VINE OF THE DEAD to Play The Invisible Dog This Month

Jim Findlay's VINE OF THE DEAD, a performance produced by Joel Bassin and Collapsable Giraffe, presented by The Invisible Dog Art Center, will play three performances only at The Invisible Dog, 51 Bergen St, Brooklyn, NY 11201, May 26 - 28, 2016 at 9 p.m.

VINE OF THE DEAD explores the place and meaning of ritual in the 21st century by attempting to communicate across the divide between life and death. In a series of 11 rituals, the performance channels personal experiences of death and transcendence while exploring the spirituality of skepticism.

Created and performed by Obie and Bessie Award-winning director and designer Jim Findlay and interaction and sound designer Ryan Holsopple, the performance conjures alternate realms of perception and consciousness through a dense visual and sonic landscape.

Additional collaborators include performers Jake Denney, Aleta Findlay (11 year old daughter of Jim), Maurina Lioce, and Jessie Tidball, co-writer Jeff Jackson, costume designer Andreea Mincic and producer Joel Bassin.

VINE OF THE DEAD will take place Thursday May 26, Friday May 27, and Saturday May 28, 2016. Doors will open at 8:30 pm / performance begins at 9:00 pm. Advance tickets are $20 and $25 at the door. For reservations go to www.artful.ly/store/events/9080 or email reserve@vineofthedead.org.

JIM FINDLAY works across boundaries as a theater artist, visual artist, and filmmaker. His most recent work includes his original performances Dream of the Red Chamber (2014) and Botanica (2012), the direction and design of David Lang's Whisper Opera for the Museum of Contemporary Art and Lincoln Center and the soon-to-be complete 3D film adaptation of Botanica. His video installation Meditation created in collaboration with Ralph Lemon was recently acquired by the Walker Art Center for their permanent collection. He was a founding member and collaborator in the Collapsable Giraffe and in partnership with Radiohole founded the Collapsable Hole a multi-disciplinary artist led performance venue recently relocated to the West Village in Manhattan. In addition to his original works as an independent artist and with the Giraffe, he maintains a long career as a collaborator with many theater, performance and music groups including Mallory Catlett, Daniel Fish, Aaron Landsman, The Wooster Group, Ridge Theater, Bang on a Can, Ralph Lemon, Stew and Heidi Rodewald and Accinosco/Cynthia Hopkins. His work has been seen at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, BAM, Arena Stage, A.R.T. and over 50 cities worldwide including Berlin, Istanbul, London, Moscow, and Paris. He is a recipient of the Creative Capital Award for his next project "Electric Lucifer" and received the 2015 Foundation for Contemporary Art Artist Grant. His previous awards include 2 Obies, 2 Bessies, 2 Princess Grace Awards, Lortel and Hewes Awards and residencies at MacDowell, UCross, MassMOCA, Baryshnikov Arts Center and Mt Tremper Arts. www.jimfindlaynyc.com

RYAN HOLSOPPLE is a designer, performer and programmer for performance. Recent projects include Sound Design for Jim Findlay's Vine of the Dead (Westbeth Arts), Radiohole's Tarzana (The Performing Garage), Video for Annie Dorsen's Yesterday Tomorrow (Holland Festival), Interaction Design for Mallory Catlett's This Was The End (The Chocolate Factory, 2014 Bessie Award for Visual Design), Associate Video Design for Annie Dorsen's A Piece of Work, (BAM, On The Boards, Seattle), Interaction Design for Radiohole's Inflatable Frankenstein (The Kitchen), Interaction Design for Mantra Percussion's performance of Timber, by Michael Gordon (BAM), Programming laser pointer audience interaction for Bill Morrison's Shooting Gallery, (BAM); Plant Interaction Design for Jim Findlay's Botanica (3LD). He received a Doris Duke Charitable Trust Grant with PS122 to develop a new technological performance program with PS122, and won a Bessie for Design in 2014 for Mallory Catlett's This Was The End (The Chocolate Factory), was nominated for the 2011 Hewes Design Award for sound design of 31 Down's Here At Home, presented by the Bushwick Starr. He is the founder 31 Down and has performed and designed sound for all of 31 Down's performances.

The Invisible Dog Art Center is housed in a three-story former factory building in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Built in 1863, our 30,000 square foot facility has been the site of various industrial endeavors - most notably a belt factory that created the famous Walt Disney invisible dog party trick, from which they take their name. The building remained dormant from the mid 1990's to 2009 when founder, Lucien Zayan, opened The Invisible Dog., , The Invisible Dog is dedicated to the integration of forward-thinking innovation with respect for the past. In 2009 the building was restored for safety, and has been maintained over the years, but otherwise preserved in tact from its original 1863 form. The rawness of the space is vital to the space's cultural identity. The ground floor is used for exhibitions, performances and public events, featuring artists and curators from round the world. This floor also includes a new pop-up shop, designed by artist-in-residence Anne Mourier, conceived as a new home for independent, commercial designers in various fields. The second floor and part of the third floor are divided into over 30 artists' studios. The third floor, luminous and spacious, is used for private events, exhibitions, performances and festivals. Finally, the Glass House is a brand new, seasonal exhibition space dedicated to featuring the work of female- identified artists. See more at www.theinvisibledog.org.

Aiming directly at the goal of energizing a new audience for live theater in the 21st century, the Collapsable Giraffe is committed to producing and presenting unique events that openly engage, grapple with, and expand the terrain of what live performance is now and will be in the future. Focusing on projects that feature bold experimentation in form, content, and technology the Giraffe supports and develops projects both by company artists and independent artists/companies. From 2000-2013, together with Radiohole, the Giraffe produced and performed at the Collapsable Hole in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In addition to many company-produced projects featuring the work of Giraffe artists Iver Findlay, Jim Findlay, and Amy Huggans, the Collapsable Hole hosted performances and residencies by Elevator Repair Service (first workshop performances of Gatz), Big Dance Theater, Cynthia Hopkins, Stew and Heidi Rodewald, National Theater of the United States (NTUSA), Banana Bag and Bodice, Hoi Polloi, Immediate Medium and many others. In February 2016, the Giraffe entered into a new partnership with 9 other artists to create a new Collapsable Hole, located in the basement studio of the Westbeth arts and housing complex in Manhattan.

VINE OF THE DEAD was developed in part during residencies at the Collapsable Hole, New York, NY; Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York, NY; and Mount Tremper Arts, Mt. Tremper, NY. It was first performed at Westbeth Arts Center in October and November of 2015 in the space which has now recently re-opened as the Collapsable Hole.

Photo Credit: Walling McGarity

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