Brick Theater Presents THE COMIC BOOK THEATER FESTIVAL ISSUE #2, Now thru 6/29

Comics are sometimes called "sequential art" - stories that unfold across time over the course of multiple images. This definition also applies to the art of theater - and with so much in common, it makes sense that the two should team up. After a successful first installment in 2011, the Comic Book Theater Festival is coming back to The Brick for "Issue #2" in June 2014. Get ready for a new crop of shows that explore the intersection of the panel and the stage, the live and the drawn, the ink and the actor.

The Comic Book Theater Festival Issue #2 will play a repertory schedule from today, June 3-29 at The Brick (579 Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, one block from the L train Lorimer stop / G train Metropolitan stop). Tickets ($18) are available online at www.bricktheater.com or by calling OvationTix at 212-352-3101. For more info visit www.bricktheater.com/comics.

The full schedule of events follows:

Cabarets and Special Events

Comic Strip Club
Join The Comic Book Theater Festival for a free opening night preview of their upcoming shows. And then join them again the following week, when they present an evening of original short works by a number of comics and theater artists, including J. Anthony Roman's "Namor" and more to be announced shortly!
Tuesday 6/3 at 7pm and Friday 6/13 at 7pm - free

Namor
Written by J. Anthony Roman
J. Anthony Roman's Namor is a look into duality that explores the strain that is put on an individual who is trying to succeed in two different worlds.
Appearing as part of Comic Strip Club Friday 6/13 at 7pm - free

3D COMICS ALIVE!
Presented by Jason Little
Strap on your 3D space goggles (provided free with admission) and enter into the third dimension! 3D COMICS ALIVE presents 50s-era work from the Archer St. John Studio, the 1980s work of Ray Zone, and the little-known 60s underground work of Don Glassford. The 3D comics of the 50s through the 80s - projected large in Brick-O-Rama - come to life in this multi-media performance. Roles will be performed by actors with music and live sound effects!
Saturday 6/7 at 7pm

DMC - Live Reading
Written by Ron Wimberly Starring DMC of Run-DMC
DMC is the graphic novel debut from Darryl Makes Comics, a joint venture between Studio Edgardo and Run DMC founding member Darryl McDaniels. The comic explores an alternate history 1980's NYC, where superpowered "heroes" serve the already powerful, unrest simmers in the streets, and a mysterious vigilante named DMC saves those without a voice.
Saturday 6/21 at 6:30pm

Michael Bay's Ninja Turtles
Written by Bobby Phobia, Directed by Rob Blatt
Michael Bay's Ninja Turtles is a live script read of the Ninja Turtles script, so bad even Michael Bay refused to make the movie. Join us for the teenage romance of teenage hockey goon Casey Jones, and CBS intern April O'Neil, that involves aliens, ninja turtles, the Technodrome and Dimension X. What a great way to ruin your childhood!
Mon 6/23 @ 8pm
No, YOU Tell It!: Legacy
No, YOU Tell It! (www.noyoutellit.com) is a "switched-up" storytelling series where performers write their own true-life tales and then trade with a partner to present each other's story. For this special festival installment, the NYTI creative team, Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons, Mike Dressel, and Erika Iverson are working with a group of four storytellers as they develop their stories based around a piece of comic art created by Sha-Nee Williams. Switching stories gives all involved the opportunity to both craft their own story on the page and then watch as their partner performs it in front of an audience.
Sunday 6/8 at 7pm

Performances

The Astonishing Adventures of All American Girl & The Scarlet Skunk
Written and directed by Charles Battersby
Turn up the radio and get your decoder rings ready! Astonishing Adventures is a pulse-pounding tale of romance, comedy and action inspired by Golden Age comic books and radio shows. Thrill to the adventures of All American Girl and her plucky sidekick The Scarlet Skunk as they wage a two-fisted battle against injustice! Can they stand against the nefarious Doctor Mindshrinker and his deadly atomic ray gun? Will they find love on the rooftops of New York City? Find out in a tale unlike anything you have witnessed before! Brought to you by Chocolate Fluffo, the "Super delicious" dessert topping!
Friday 6/6 at 9pm, Tuesday 6/10 at 8:45pm, Friday 6/13 at 10pm, and Wednesday 6/25 at 9pm

El Coqui? Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom
Written by Matthew Barbot
Alex, a comic book artist recently out of work because his ideas might be "too Puerto Rican" has taken on the trappings of one of his creations: El Coqui? Espectacular, a hero that gets his powers from an enchanted carnival mask. When his brother Joe is fired from a project for not being Puerto Rican enough, the two, with the help of a young photographer, hatch a plan to debut El Coqui? at the Puerto Rican Day parade and redeem themselves.
Thursday 6/5 at 9pm, Saturday 6/7 ay 4:45pm, Sunday 6/15 at 7pm, and Friday 6/27 at 9pm

Hero How To
Presented by Dusky Projects/Konoa Joe Island, Written by Wi-Moto Nyoka, Directed by Charles Curtis, Music by Wi-Moto Nyoka and Tommy Turnstyles
Hero How To is the origins story of the would-be hero Dusky Diana and the prologue to the web series The Last Days of Kartika. Hero How To uses Funk, Soul, and Hip Hop music to tell the story of the citizens of Kartika during their most troublesome times.
Wednesday 6/4 at 9pm, Friday 6/6 at 7pm, Sunday 6/8 at 3pm, and Saturday 6/14 at 6:30pm

King Kirby
Written by Crystal Skillman and Fred Van Lente, Directed by John Hurley
Jack "King of the Comics" Kirby is the most famous artist you've never heard of. Husband-and-wife playwriting team Fred Van Lente (award-winning, New York Times best selling comics writer of Cowboys & Aliens and Action Philosophers) and Crystal Skillman (NYIT Award-winning playwright of Geek, Cut, and The Vigil) combine their talents with director John Hurley (Action Philosophers!, Lickspittles, Buttonholers and Damned Pernicious Go Betweens, and The Vigil) to produce this hysterical and heartbreaking tale of how he poured his quintestially Twentieth Century life into his comics, and the fateful, tragic mistake that led him to obscurity, while his creation became known to every person on Earth.
Friday 6/20 at 7pm, Saturday 6/21 at 3pm, Wednesday 6/25 at 7pm, Saturday 6/28 at 5pm, and Sunday 6/29 at 5pm

Lifetime Supply
Written by Sarah Todes, Directed by John Kern and Andrew J. Scoville
Lifetime Supply is a live graphic novel in which Hannah collects a lifetime supply of Acai-Berry Supplements in her basement to win back the heart of the man she loves. When faced with a brutal rejection, Hannah attempts to commit suicide by swallowing all of the pills - but instead gains powers beyond her wildest imagination as her body, and the basement itself, transforms. Plunging into an ocean of Acai Supplements, Hannah will discover a world beyond the dark secrets of her past.
Wednesday 6/4 at 7pm, Saturday 6/7 at 3pm, Saturday 6/14 at 4:45pm, and Friday 6/27 at 7pm

Mahogany Brown and the Case of The Disappearing Kid
Written by Gina Femia, Directed by Megan Kosmoski
It was a day like any other, except different. It was different. The air was a little bit too still and the trees were a bit too tall. That day. The day Jimmy Jones' little boy disappeared. Follow Private Eye Mahogany Brown as she searches for the child supposedly taken by "The Nameless". As the case progresses, clues appear to reveal more about Mahogany Brown than she is ready to handle.
Wednesday 6/11 at 7pm, Saturday 6/14 at 3pm, Wednesday 6/18 at 7pm, and Friday 6/20 at 9pm

Masterpiece Comics Theater
Created by R. Sikoryak
Masterpiece Comics Theater - Where Classics and Cartoons Collide! This hour long multimedia show adapts R. Sikoryak's graphic novel "Masterpiece Comics" and its sequel and features re-tellings of classic literature in the styles of popular American comics. Inspired by epic poetry, Gothic romance, and Elizabethan tragedy, as well as superhero stories, cat cartoons, and gum wrappers, Masterpiece Comics Theater uses projections, a rotating cast of voice actors, and live sound effects in the manner of Sikoryak's long-running Carousel comics performance series.
Saturday 6/14 at 8:15pm, Tuesday 6/17 at 7pm, and Saturday 6/21 at 4:45pm

Mining the Moon
Written and Directed by Matthew Thurber
A werewolf who happens to be the president of the United States has remained in power by arresting the movement of the Moon. A cabal of businessmen have their sights on harvesting the lunar coal deposits, and attempt to depose him with the help of the last remaining Native Americans who hope to build a giant casino on their reservation that will reach into space - unless they can be stopped by President Furzedowne and his accomplice, a talking horse named Mr. Colostomy. Inspired by the deadpan theatrical works of Raymond Roussel and the puppetry-influenced plays of Alfred Jarry, as well as 19th century Bowery melodrama, Matthew Thurber's musical adaptation of his own comic is enhanced by elaborate costumes, painted backdrops, scrolls, and lo-fi special effects.
Sunday 6/8 at 5pm, Tuesday 6/10 at 7pm, Saturday 6/21 at 8pm, and Thursday 6/26 at 7pm

The Myth of Power with Caveman Robot & Drummond Pierce-Nez
Presented by Starsailor, Written by Adam McGovern and Jason Robert Bell
Long thought taped over by an Arizona PBS station for a less significant Bill Moyers segment, The Myth of Power is not just in your imagination! Archetype hunter and mail-order tribal initiate Drummond Pierce-Nez gets to meet and interview his favorite pop deity, comic book paragon Caveman Robot, live and incarnate for one sleepless night only. Get a courtside seat to the conceptual cage-match of the last 150 million years as the mechanical man-child and the hero of a thousand of his own stories dish about what the elder gods and fire-breathing Yeti were really like when the scribes weren't carving. Featuring artist and tent-show conceptualist Jason Robert Bell with comicbook writer and pop lecturer Adam McGovern, it's a panopticon of staged conversation, video, cosplay and hallucination you can take all your ancestors to!
Thursday 6/5 at 7pm and Tuesday 6/17 at 9pm

Out of Frame: Dance+Comics
Curated by Patrice Miller
Can Catwoman do the twist? What happens when Fire and Ice tango? [Out of Frame] brings choreographers and comic book artists together to answer these and other important questions. This bill of short dance and movement pieces explores the intersection of sequential art and movement, showcasing new and exciting collaborations from emerging and established choreographers, directors, and visual artists.
Tuesday 6/24 at 9pm, Saturday 6/28 at 9pm, and Saturday 6/29 at 3pm

The Retardedly Boring Misadventures of Apathy Boy
Presented by Foxy Henriques and The Circuit Theatre Company
Written by Skylar Fox and Simon Henriques, Animation by Alex Lee
"What part of 'I don't care' don't you understand?" he says in a measured tone, as he gives that signature "Whatever" shrug. It's Apathy Boy. Yay. In a world that cares too much, Apathy Boy is really good at saving himself. In an alternate world, a high school boy tells Apathy Boy's story as he draws it into life. As these worlds collide, a hero meets his maker, and nothing will ever be the same. This new play from Foxy Henriques combines live action with animation to tell a story about ... whatever. If you want to know, come to the show. Or don't. Nothing matters anyway.
Thursday 6/19 at 7pm, Friday 6/20 at 10:30pm, and Sunday 6/22 at 7pm

RETCONtroversy
Written by Natalie Zutter Directed by Shannon Lippert
Stinger (a.k.a. Nora Echolls) was everyone's favorite girl wonder, rooftop-jumping sidekick, until a tragic attack left her partially paralyzed. Slowly and painfully, Eleanor recreated herself as Echo, a brainy superhero support system. But twenty years later, she's being retconned: Stinger is back, shiny and new, and was never paralyzed to begin with! Now, Echo has to use that big brain of hers to keep the canon from changing. Unfortunately, her smartest idea was to kidnap her younger self.
Thursday 6/19 at 9pm, Sunday 6/22 at 5pm, Tuesday 6/24 at 7pm (on a double bill with White Space), and Saturday 6/28 at 3pm

Swell
Adapted from the graphic novel by Juliacks, Directed by Kathleen Amshoff
Emmeline Grouse lives in a small town in Vermont, in a house overlooking an abandoned cemetery where she and her sister Lucy would often play. Adapted from the comic art novel by Juliacks, SWELL is an ongoing project that explores the memory-shifting and kaleidoscopic journey of grief, as Emmeline confronts her fears, dreams, and imagination. Following its March 2012 premiere at Culture Project's Women Center Stage Festival in Manhattan, and its reimagining at the Atomic Centre by a new team of New York-, Lyon- and Winnipeg-based artists, SWELL is reincarnated for the Comic Book Theater Festival in a new version that draws from SWELL's past to reenact moments in Emmeline's stream of recollections.
Thursday 6/12 at 7pm, Friday 6/13 at 8:30pm, Saturday 6/14 at 10pm, and Sunday 6/15 at 3pm

Switch to Kill
Presented by Gemini CollisionWorks, Written by Dean Haspiel, Directed by Ian W. Hill
In a world where no one knows anyone's true identity, professional hit men Dallas Twilite and Buck Dangerzone engage in a psychological duel that triggers cold-blooded acts of murder. Haunted by his younger brother's death years ago, Dallas, in a twist of events, realizes that he has never witnessed his partner, Buck, kill a man, while that partner insists that he's been responsible for every kill and won't admit how. Their disagreement breaks a trust that has bonded them since day one. All hell breaks loose when Frank the Shank sparks a distribution war, geriatric assassins Jimmy the Face and Massacre Mel deliver the wrong head to gang lord rival Bohannon, and gun salesman Stan the Man sells the right bullets to the wrong men. Through a series of harried gun play and emotional tests, a trust is reinstated and ghosts are lifted from the psyche of grief-stricken killers.
Thursday 6/12 at 9pm, Sunday 6/15 at 5pm, Thursday 6/26 at 9pm, and Saturday 6/28 at 7pm

White Space
Written by Brett Ackerman Co-directed by Brett Ackerman & Nicola McEldowney
Set within three panels of an old space adventure comic book, White Space follows two background characters, Alex and Samantha, as they attempt to understand their purpose in the grand scheme of the comic's narrative. After part of Alex's panel falls off, he finds Samantha was living in the panel next to him for years. Together, they conspire to bust out of their square prisons and discover where their destiny lies. What Alex doesn't know is that his death is only a panel away.
Thursday 6/19 at 9pm, Sunday 6/22 at 5pm, Tuesday 6/24 at 7pm (on a double bill with RETCONtroversy) and Sunday 6/22 at 3pm

Winner of the The Caffe Cino Fellowship Award, The Brick is Williamsburg, presents world premieres, monthly performance series, and seasonal festivals, expanding Brooklyn's profile as a destination for cutting-edge art and entertainment. The Brick and its company, The Brick Theater, Inc, were founded in 2002 by Robert Honeywell and Michael Gardner. Formerly an auto-body shop, a yoga center, and various storage spaces, this brick-walled garage in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was completely refurbished as a state-of-the-art performance space. The Brick continues to seek new artists and projects, to provide them with a creative home, and to serve as Williamsburg's primary incubator of innovative theater arts.

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