Company XIV Presents World Premiere of LOVER. MUSE. MOCKINGBIRD. WHORE., 4/17

Company XIV proudly presents the World Premiere of Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore., a dance-theatre meditation on Charles Bukowski's women, choreographed and directed by Austin McCormick, with text by Charles Bukowski. Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore. stars Laura Careless, and runs from April 15 - May 8, 2011 in a limited engagement at the 303 Bond Street Theatre, located at 303 Bond Street, between Union & Sackett in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Previews begin April 15 for an April 17 opening.

Performances are Fridays - Sundays at 8pm. Tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for students and seniors and can be purchased online at http://www.BrownPaperTickets.com or by calling 1-800-838-3006. The show contains partial nudity - no one under 16 will be admitted. Train access via the F or G to Carroll Street or the R to Union Street. For more information visit http://www.CompanyXIV.com.

Drawing inspiration from the female characters present in the works of poet Charles Bukowski, Austin McCormick seeks to both examine and humanize these women, utilizing film, movement and text. The one-woman show stars Laura Careless, who inhabits these archetypes, showing that beauty and ugliness are two sides of the same coin. Playing with themes of voyeurism, sexuality and objectification, Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore. promises to be a thought provoking, uniquely designed meditation on love and objectification, revealing what it means to be a woman in Buk's world.

Company XIV and Artistic Director Austin McCormick continue to garner critical acclaim. The New York Times calls Austin McCormick's work "inventive and brainy, a high-entertainment mix of music-hall, cabaret, theater and dance" and they praised Le Serpent Rouge as a "sensuous marvel." Paper Magazine's Tom Murrin called Nutcracker Rouge the "sexiest dance performance" of 2010. Flavorpill hailed Le Serpent Rouge a "glittery triumph." The Judgment of Paris was "deliciously excessive" declared Back Stage and Metro NY called Le Cirque Feerique "an appealing fantasia" with a cast "displaying world-class talent." "McCormick has a gift for understanding what captivates an audience," says Dance Magazine and The British Theatre Guide proclaimed, "Here is a company with something to say and the brains, eloquence, and goddamn balls with which to say it."

Laura Careless has been called "a deliciously frank and buoyant performer" by The Village Voice and "mesmerizing" by The Brooklyn Paper. Careless is a graduate of the Royal Ballet School, London; the Ecole-Atelier Rudra Bejart, Lausanne; and The Juilliard School, New York City. She is a founding member of Company XIV, appearing most recently as the Sugar Plum Fairy in their sold-out New York run of Nutcracker Rouge. Careless teaches dance at Eliot Feld's Ballet Tech School and assists Austin McCormick in the creation of new Company XIV productions and commissions. She is the recipient of a Lynn Seymour Award for expressive dance. Upon graduation from The Juilliard School Dance Division in 2007, she was awarded the John Erskine prize for academic/artistic achievement and the Inter-Arts prize for initiating art outreach projects.

Austin McCormick holds a BFA from the Juilliard School and is a graduate of The Conservatory of Baroque Dance. He is an alumnus of the Harid Conservatory and North Carolina School of the Arts. In 2006, he founded Company XIV, a dance/theatre troupe based in Brooklyn, hailed by Black Book Magazine as an ‘Icon Of The Future.' The company works in the mediums of live dance/theater and film. The work is contemporary, yet Baroque inspired. Taking his cue from theatre/dance/opera under the reign of Louis XIV, McCormick seeks to unite design, choreography and music to create compelling 360-degree experiences for audiences in which they are fully immersed in a theatrical world. The work is a unique mash up of classical texts, Baroque choreography, eclectic music, pop culture references, opera, burlesque, ballet, gender bending, fashion and theatrical staging that has wowed both audiences and critics.

In 2009, McCormick won a New York Innovative Theater Award for Best Choreography for The Judgment of Paris. Company XIV was nominated for five 2010 New York Innovative Theater Awards for their productions of Le Serpent Rouge and Snow White. In addition to his performing in his own choreography, McCormick has worked professionally with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet of New York, and has taught and lectured on Baroque dance as a guest of the Korean Government in Seoul. He is currently pursuing a Masters degree in directing and dance history at NYU.

Austin McCormick's work has been performed at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center's Peter Jay Sharp Theater, Alice Tully Hall, Clark Studio Theater, Symphony Space, The Flea, Alvin Ailey Theater, Walter Reade Theater, Mark Morris Dance Center, and internationally at the Biblioteca Palafoxiana in Puebla, Mexico, the Roxy Art House in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Usine C in Montreal. His work has been seen at the TED Conference, on Logo's New Now Next Awards and TLC's The Cake Boss.

The creative team includes Zane Pihlstrom (Set and Costume Design) and Gina Scherr (Lighting Design). Austin McCormick, Zane Pihlstrom and Gina Scherr were recent winners of the 2011 Opera America Director/Designer grant.

Company XIV is the resident company of the 303 Bond Street Theatre, a Brooklyn space converted from a tow truck warehouse to a theatre.

 

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