Abrons Arts Center Presents World Premiere Of WHY WHY ALWAYS

Abrons Arts Center is set to present the world premiere of Why Why Always (October 13-29) by Shaun Irons & Lauren Petty (AutomaticRelease), who draw upon their experiences in performance, multimedia installations, and films (Standing By: Gatz Backstage) to create one of their most ambitious projects to date. In this sci-fi misadventure of secret agents and seductresses, where Alphaville meets ASMR, mesmeric whispers fill the air, lighters flash, linens are folded, and a tyrannical super computer is foiled. Why Why Always conjures a live cine-performance through the interplay of otherworldly video, music, sound and technology. The work features live performances by Jim Fletcher, Elizabeth Carena, Laura Bartczak, and Marion Spencer along with Scott Shepherd and Madeline Best on video.

Why Why Always embraces a dynamic interaction between theater, dance, installation art, and technology by integrating live performers, multi-screen video, live-feed cameras, fabricated environments and a vibrant tapestry of sound. This interdisciplinary performance explores the rapidly evolving relationship between man and machine, considering the multifarious effects of technology on our collective consciousness. The piece draws on a variety of sources, namely Jean-Luc Godard's prescient 1965 film Alphaville, a poignant and timely parable of societal alienation and dehumanization, set in a dystopian future where feelings (and the words that describe them) are not only against the law but considered obsolete. Using the film as a point of departure, Why Why Always, searches for the human, poetic and emotional amidst a landscape of mechanization, isolation and control. Irons and Petty approach the film as a cultural artifact, subject to radical alteration, in order to craft a contemporary meditation on the state of our technology obsessed society, where reality, privacy, identity and memory are increasingly outsourced to the digital realm.

The work also draws on the phenomenon of online ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) videos, which reveal repetitive yet mesmeric activities (including whispering, tapping and towel folding), purported to provoke neurological responses, simultaneously calming and stimulating viewers. Re-imagined versions of ASMR activities are performed throughout the piece, serving as an emotional counterpoint, and adding a choreographic, hypnotic texture.

Joining Irons and Petty on the creative team are Christina Campanella (narration, original song), Olivier Conan and Kate Valk (voiceovers), Amy Mascena (props, costumes), Jon Harper (lighting), and Randi Rivera (stage manager).

Performances of Why Why Always will take place October 13-29 (see above schedule) at Abrons Arts Center, located at 466 Grant Street in Manhattan. Critics are welcome as of October 18 for an official opening on Friday, October 20 at 7:30pm. Tickets, priced at $25, can be purchased by visiting abronsartscenter.org or by calling 212-352-3101.

About the Artists

Shaun Irons and Lauren Petty (AutomaticRelease) are Brooklyn based, multiplatform artists who make interdisciplinary performances, multimedia installations, films and interactive video scores for live performance. Recent projects include a feature-length documentary Standing By: Gatz Backstage about ERS's epic production Gatz, Keep Your Electric Eye On Me, a multimedia performance seen at HERE (2014), as well as a self-generating video installation, Atmospheres & Accidental Ghosts (NY Electronic Arts Festival, 2015). Their work has been seen in NYC, nationally, and internationally at venues such as BAM, The Brooklyn Museum, Abrons, The Chocolate Factory, Anthology Film Archives, Tokyo Wonder Site, and the Venice Biennale. They have received numerous awards including grants, fellowships and residencies from the NEA, NYSCA, NYFA, LMCC, Jerome Foundation, Harvestworks, Asian Cultural Council, Signal Culture, Yaddo, Macdowell, and the Bogliasco Foundation. www.automaticrelease.org

Jim Fletcher (IVan Johnson/Lemmy Caution) is a New York actor who works with The New York City Players (Isolde, 2015, The Evening, 2015), the Wooster Group (Cry, Trojans!, 2015, A Pink Chair, 2017), and Half Straddle (House of Dance, Lisbon, 2015) among many others. In 2016, he appeared in Locus Solus, directed by Krzysztof Garbaczewski at Volksbüne, Berlin.

Elizabeth Carena (Natacha, Professor Von Braun, etc.) is a multi-disciplinary performing artist based in Brooklyn. She has collaborated on more than a dozen productions with Third Rail Projects, including the summer 2017 production of Ghost Light at LCT3, and the long-running immersive hit Then She Fell, where she originated the role of the Hatter. Her band Mother Feather, known for their bombastic live performances, just finished recording their second LP on Metal Blade Records, following their eponymous debut in 2016. She works as a freelance arts administrator, and holds a BA in Theater from Fordham University at Lincoln Center. www.elizabethcarena.com

Laura Bartczak (Seductress #5, Beatrice, etc.) is a movement artist based in Brooklyn. She has performed in works throughout NYC and internationally by artists including Laurel Atwell, Lindsey Drury, Thea Little, Hadar Ahuvia, and Shandoah Goldman among others. Her films have been presented by Gina Gibney Dance, DCTV, Dance Film Association, Mono No Aware, Hypnocraft, Catch, and TAB.

Marion Spencer (Seductress #7, etc.) is a performer, dance maker and dance educator based in New York City. Since moving to New York Marion has had the pleasure of collaborating and performing with Shandoah Goldman/Carte Blanche Performance, Michiyaya Dance, Vanessa Justice Dance, Kinesis Dance Project, Hollis Bartlett, and Megan Bascom. She has apprenticed with David Dorfman Dance since June 2015. Marion also makes her own work and teaches dance to youth and adults in The New York area.

Christina Campanella (narration, original song) is a composer, performer and sound artist. No Wake (for 14 instrumentalists and video object), performed by the Great Learning Orchestra, visuals by Peter Norrman, premiered at Fylkingen, Stockholm 2015; Lighthouse 40°N, 73°W (Harvestworks AIR: NY Electronic Art Festival 2015, HERE Arts Center). Appears in film, theater, music throughout the US and Europe, is a frequent collaborator of composer Joe Diebes, and a two-time recipient of NYSCA's Individual Artist Commission in Film, Media, and New Technologies. www.xtinasworld.com

Olivier Conan (voiceovers) is a Brooklyn and Lyon based French musician, producer and voice over artist who has toured South America with his Peruvian flavored project Chicha Libre, dubbed many a Korean cartoon into French and produced hundreds of concerts at Barbès, MoMA, Pioneer Works and other places around NYC. He is the new director and programmer of the L'Amphi theater at the Lyon Opera.

Amy Mascena (props, costumes) is a Brooklyn based visual and installation artist. She previously worked with Shaun & Lauren creating sculptural objects and drawings for their large-scale multimedia installation Revolving Twilight and more recently created a table top installation and custom made candy for their performance work Keep Your Electric Eye On Me. Amy was awarded a NYSCA theater commission to design props for Why Why Always.

Randi Rivera (stage manager) is a native New Yorker. She is the Stage Manager & Lighting Director for Half Straddle theater company, traveling both internationally and domestically with their work since 2012. She is also the Technical Director + Production Manager for Keigwin+Company, working with them on and off since 2011. Randi proudly freelances for many performing arts organizations both in NYC and on the road - favorites include Faye Driscoll Group, Phantom Limb Company, Doug Elkins Choreography Etc, Sidra Bell Dance NY, The Chocolate Factory, and Harlem Stage. Randi has been working with and a fan of Lauren & Shaun since 2011, and she is thrilled to be on this team. All of her work is for her family.

Jon Harper (lighting) is a lighting designer, and also the Technical Director/Production Manager of Abrons Arts Center, and is happy to have helped Shaun and Lauren with their lighting for this show. He previously designed their piece Keep Your Electric Eye On Me at HERE Arts Center, and has been saying "Why, Why, Always?" ever since.

About Abrons Arts Center

The Abrons Arts Center is the OBIE Award-winning performing and visual arts program of Henry Street Settlement. Abrons supports the creation and presentation of innovative, multi-disciplinary work; cultivates artists in all stages of their practice with educational programs, mentorships, residencies and commissions; and serves as an intersection of engagement for local, national and international audiences and arts-workers.

Each year the Abrons offers over 250 performances, 12 gallery exhibitions and 30 residencies for performing and studio artists, and 100 different classes in dance, music, theater, and visual art. The Abrons also provides New York City public schools with teaching artists, introducing more than 3,000 students to the arts. For more information: www.abronsartscenter.org.