Baryshnikov Arts Center Presents World Premiere Of River L. Ramirez's GhostFolk
Named one of Comedy Central's Up Next comedians in 2018 as well as one of Vulture's Comedians You Should and Will Know, Ramirez makes their BAC debut.
By: A.A. Cristi Oct. 06, 2021
Baryshnikov Arts Center will present the world premiere of GhostFolk by Brooklyn-based comedian, musician, and writer River L. Ramirez. The presentation, part of BAC's Fall 2021 Digital Season, is free and available to watch on demand from Monday, October 18, at 5pm ET, until Monday, November 1, at 5pm, at bacnyc.org.
Named one of Comedy Central's Up Next comedians in 2018 as well as one of Vulture's Comedians You Should and Will Know, Ramirez makes their BAC debut with GhostFolk, a new Americana variety show offering an anti-capitalist reclamation of their Afro-Latinx non-binary trans experience. Blending comedy, music, art, and storytelling, Ramirez shares everyday stories about love, heartbreak, youth, aging, death, and more, offering an intimate and nuanced perspective of "the oppressed."
About their process, Ramirez writes, "My work is about feeling, exploring the depths of my own in order to give people the freedom to give words to their emotional depths. I'm constantly in search of what connects us, of what we share spiritually, perhaps even without us knowing, as a species. I'm looking for magic. But a magic we are all capable of, and one which we all contain."
GhostFolk is performed by Ramirez (text, vocals, guitar), joined by Lou Tides on bass/vocals and Sarah Galdes on drums. Lighting design is by Devin Cameron, costumes are by Peter Smith, and makeup is by Angelo Balassone. Special thanks to Andrew Kircher for consulting. GhostFolk was filmed by Tatyana Tenenbaum at Baryshnikov Arts Center's Jerome Robbins Theater.
River L. Ramirez (they/them) is a Brooklyn-based artist, comedian, and writer who wrote, produced, and directed the comedy special program Pervert Everything for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Ramirez has appeared on the HBO comedy series Random Acts of Flyness and in the final season of Comedy Central's Broad City. Ramirez has written for High Maintenance and The National Lampoon Radio Hour. Ramirez can be seen in a recurring role in the HBO comedy series Los Espookys opposite Fred Armisen; opposite Glenn Close in John Cameron Mitchell's musical anthology podcast Anthem; and featured as Charly in BIRDGIRL. Named one of Comedy Central's Up Next Comedians for 2018, Ramirez was featured in the San Francisco Cluster Fest comedy festival, and performed at The Public Theater in New York as part of the January 2019 Under the Radar Festival. A regular correspondent on the Viceland channel, Ramirez has performed on The Chris Gethard Show and at Caroline's, UCB, Ars Nova, the Brooklyn Comedy Festival and many more venues.
Videos