High-Tech Puppet Show STEVE OF TOMORROW to Open This Spring at The Collapsable Hole

After a sold-out 2016 run at HERE Arts Center, STEVE OF TOMORROW, created by David Commander and Rob Ramirez, returns for an exclusive run at The Collapsable Hole (55 Bethune Street, between Washington and West Streets).

Called "a satirical show about consumerism, news content, climate change, the future, and our infinite capacity for hope" by American Theatre, this apocalyptic comedy, narrated through Commander's signature video puppetry style, will be playing a limited engagement from March 16 through April 1. Tickets are $20 ($15 for students/seniors) and can be purchased at www.artful.ly/store/events/11388, or at the door (cash only).

In Commander/Ramirez's video-puppetry extravaganza STEVE OF TOMORROW, a couchsurfing time traveler Steve appears at a crammed apartment shared by sci-fi blogger Ralph and his partner Scott. Steve lands in the middle of a media frenzy surrounding a corporate-produced hurricane. What ensues is a split-screen dark comedy about miscommunication in the age of ever-present media and a democracy interrupted by a flurry of pop-up windows.

"I wanted to make a show about how every step into the future seems to divide us, especially now that anxiety has taken a hold on the nation. I want to tell this bleak story using puppets, of course," says Commander of his 2015 production which strikes a timely chord in the age of Donald Trump.

STEVE OF TOMORROW will be performed by its co-creators writer/director David Commander and media artist Rob Ramirez, and Lisa Clair. The show features additional computer animation by Jangle Miau, additional voice and video performance by Cary Curran, JedidiaH Clarke, Hanlon Smith-Dorsey, set design by David Commander, and lighting by Takaaki Ando.

IF YOU GO:

IMMEDIATE MEDIUM and THE COLLAPSABLE HOLE PRESENT
STEVE OF TOMORROW
Created by David Commander and Rob Ramirez
Written and Directed by David Commander
March 16-April 1, 2017
at The Collapsable Hole, 55 Bethune Street, New York NY 10014
TEN PERFORMANCES ONLY!
Thursday-Saturday, March 16-18 at 8:00pm
Thursday-Friday, March 23-24 at 8:00pm
Saturday, March 25 at 3:00pm and 8:00pm
Thursday-Saturday, March 30-April 1 at 8:00pm
All performances open for review.
Running time: 50 minutes, no intermission.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

David Commander has written, directed and performed his particular style of contemporary toy theater since 2010. His work has been presented at venues in NYC, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Portland, and Chicago. Commander is a long time member of Big Art Group, a company dedicated to building culturally transgressive and challenging new works of theatre through using the language of media and blended states of performance. davidcommander.org

Rob Ramirez is a performance artist, DJ, and computer programmer based in Brooklyn. He is a core member of the art collective Immediate Medium. Collaboration with Commander aside, he has worked with such multidisciplinary artists as Phil Soltanoff, Joe Diebes, and Kurt Hentschlager. Ramirez's work has been performed and exhibited nationally and abroad, including festivals as COIL (NYC), Fusebox (Austin), Push (Vancouver, CA), and at EMPAC (Troy).

Lisa Clair is a playwright and performer based in Brooklyn. Her work has been presented at the SFX Festival at The Wild Project, University Settlement, Dixon Place, and Ars Nova. As a performer, she collaborates with NYC-based Theater artists David Commander, Normandy Sherwood, Banana Bag and Bodice, Nellie Tinder, Dan Fishback, and Immediate Medium. She is currently pursuing her MFA in playwriting at Brooklyn College under Mac Wellman.

Immediate Medium is an anti-disciplinary artist collective committed to the creation of works that challenge formal distinctions between performance, dance, film, and visual art. Through a unique cooperative producing model, we offer comprehensive support and professional development to artists making vital, experiential art that provokes creators and audiences alike. Our programs offer artists a home for experimentation and risk-taking within a supportive community dedicated to creating hybrid performance. Through our AGENCY program, we also offer production resources, including commissions, residencies, fiscal sponsorship, marketing/PR, fundraising, equipment, and administrative support. www.immediatemedium.org

The Collapsable Hole is a cavernous performance space in the basement of Westbeth Arts in New York City's West Village. It is run by a group of eight artists and artist-run organizations. Originally founded in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2000 by Collapsable Giraffe and Radiohole in what was a rundown garage, the first Hole was a home for "an approximate inventory of New York's most innovative artists" (Village Voice) and had a run of 13 years. After a few years in the wilderness, the Hole has been resurrected in new form but with its irrepressibly unruly ethos intact. Current resident artists are: Mallory Catlett, Jim Findlay, Findlay//Sandsmark, Daniel Fish, Immediate Medium, Aaron Landsman, Okwui Okpokwasili, and Radiohole. www.thehole.site

Photo © Maria Baranova

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