BAX/BROOKLYN ARTS EXCHANGE announces YE'RE HERE, CUZIN!
A reverse "Grapes of Wrath" road trip, a surrealist series of episodes using text, movement, music, and Chroma-key video technology by BAX Artist In Residence, CATHARINE DILL
April 15-17, 2011
Friday & Saturday @ 8:00 pm | Sunday @ 6:00 pm
Tickets:
In advance (online) $12 General | $7 Low-Income
Half-hour before show (at the box office) $15 General | $8 Low-Income
* SWEET CHEEKS BROOKLYN is our 20th Brithday Season cupcake sponsor.
YE'RE HERE, CUZIN!
YE'RE HERE, CUZIN! is a reverse-"Grapes of Wrath" road trip, navigating the cultural chasm between a suburban California enclave and an isolated Arkansas hill town. Narrated by a passionately accurate (or possibly delusional) Mrs. Byrd, YE'RE HERE, CUZIN! inhabits an immersive video and sound environment channeling the perceptions of two kids in the backseat as their parents embark on a deluded journey to the Ozarks in search of the simple life. Narrator and family confront each other over their shared, troubled history, revealing both the limitations of familial love and its stranglehold on perspective.
YE'RE HERE, CUZIN! is Exploding Moment's fourth original, full length work, following CAN I HELP YOU?, our critically acclaimed performance at The Bushwick Starr. The project features veteran Exploding Moment team members Catharine Dill (director), Steven Boling (video), Ashley Smith (choreography), Sharla Meese and Katherine Wessling (performers), and a two new collaborators--composer Dave Steele (Music Director of Blue Man Group), and performer Dave Shelley (Associate Member, The Wooster Group).
The fictional family of YE'RE HERE, CUZIN! navigates a constantly-shifting, impressionistic world comprising multiple projected video backgrounds and a richly layered sound environment that includes bird songs, the Arkansas radio soap opera "Lum n' Abner" and Dave Steele's original compositions.
YE'RE HERE, CUZIN! asks audiences to piece together a family's story, even as the family itself is falling apart. While the parents daydream, bicker and complain, their children react with confusion and rebellion. They are championed by the intervening Mrs. Byrd, a narrator who may be the children's teacher, aunt, or imaginary friend. As they parse the characters' impulsive, sometimes violent psychic states, audiences are compelled to sympathize with more than one unreliable narrator and to examine their own mutable perception.
Video artist and designer Steven Boling has created the immersive video environment against a music and sound landscape created by Dave Steele of Blue Man Group.
Catharine DillAbout the Artist In Residence program
Since 1991, our Artist In Residency and Space Grant programs have served as the core for our work with artists. We believe that no single residency is the same and therefore tailor an individualized plan that incorporates each artists' experiences, goals and questions. Many AIR remain connected to the institution long after their residencies end - curating, teaching, and producing new work.The AIR program provides participating artists with one to two years of uninterrupted artistic, technical, and administrative support, as well as the rehearsal space and guidance necessary to take chances, refine their craft and expand their horizons.
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