In "Heaven on Earth," a new play by Charles L. Mee, Witness Relocation will apply its unique, pop-culture dance/theater style to a show about civilization's chances of post-apocalyptic happiness. The production was initially developed in partnership with Collective ildi ! eldi, an ensemble from France, during a residence there in 2009 and is being completed in New York as of this writing. La Mama E.T.C. will present the work's world premiere February 17 to 27 in it large Ellen Stewart Theater, after which it will travel to Le Substance in Lyons for its French premiere March 31 to April 3.
Productions of Witness Relocation combine dance and theater with the energy of a rock show, exploding contemporary culture into intensely physical, outrageous, poetic, and sometimes brutal performances. Charles L. Mee is an Obie-winning playwright who is recently best known for his work with
Siti Company, for which he wrote "Orestes," "bobrauschenbergamerica," "Hotel Cassiopeia," "Under Construction" and "soot and spit (the musical)." Mee was Signature Theater's Playwright-in-Residence in 2007-2008.
"Heaven on Earth" is a collage play, written with Mee's unique philosophy that all art is both received and created, so texts are taken from and inspired by other texts. It combs through history to reveal a quirky but simple realization: that hope is inextinguishable because in spite of the calamitous darkness when eras pass and civilizations collapse, happiness endures in the small pleasures of life. To illustrate this, Mee weaves a collection of lyrical monologues about Roman ruins, the American Dust Bowl of the thirties, biodiversity in seeds, principles of Greek democracy, a financially ruined American widow who turns for help to family and friends, stadium building and stock car racing. The play incorporates texts from the catalog of Revolution Seeds,
Isaac Bashevis Singer, O. The Oprah Magazine, and Arthur W. Leonard.
Witness Relocation (http://witnessrelocation.org) has been called "a dance theater anarchist's utopia" (Performing Arts Journal, 2006). Its productions vary between small punk rock shows and giant epics and it returns to the big questions with "Heaven on Earth." The aim, as always, is to challenge the assumptions of the modern day experience. Artistic Director Dan Safer asserts, "The world keeps ending and we are still fine. We lose sight that heaven on earth is in the tiny details. Even while you are looking at an apocalypse, you can find a perfect moment in a cup of coffee, sitting on a beach at night, or a kitten."
To explore the thematic notion of human history being built on itself, the production will re-purpose sets and costumes from previous Witness Relocation shows, including a 30' x 30' linoleum floor from "Dancing vs. The Rat Experiment" (La MaMa, 2006), televisions from "Vicious Dogs on Premeses" (Ontological, 2008), and costumes from the company's old stock. The production will contain a video featuring The
Wooster Group's Scott Shephard.
"Heaven on Earth" is a production of Witness Relocation (USA) and Collective ildi ! eldi (France). It is directed and choreographed by Dan Safer and co-created and performed by Abigail Browde,
Heather Christian, Sean Donovan and
Mike Mikos of Witness Relocation and Sophie Cattani, Antoine Oppenheim and Francois Sabourin of ildi ! eldi. Set and lighting design are by Jay Ryan. Costumes, props and objects are designed by
Deb O. Sound design is by Ryan Maeker. Video design is by Kaz Phillips. The play is co-commissioned by Les Subsistances with major support from Etant Donnes.
The French Collective ildi ! eldi describes itself as "a research and creative space, founded by a group of friends who wanted to do theatre with humor, simplicity, and a love of words, in collusion with the audience." The troupe is making its American debut in the 2011 Under the Radar Festival at Dixon Place January 6 to 16 in "Vice Versa," a free adaptation in slapstick style of the satirical, sarcastic British novel "Cock and Bull" by Will Elder. Backstage (Karl Levitt) called it "a welcome gift that is both outrageous and inoffensive, the whole package being wrapped in Gallic charm."
ABOUT WITNESS RELOCATION
The New York Times wrote that Witness Relocation's work "aggressively blurs genres and makes high-low culture distinctions obsolete." The troupe was formed in 2000 by director/choreographer Dan Safer and has created about 14 original productions, engaged in a two year residency in Bangkok, and performed in theaters, nightclubs, rock videos and a Thai TV Soap Opera. The troupe is based in New York City and tours domestically and internationally. Its recent productions include "I'm Going to Make a Small Incision Behind Your Ear to Check and See if You're Actually Human." (Bushwick Starr, 2010), the English language premiere of "Five Days in March" by
Toshiki Okada, translated by Aya Ogawa (La MaMa, 2010), "The Panic Show" (DNA, Bumbershoot Festival, in France at Le Quartz), "Haggadah" (La MaMa, 2009), Mikuni Yanahaira's "The Blue Bird " (English language premiere, CSV 2009), "Vicious Dogs On Premises" (Ontological, 2008) and "Dancing Vs. the Rat Experiment" (La MaMa, 2006).
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