The New Stage Theatre Company (www.newstagetheatre.org) returns to La MaMa December 2 to 19 with "Mapping Möbius," a new play directed by Ildiko Nemeth and written by Colm O' Shea, Marie Glancy-O' Shea and Ildiko Nemeth. In the piece, an aging scientist, realizing his inquiries continually return him to a model of his own mind, devises a set of experiments that blur the distinction between his inner and outer worlds. New Stage Theatre Company (NTSC) made an auspicious La MaMa debut last season with "Oh, Those Beautiful Weimar Girls!," an evening of the music and dance associated with exotic dancer Anita Berber, who symbolized many the decadence of Weimar era Berlin. "Mapping Möbius" reunites director Nemeth with the team of that production, notably Julie Atlas Muz (choreography), Federico Restrepo (lighting design), Javier Boné-Carboné (costume design) and actors Peter Schmitz, Chris Tanner and Markus Hirnigel.
"Mapping Möbius" reflects Ildiko Nemeth's continuing interest in German subjects (Möbius was descended on his mother's side from Martin Luther) while returning to plays about scientific explorations. In 2006, New Stage Theatre Company presented "Some Historic/Some Hysteric," a play set in late 19th Century Paris, based on the "Tuesday lectures" of Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot, the founder of modern neurology.
The productions of NTSC are distinguished by their elaborate costuming, inventive choreography, striking visual images and gorgeous visual design. Director Ildiko Nemeth has cultivated a distinctive style that is particular to its choice of plays and aesthetic framework. She writes, "As a director, I strive to present productions wherein acting, stage design, costumes, language, music and choreography play pivotal roles. I create movement-based performances, often utilizing the entirety of available theater space and even spreading into the audience to fuse actors and observers in a moment of visceral reaction. For me visual elements are not just accessories but part of the content, powerfully conveying subconscious dimensions of the action."
"Mapping Möbius" will be presented in a "white box" space with platforms, to be used as a platform for intricate projections and choreography. In the tradition of NSTC productions, the play's style and visual life are derived from the scientific problems addressed by its inspiration, the famed 18th century German mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius.
The Möbius strip, named for its theoretician, is a surface with only one side. Most objects have at least two sides: a back and a front (inside and out). Because of the way it twists, a Möbius strip has only one. An ant moving along the "inside" would find itself "outside." An ant moving along the "outside" would find itself "inside" again.
In "Mapping Möbius," this concept informs the journey of an introspective scientist who feels overwhelmed by his own inescapable interiority. Nearing the end of his career, he comes to the realization that his life's work--objective study--is misguided. He recruits a young girl to help him explore the mysteries of the mind, reasoning that this is where all his models of the world originate. Together they embark on a tour of universal history, making stops to take in the inchoate, pre-linguistic world of plankton; the stories told by dinosaur bones; the electioneering of colonial ants; and the cynical business lectures of a world-weary bee. But they are entering a dangerous realm; as cool observation slides into personal chaos, it becomes clear there's no map for this territory.
NTSC's best-known production, "Oh, Those Beautiful Weimar Girls!," debuted in 2008 at Clemente Soto Velez, where critics were dazzled with its poignant metaphors, sexy choreography and spirit of risqué fun. In 2009, Ildiko Nemeth re-envisioned her hit show for the Club at La MaMa, where the piece's true cabaret flavor could be more fully achieved. It was a huge crowd pleaser and capacity audiences made a return engagement in 2010 a necessity.
In 2007, NTSC, under the direction of Ildiko Nemeth, presented the American premiere of "The Round of Pleasure" by Austrian playwright Werner Schwab, "the divisive mastermind of contemporary Austrian Drama." The 1986 play, a modernist re-telling of Schnitzler's "La Ronde," was staged with striking visual beauty and received enthusiastic notices. Columnist Glenn Loney (NY Theatre Wire) called for "elegantly-devised production" to be seen at the Salzburg Festival. The production was nominated in three categories for the 2008 Innovative Theater Awards.
In 2006, New Stage Theatre Company presented "Some Historic/Some Hysteric," a play set in late 19th Century Paris. It was based on the "Tuesday lectures" of Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot, the founder of modern neurology, who invited the public to Salpêtrière hospital to watch patients enact their neurological maladies. Time Out (Robert Simonson) deemed the production a "surreal vision" that was most effective in its images. Backstage (Irene Backalenick) called the play "an awesome aesthetic experience. Magnificent work, all around, courtesy of its set design, costumes, movement, music, performance and direction." "Some Historic/Some Hysteric" was subsequently nominated in 2007 for Innovative Theatre Awards in three categories: Outstanding Production of a Performance Art Piece, Outstanding Actress in a Featured Role and Outstanding Ensemble.
Director Ildiko Nemeth is a Hungarian native and a veteran of Eastern European experimental theater. Her desire to bring this form of theatrical expression into stronger focus for American audiences led her to form The New Stage Theatre Company in 2002. In Hungary, Nemeth garnered numerous prizes for acting, such as the Guardian Critics' Choice Award at the Scotland Fringe Festival in Edinburgh and the Best Performance Award at the International Gombrowicz Festival in Poland. She moved to the U.S. in 1998 and founded NSTC after graduating with a Master's Degree from the Actors Studio Drama School in 2002. At the Actors Studio, several of Nemeth's peers were inspired by her unique vision of bridging geographical and cultural gaps by collaborating with international artists. This group became the original NSTC. Since then, the group of New Stage collaborators has included numerous talents, including a Guggenheim fellowship recipient and artists trained at the Julliard School.
"Mapping Möbius" has choreography by Julie Atlas Muz, lighting design by Federico Restrepo, costume design by Javier Boné-Carboné and Lisa Kathryn Hokans, projection design by Laia Cabrera and Illustration/Animation by Isabelle Duverger. Principal Administrator Fabiyan Pemble-Belkin. The actors are Peter Schmitz, Chris Tanner, Markus Hirnigel, Jeanne Lauren Smith, Kaylin Lee Clinton, Florencia Minniti, Catherine Correa, Dana Boll, BJ Rubin and Fabiyan Pemble-Belkin.
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