Division
 

People who like the idea of going to Evidence of Labor (but don’t actually want to go) can pay other people to go for them.  Patrons get full credit and are provided evidence of audience labor  - (they receive a physical ticket, a dish towel, and photo of their paid proxy attending) for supporting Ellsworth, The Chocolate Factory, EMPAC, and Art - but don’t have to go to “another” show. Modeled after the Mormon practice of baptisms for the dead (also called proxy baptisms) and sex work, this new audience opportunity liberates patrons to simultaneously be responsible citizens of an art eco system, while doing what they really want.

The Post-Verbal Social Network is an expanding collection of prototypes that use contemporary and pre-industrial technologies to augment the physical labor of choreography and community.  

Post-Verbal Social Network employs both contemporary and pre-industrial technologies to augment the physical labor of choreography and community. In a series of prototypes, Ellsworth and friends commingle simple mechanical apparatuses, choreography, and code to test possible non-language based human-to-human systems.

Evidence of Labor

Creators: Michelle Ellsworth and Satchel Spencer. Dancers: Jadd Tank, Elle Manayan, Ondine Geary, Uli Miller, Onye Ozuzu, Michelle Ellsworth. Lighting Designer: Madeline Best. Sound and Video Designer: Max Bernstein. Programmer: Satchel Spencer. Apparatus Builder: Bruce Miller.

Post-Verbal Social Network

Creator: Michelle Ellsworth. Dancers: Lauren Beale, Jadd Tank, Michelle Ellsworth, Ondine Geary, Uli Miller, Laura Kim, Rick Manayan, Laura Ann Samuelson, Constance Harris, Kevin Sweet, Luke Iwabuchi, Ondine Geary, Max Bernstein, Zoe Scofield, Ryan Seelig. Lighting Designer and Reactive Artist: Ryan Seelig. Sound and Video Designer: Max Bernstein. Programmer: Satchel Spencer. Apparatus Builder: Bruce Miller. Production Manager: Emily Rea.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Sound Design - Top 3

1. Adam Fisher - The Lost Boys

30.3% of votes

2. John Shivers - Chess

15.4% of votes

3. Tony Gayle - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

8% of votes

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