WLDRNSS (formerly Theatre Forever) Premieres WHEN I NOD MY HEAD YOU HIT IT WITH THE HAMMER

This fall, WLDRNSS will present the world premiere of When I Nod My Head You Hit It With The Hammer, a highly visual, playful and personal devised play about outdated internal maps, memory, hope and change. WLDRNSS is welcoming England-based theater artist (and long time friend of director Jon Ferguson) John Cooper to co-create and perform in the piece. The play will premiere at The Southern Theater on September 15, 2017, running through September 23, 2017.

Set in the depths of an antique theater wasteland, When I Nod My Head You Hit It With The Hammer follows the story of a handful of walk-on/supernumerary performers. As they wait for their cue for the final crowd scene, surrounded by the props, scenery and costumes of a thousand old stories, they contemplate their career and life choices. The waiting, night after night, opens up intricate and magical labyrinths of the mind and they set off on an adventure, deep into their own memories and personal stories. On the journey, they must try to stay on the path, not fiddle with anyone else's props and make it back in time for their cue. They will, however, have to wander off the path, into the unknown, to discover the answers they did not know they were searching for.

Comic, poetic and deeply personal, this world premiere new work explores themes of self-doubt, personal adventure, wonder and hope. It investigates the human problem of being stuck in an old script/routine and endeavors to address some of life's big questions: "Why am I here?," "Am I on the right path?," "How do I live an activated life, full of meaning?" As the play unfolds and the characters search for meaning in their lives, the lines between artist, actor, character, and audience will blur, turning audience members into collaborators; the play will change in subtle ways based on sensitive audience interaction resulting in a supremely live and shared theatrical experience.

As the audience follow the characters in the story, they will witness embedded, real-life techniques aimed at letting go of useless and harmful patterns. Interactive talk backs will be offered during the run of the show to facilitate this investigation.

When I Nod My Head You Hit It With The Hammer is directed by Jon Ferguson. It features John Cooper, Jon Ferguson, Katherine Fried, and Allison Witham (plus a special guest). The show was created by Jon Ferguson, John Cooper, Katherine Fried and Allison Witham, with narrative support by Mark Rosenwinkel and Lauren Anderson.

About the company: WLDRNSS is a live performance company focused on the creation of new work, led by Artistic Director Jon Ferguson. The company creates theater that is profoundly thought-provoking, delightfully playful and totally accessible. Formerly Theatre Forever, the company has been creating work in the Twin Cities since 2005. WLDRNSS is an ever-evolving ensemble committed to exploring what it means to be alive through the creation and presentation of deeply moving and poetic narratives. The company embraces the impulse to create the unforgettable and bring life to art that exists beyond ourselves.

WLDRNSS/Jon Ferguson has created and staged numerous critically acclaimed new and devised works and adventurous adaptations of classic stories including: Please Don't Blow Up Mr. Boban, Or The White Whale, Super Monkey, A Bun for a Door Handle, Muy Very Authentico, The Big Show, The Nature Crown, Good Job Horses and The Venetian Twins.

"Ferguson has the courage to take the audience-performer relationship very seriously, to illuminate the fact that audience members are, in an important sense, co-creators themselves." - Jay Gabler, The Tangential, 2015

Show dates and times:

Friday, September 15 - 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, September 16 - 2:00 and 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, September 17 - 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, September 19 - 7:30 p.m. (Pay what you can performance.)

Thursday, September 21 - 7:30 p.m.

Friday, September 22 - 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, September 23 - 2:00 and 7:30 p.m.

Tickets Tickets are available at https://www.artful.ly/thesouthern-theater. General admission: $20 in advance, $24 at the door Students: $12 ARTshare members: Free

To post a comment, you must register and login.