'Angelus Novis' opens October 2nd

PHYSICAL THEATRE PIECE “ANGELUS NOVUS”

MARKS NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS DEBUT

                      

 

WHAT:               NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS presents its debut physical theatre performance “ANGELUS NOVUS.”  Conceived and created by Filipina-American Angeline Gragasin and directed by Richard Newman, “NOVUS” is a stylish, rigorous, ultra-contemporary production inspired by the combined traditions of medieval pageantry and American historical re-enactments, as well as consumer culture, North Korea, Commedia dell’Arte, and the Internet. The play’s concept is based on Paul Klee’s 1920 painting “Angelus Novus” (pictured below) and the related writings of German philosopher Walter Benjamin. Channeling cable television through clown and dance, circus and spectacle, karaoke and commercials, “ANGELUS NOVUS” uses athletic physicality, original live and electronic music, architectural costume, and large object acrobatics to depict power struggle, truth-telling, and social activism in an ailing urban community.  Where possible, please capitalize both the show’s title and company name, as above.  The production runs about 80 minutes with no intermission.  Rehearsal photos, original music and additional information available on the blog at www.nationalheadquarters.org/blog/

                       

WHERE:           AV-aerie, 2000 W. Damen, #310, Chicago, IL 60612

Some street parking; Ashland El stop (Green Line); Damen-50

Bus

Handicapped accessible – call 312-850- 9729 in advance.

 

TICKETS:          312-850-9729 or info@nationalheadquarters.org (reservations

                          recommended)

$15 suggested donation

 

WHEN:             Opens Thursday, October 2, 2008, 8 p.m. (reception following)

                         Closes on Sunday, October 12, 2008

            Runs Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.

            Preview on Wednesday, October 1 at 8 p.m.

            The production is also slated to run on Saturdays at 8 p.m., at TBA site-specific locations - details

            to be announced at www.nationalheadquarters.org/events/events.htm 

1. “ANGELUS NOVUS” benefit, September 19, 8 p.m., AV-aerie, 2000 W. Fulton, #310, Chicago.

 $10 suggested donation includes show sneak preview, plus local indie music acts – reserve at 312-850-9729 or

info@nationalheadquarters.org

 

 2. Links Hall presents parts of “ANGELUS NOVUS” as part of Gragasin’s LinkUP Residency for Emerging   Performing Artists

on  Friday, September 26, and Saturday, September 27 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, September 28 at 7:30 p.m., at 3435 N. Sheffield,

Chicago.  $15 tickets at 773-281-0824.

 

STAFF:                Angeline Gragasin (Founder and Producer),  Richard Newman (Director), Ásta Bennie Hostetter (Costume Design), Meredith Ries (Scenic/Object Design), and Noé Cuéllar (Original Music Composition & Sound Design).  NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS is an active imagination and the future of cultural exchange. It is a diverse network of individuals and ensembles committed to the examination and expression of the contemporary social condition, through the creation of original artworks and events which engage the senses and enrich the minds of ordinary citizens in an extraordinary way.

 

CAST:            Ryland Barton, Angeline Gragasin, Angela Horchem, Julia Miller, Brian Moore, Tyler Smith, and John Stokvis. 

  

HISTORY:         ANGELUS NOVUS was researched and developed collaboratively over the course of one year before the entire ensemble of 12 converges for six weeks of intensive training and rehearsals, in preparation for this first phase of public presentation.  Director Newman will lead a deeply physical investigation of American archetype and history in order to create a heightened space where artists are free to take risks and realize their imaginative capabilities.  These first performances will take place in fall 2008 at a variety of venues, including Links Hall and AV-aerie. “ANGELUS NOVUS” was originally conceived as - and will continue to develop into - a mobile theatrical event, to be presented inside and around “TiNT” (a 14-foot box truck and gallery owned and operated by the BLOC artist collective www.blocartiststudios.com), for contemporary audiences which are socio-economically and culturally diverse.  The artists of “NOVUS” will engage with disparate communities by offering free performances, leading actor-driven theatre workshops and demonstrations for both children and adults, and organizing panel discussions with local leaders on the preservation of community history and identity. This second phase of performances is scheduled to take place in spring 2009.

 

BIOS:                 Chicago-based Angeline Gragasin is an independent, interdisciplinary performing artist, who received a 2007 AB in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities with a concentration in Theater and Performance Studies from The University of Chicago.  She has performed for Redmoon, Walkabout, Collaboraction, Blair Thomas & Co., and choreographer Janet Schmid, among others. She has trained extensively in clown, mask, mime, Commedia dell’Arte, and image- and object-based physical theatre techniques with 500 Clown (Chicago, IL), Double Edge Theatre (Ashfield, MA), and Teatro Punto (Accademia dell’Arte: Arezzo, Italy). She has also studied under Court Theatre’s Founding Artistic Director Nicholas Rudall, who directed her in the title role of Sophocles’ “Electra” at The University of Chicago.  She is an alumnus of Young ARTS (Writing, 2003), a program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, and a sponsored artist with the Stephen R. Comer Endowment for the Arts. 

 

                          Richard Newman is an actor, director, teacher and creator of actor-driven theatre that blends intense physicality, heightened text, dreamlike imagery, and music in order to explore the intricacies of human relationships, the subjectivity of memory, and cultural archetypes.  He has performed nationally and internationally, created ten original works, and taught physical and vocal training for the actor, object work, improvisation, and ensemble building at universities and theatres across the country, including Yale University, Brown University, Boston University, Brandeis University, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Massachusetts, Trinity College/La MaMa E.T.C., and the University of Georgia. Most recently he created and directed “A Cure for Remembering,” an original performance based on Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” which premiered at Double Edge Theatre in 2007, and will be remounted at Teatri ODA in Prishtina, Kosovo, in November 2008. Newman co-created and performed in “Republic of Dreams,” based on the life and art Bruno Schulz, which premiered at La MaMa E.T.C in March 2007, and also toured.  He also co-created “the UnPOSSESSED,” based on Miguel Cervantes’ “Don Quixote,” which toured to the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA), La MaMa E.T.C. (NYC), 7 Stages (Atlanta, GA), Centre for Theatre Practices – Gardzienice (Lublin, Poland), Teatr Kana (Szczecin, Poland), Teatr Lalek (Wroclaw, Poland), Festival de los Clasicos (Alcala, Spain), The Performance Studies International Conference (Providence, RI), and The Flynn Center (Burlington, VT). Newman is a graduate of The Dell’Arte School of Physical Theatre, where he studied the techniques of Carlo Mazzone-Clemente, Jacques Lecoq, and Etienne Decroux

                          The Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, Links Hall, The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs (CAAP), AV-aerie, and The Galaxie.

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