PUNCH KAMIKAZE: UBU ROI! Comes to Dixon Place

Drama of Works and Dixon Place are proud to present PUNCH Kamikaze: UBU ROI at Dixon Place on Wednesday, May 9th at 7:30pm. Artists taking on the re-imagining of this absurdist masterpiece are Judith Barnes & Isidore Elias, Megan Barbour, CTW OP Allstars, Heather Denyer, Ali Dineen & Tom Cunningham, Jumping Jackalope Collective, Drama of Works, and Trade Wind Theatre. All artists will present scenes based on the original play by Alfred Jarry. The evening is hosted and curated by Drama of Works.

"PUNCH Kamikaze" is the term we coined for the crazy experiment we did during our Alice in Wonderland puppet festival in the fall of 2007. Artists of various styles and puppet experience are assigned chapters or sections of a play, book, film, or historical event and then we present the pieces in order. No limitation is given on interpretation or puppet style used. It makes for the weirdest interpretations of things...

Past PUNCH Kamikaze themes have included WWII, Empire Strikes Back, Wizard of Oz, Christmas Carol, the works of Shakespeare, the works of Kafka, and the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Now we are tackling Alfred Jarry's absurdist masterpiece UBU ROI. When it premiered in 1896 it was met with riots. It closed that same night. It is a bawdy and rude dissection of power, greed, and the evil they engender. Some artists will be sticking to the original, while others will be making some obvious comparisons to the current administration...

NOTE: This show was inspired by Paula Vogel's Presidents' Day BAKE-OFF!

DRAMA OF WORKS Drama of Works, formed in 1999, is an award-winning multidisciplinary theater company most often pitting puppet and actor on stage together. They have performed at seven international festivals to date, are the recipients of seven Henson Foundation grants, two grants from the Rhode Island Foundation, a Puffin grant, a grant from the Fund for US Artists at International Festivals, a Chashama/NEA Performance Development Award and an EST/Sloan Project Commission, among others. On top of creating new work for all ages, they are also the hosts and curators of the critically acclaimed PUNCH puppet slam.

DIXON PLACE Dixon Place is a non-profit organization founded in 1986 to provide a space for literary and performing artists to create and develop new works in front of a live audience. While other venues of its kind have since died off, or now only present established artists, Dixon Place remains at the heart of the New York experimental performance scene. Taking risks is crucial to the life of Dixon Place, its artists and audiences. Dixon Place's primary commitments are to bring artists and audiences together through live performance in order to expand the understanding of the creative process and its final product, and to provide a supportive environment for emerging artists to present new work. Over the last twenty-five years, Dixon Place has successfully maintained its intimate atmosphere and unique environment while increasing its programming to fulfill the need for performance opportunities for the New York community of performing and literary artists. In addition to many awards and industry recognition, Paper Magazine named Dixon Place "The Most Essential and Necessary Theater Space" in New York.

The Dixon Place Lounge is open before and after the show, and you can bring your drink in the theater! Bar proceeds directly support DP's artists and mission.

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