International Physical Theatre Solo Shows Set for United Solo 2017

'Physical Theatre' is now rapidly gaining popularity and finding its way into mainstream theatre in the United States.

"There are many ways to tell a story, and how one choses to compose it depends on each artists: who they are, where they are from. So each show becomes a unique cultural representation of each artist " says Yokko, Winner of Best Physical Theatre Show at United Solo Theatre Festival 2015. She and her team will bring their new show, Hide Your Fires on Tuesday, October 3rd at 7:30pm.

"I like to communicate a story viscerally, by engaging all the senses - In my show I use movement, shadow puppetry, sound and physicality as primary means of expression" says Pratik Motwani, actor from Mumbai, India. He will be seen performing his show The Long Way at the festival on Thursday, October 26th at 7:30pm.

Hide Your Fires brings the audience alongside the accursed spirit of Lady Macbeth to experience her nightmare of stifled ambition, unfulfilled desire, and ultimate loss. Telling the story solely through her perspective, this production fuses Japanese Butoh dance, movement, and various texts to take you inside the mind and body of one of Shakespeare's most famous villains. Director: Brian Rhinehart. Playwright: Sean Michael Welch. Costume Design: Deepsikha Chatterjee. Lighting Design: Derek Van Heel. Sound Design: Jorge Olivo with RGS. Movement Consultant: Jordan Rosin.

The Long Way takes the audience on a visual and tactile experience of a man's incredible solo sea voyage, Both a physical journey of his encounters with the sea and a spiritual journey towards the discovery of himself and his truth. The show combines physical theatre with live shadow puppetry (projected on a Sail cloth that is animated using a pulley system) evoking an atmosphere that throws the audience straight into the heart of the ocean on which both the actor and the audience sail together as the journey unfolds. (www.thelongwayshow.com) Created by: Pratik Motwani and James Hildebrandt; Performed by: Pratik Motwani.

Pratik Motwani is an actor, theatre maker and educator from Mumbai, India with a specialization in eastern and western forms of devised physical theatre and mask performance including Balinese Mask/Puppet theatre and Commedia Dell'Arte. With IMAGO Theatre, Portland, OR, Pratik has toured nationally and internationally to Egypt, Jordan, France, Canada as a lead performer in their world renowned physical comedy/mask performance/puppetry shows - FROGZ and Zoo Zoo (2012-2016) and has been invited as a guest artist to teach physical theatre, mask performance and puppetry styles/technique's in university programs across the United States. Pratik is a company member and faculty at Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre in California as well as a company member & teaching artist of mask performance technique at IMAGO. M.F.A in Physical Theatre, Dell'Arte, CA.

Yokko is an actor, a movement & Butoh artist, solo performer, theatre educator from Japan. She has acted in, devised and choreographed a variety of local and international shows, having won several awards, including "Best One-Woman Show" for Butoh Medea (United Solo 2014 at Theatre Row). Butoh Medea was selected to perform in Warsaw, Poland. (United Solo Europe 2015, Teatre Syrena), toured Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015, nominated The Asian Arts Award. It has been invited by several Universities and festivals and touring nationally and internationally. Other solo show: BALDY (CRS, United Solo 2013, HFF 2013, Fringe NYC 2012) She is the associate artistic director of The Ume Group (www.theumegroup.org) as well as the producing artistic director of Ren Gyo Soh (www.rengyosoh.com) in NYC. Winner of Best Choreography (Butoh Medea, United Solo 2014), BA in Theatre (UAlbany), M.F.A in Acting (Actors Studio). www.yokko-online.com

2017 United Solo, the world's largest solo theatre festival will present a selection of local and international productions including storytelling, puppetry, dance, multimedia, documentary, musical, improv, stand-up, poetry, magic, performance art, drama: tragedy and comedy.

Tickets, with a price of $35 (plus a $2.25 Theatre Restoration Charge) are available at the Theatre Row Box Office and online through Telecharge at www.telecharge.com or call Telecharge at 212-239-6200.

Photos: "Hide Your Fires" photo by Derek Van Heel; "The Long Way" photo by Terrence McNally