THEM is an intensely physical interdisciplinary work that presents an unblinking look into the lives and interactions of young, gay men. Conceived and directed by Ishmael Houston-Jones, THEM features provocative texts by Dennis Cooper and a cacophonous live electric guitar sound score by Chris Cochrane. Houston-Jones' choreography, while rooted in improvisation, develops the themes of connections that never quite happen, grappling and wrestling that seem inconsequential and ineffective, and support that disappears.
Ahead of its time, THEM sparked controversy when it originally premiered in 1986, almost getting PS122 shut down. Now 25 years later, his contemporary revival of TH
Em Looks back to its "aggressive and vital" (Village Voice, Supree) roots to present a portrait of the young, gay men of today.
Through a reconstruction residency at the New Museum, the creators have recast THEM with a new generation of emerging male performers: Joey Cannizzaro, Felix Cruz, Jeremy Pheiffer, Niall Noel, Jacob Slominski, Arturo Vidich and Enrico D. Wey.
Ishmael Houston-Jones has been a fixture of the New York dance community for more than three decades. His intensely personal and physically exhausting improvisations helped redefine the language of dance in the post-Judson Church of the 1980s and continue to set a standard for authenticity and vulnerability on stage. As a curator, teacher and writer, Houston-Jones has nurtured the voices of many emerging choreographers, performers and artists from other disciplines, several of whom have gone on to become collaborators.
Chris Cochrane is a guitarist who has been composing and playing music in NYC for 2 years. Chris has played with Zeena Parkins, John Zorn, Eszter Balint, Marc Ribot and many others. He has composed music for John Jasperse, Ishmael Houston-Jones, Jennifer Monson and Circus Amok, among others.
Dennis Cooper grew up in the southern Californian cities of Covina and Arcadia. In 1976, he founded Little Caesar Magazine and Press, which he ran until 1982. From 1980 to 1983 he served as Director of Programming for the Beyond Baroque Literary/Art Center in Venice, California. He moved to Amsterdam in 1985, where he began his ten year long project, The
George Miles Cycle, an interconnected sequence of five novels that includes Closer, Frisk, Try, Guide, and Period. His later novels include My Loose Thread, The Sluts and most recently, the highly acclaimed God, Jr. Cooper currently spends his time between Los Angeles and Paris.
Lighting designer: Joe Levasseur
THEM runs Thursday, October 21 to Saturday, October 30 on the following schedule:
Wednesday - Friday at 8 p.m.
Saturday at 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.
Thursday Night Social: October 21
Tickets $20, $15 (students/seniors), $11 (with the PS122 Passport - limited availability!)
Available at www.ps122.org , 212-352-3101 and at the Box Office.
THEM is supported in part by TestPerformanceTest and developed through the RE:NEW RE:PLAY residency series at the New Museum
Performance Space 122 is one of New York's ultimate destinations for cutting-edge theatre, dance, music, live art and multi-media. Now celebrating its 30th Anniversary Season, PS122 is dedicated to supporting and presenting artists who explore innovative form and provocative content, rigorously challenging the boundaries of contemporary performance. PS122 is committed to a steadfast search for pioneering artists from a diversity of cultures, nations and beliefs.
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