Immersive THE DAY SHALL DECLARE IT Returns to LA in May

After the sold-out and award-winning success of The Day Shall Declare It in 2015, Wilderness returns to the Los Angeles Arts District to remount its immersive, site-specific theatre experience, opening Tuesday, May 10, 2016 and running through Sunday, June 19, 2016. The internationally acclaimed physical theatre piece weaves together dynamic movement with a collage of American labor literature from Tennessee Williams and Studs Terkel, exploring the concept of work in America: what it does for us - and what it does to us. Developed and co-directed by Annie Saunders and Sophie Bortolussi (Punchdrunk's Sleep No More), The Day Shall Declare It will run for a limited time, to audiences of only thirty people per show. The intimate performances will run six nights a week, Tuesday through Sunday, with doors opening at 8:00pm and performances beginning at 8:30pm. The 2016 version sees the addition of "The Paradise," an exclusive pop-up bar with live music curated by Vagrant Bartenders. Wilderness, an experimental performance company that brings temporary theatrical experiences to vacant buildings awaiting redevelopment, presents this work in partnership with Ad Age Standout 2015 production company HeLo, and in association with Los Angeles Performance Practice and Imperial Art Studios. For more information, please visit http://thisisthewilderness.com.

The Day Shall Declare It premiered in London in 2014 and was called "demanding, intelligent, and memorable theatre," by Miriam Gillinson, Time Out London. The North American premiere opened in Los Angeles in 2015 and was described as "dazzling...athletic vigor and grace," by Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times. The 2016 version will feature the original London cast (called "dreamy, atmospheric, and fragmented... impressively performed," by Lyn Gardner, The Guardian). The production will be staged in a disused 1925 brick shopfront warehouse at 2051 East 7th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90021, managed by Julio Hechavarria of Imperial Art Studios (www.imperialartstudios.com). Tickets, available online, are $25 (The Upstart), $50 (The Standard), and $75 (The Tennessee). The Paradise will open at 8:00pm for audience members and at 9:45pm to the general public (see additional details below).

"We are thrilled to be bringing this piece back to Los Angeles after an overwhelmingly positive response in 2015," say creators Saunders and Bortolussi. "The experience is visceral and temporal - we cannot wait to share it with new audiences."

The Day Shall Declare It -
Staged in a 1925 warehouse in the Arts District, which is slated for demolition after the run for a condo development, The Day Shall Declare It weaves text from Tennessee Williams and Studs Terkel, with dynamic choreography. Inside the space, which has been intricately transformed into period working and living environments, the audience is led by performers through multiple narratives, each of which investigates working and how it affects our relationships to others and ourselves.

"When the recession hit, the personal, private questions of the meaning of working - 'What do I want to do?' versus 'What will I live on?' - seemed to become immediately, drastically public. I wanted to make a piece that explored this and looked to a similar historical moment, the Great Depression, and the extensive canon of American labor literature," says Saunders. "This piece is an effort to creatively conflate these period texts with a free-form theatrical model and contemporary movement score, echoing the responses of the current moment, such as Occupy Wall Street, which, for me, took on a powerful and spontaneous choreography of its own."

The piece's dynamic choreography is by Sophie Bortolussi (see bio below), who co-directs with artistic director and Wilderness Founder Annie Saunders (see bio below), who also performs alongside Anthony Nikolchev and Chris Polick (the original London cast). John Zalewski, who won an Ovation Award for the 2015 production, designed the sound. Iain Court designed the lighting. Scenic design is by Nina Caussa. Costumes are designed by Stephanie Petagno and Clare Amos. Jana Diaz Juhl is producing.

The Paradise -
Vagrant Bartenders, who gained notoriety for just recently finishing their beverage program at the Butcher's Daughter, are back at it again, this time in an exclusive pop-up: The Paradise, embedded in the immersive theatrical world of The Day Shall Declare It. The tailor-made menu will feature boozy aromatic cocktails while incorporating garden-to-glass elements that were popular in the forties and fifties. Expect to see the best damn Ramos Gin Fizzes and Ward Eights this side of the Mississippi. The Paradise will serve performance guests from doors opening and will remain open nightly post-show, Tuesday to Sunday, starting at 9:45pm for the general public.

Annie Saunders, Co-Director & Performer -
Annie Saunders is the founder and artistic director of Wilderness (see below). She also works internationally as a performer and experimental theatre-maker. She trained at The University of London. She is a core performer with Lars Jan's Early Morning Opera, a performance and art lab, and is currently performing in the aquatic performance installation Holoscenes, the Institute of Memory, and Abacus.

Sophie Bortolussi, Co-Director & Choreographer -
Sophie Bortolussi is a French choreographer, dancer, and director based in New York City. She recently movement directed and choreographed Red Eye to Havre de Grace at New York Theatre Workshop and was Martha Clarke's choreography assistant for The Threepenny Opera at the Atlantic Theater. Bortolussi played the lead role in Punchdrunk's Sleep No More in New York and The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable in London.

Wilderness -
An experimental theatre company founded in 2011 by Annie Saunders, Wilderness works internationally to push the envelope of the traditional theatre-going experience. Transforming disused, unexplored, and uninhabited urban spaces, Wilderness creates experiential and interdisciplinary theatrical experiences. In Los Angeles, Wilderness has received critical acclaim for Leaves of Grass, presented as part of the Studio Series at REDCAT, which uses text and movement to explore the biology of identity and the look-alike phenomenon in couples. In 2014, Wilderness taught master classes in devising theatre at Territoria International Festival in Moscow, alongside Declan Donnellan (Cheek by Jowl) and Dimitris Papaioannou. Wilderness previously presented The Day Shall Declare It to critical acclaim in an extended run at the abandoned BBC London Studios building in the West End. In 2015, The Day Shall Declare It held its US premiere in Los Angeles, playing for seven weeks to critical acclaim and sold-out audiences.

HeLo - A production company bringing together the best in storytelling, experience design, and creative technology, HeLo is the result of decades of experience in talent management, digital, and production agency work. HeLo combines design, creative, technology, and storytelling to create seamless experiences that people want to be a part of. Just over two years old, the company has already made a name for itself as an innovative production shop to watch - nabbing accolades from Cannes Lions to the AICP NEXT Awards, among others and being named Advertising Age's Production Company Standout of 2015.

Los Angeles Performance Practice -
Los Angeles Performance Practice is a producing organization and artists' network dedicated to supporting Los Angeles' unique contemporary performance community. Founded by Miranda Wright in 2010, it is comprised of independent artists who create groundbreaking theatrical experiences through innovative approaches to collaboration, technology, and social engagement.

The approximately 80-minute performances are largely standing room only, though the audience may sit or lean on furniture throughout the space. Comfortable shoes are recommended. A coat and bag check will be available. Street parking can be found on Imperial Street, Santa Fe Avenue, or 7th Street.

To post a comment, you must register and login.