James Clements And John Maria Gutierrez Announce BROTHERS IN ARMS Work-In-Progress Share

Theatremakers and performers James Clements (he/him) and John Maria Gutierrez (he/they) will present a workshop presentation of "Brothers in Arms" July 15th and 16th at 8pm, and July 17th at 3pm, at Culture Lab LIC's flagship Long Island City venue, the Plaxall Gallery.

Pay-what-you-wish tickets for the performances can be reserved here. The presentation is the culmination of Clements and Gutierrez's Winter 2022 Emergence Residency with Culture Lab LIC, during which they have developed the piece digitally and in-person at Plaxall Gallery.

"Brothers in Arms" is a devised multi-disciplinary theatre piece exploring isolation, survival, connection and intimacy between male-identifying folks, co-created and performed by Clements and Gutierrez. Set in an undefined space during a moment of conflict and crisis, the piece, built from the wildly varied experiences of its Dominican-American and Scottish creators, unpacks shifting ideas about masculinity, memory, camaraderie and communication. The piece combines movement, dance, music, poetry, video, verbatim text and imagined language, and was originally developed at La Mama E.T.C.

It was presented as a workshop production in the Downstairs theatre in July 2021, and streamed through Culturehub along with a talkback moderated by José Rivera Jr. In February 2022, they were curated as Artists-in-Residence with Culture Lab LIC through their Emergence Residency Program. "It has been such a joy to work with John Maria on this complex and transformational piece, as an artist and a citizen," said Clements. "We are thrilled to share what we have been working on, and are so grateful to the team at Culture Lab for all of their nurturing and artistic support," added Gutierrez.

Recently, Clements and Gutierrez were awarded the 2022 Queens Arts Fund's Arts Access Grant from the Queens Council on the Arts. The Art Access Grant is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Greater New York Arts Development Fund, in partnership with the City Council.

Emergence is an artist residency program that offers artists and companies free rehearsal and performance space to develop and produce new work. This Winter residency program will give 10 artists/companies across all disciplines space to develop new work between January and April. Artists will have an opportunity to connect with a mentor in their chosen medium, and a platform to showcase their work in progress on Culture Lab's website and social media. Work created at Culture Lab will be showcased at Culture Lab's outdoor stage, or indoor theatre in the spring.

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program, a program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature and administered by Flushing Town Hall."

Culture Lab LIC is a 501(c)(3) formed to bring accessible high quality art of all genres to our community, and to support local artists by providing rehearsal, performance, exhibition space, as well as a robust residency program. Culture Lab is dedicated to upholding, equity, diversity and inclusion across all our platforms.