Dixon Place Spring 2021 Production Season with Four Commissioned Puppetry Premieres In-Person and Online at Dixon Place

Dixon Placeannounces its Spring 2021 Production Season, premiering four commissioned puppetry productions performed for in-person and virtual audiences, with video on demand (VOD) streaming available immediately following the live premieres. In-person performances will take place at 161A Chrystie Street, New York, NY. Tickets are $10.50-$35 and can be purchased online http://dixonplace.org/productions-2021/.MINEby Shayna StrypeApril 21, 22, 23, 24, 2021 at 7:30pm EST (Live performances, live stream only)Available to stream through May 4, 2021A mountain, mined of her insides, collapses into rubble. Near the wreckage, a marriage ends and the home grieves the loss of the family it once housed. Underground, a groundhog hoards an enormous collection of the family's discarded sentimental items. As the Rubble, the Home, and the Groundhog attempt to reassemble the remnants of their crumbled histories, their worlds begin to merge and intertwine. Mine uses a variety of puppetry styles, live-feed projections, stop-motion animation, wearable sculptures, and humor to weave together themes of nostalgia, excess, and the destructive human urge to colonize land, bodies, and minds. Approx. run time: 55 minutes. Rated E for Everyone.Unicorn Afterlifeby Justin PerkinsMay 5, 6, 7, 8, 2021 at 7:30pm EST (Live performances with limited in-person audiences)Available to stream through May 18, 2021A Unicorn, a beast of pure goodness and light, wakes in a black void and discovers, horrified, that it's dead; but in the hands of a team of puppeteers, it lives again and looks for a way to escape its past, and maybe escape its future too.Unicorn Afterlifeis a grimy, synthesizer dream ballet about fantasy, greed, gender, glitter and the power of belief, designed and directed by Justin Perkins. Approx. run time: 60 minutes. Rated E for Everyone.NEW MONY!by Maria CamiaMay 19, 20, 21, 22, 2021 at 7:30pm EST (Live performances with limited in-person audiences)Available to stream through June 1, 2021Step into the colorful, comical, spiritual, sci-fi, psychedelic world of Aricama where we explore duality and ancestry with puppets, body costumes, Toy Theater, original live music, and projections in this full-length workshop production. In the human cloning family business, Allimah lives a quiet, regimented life with her parents on a tiny blue planet. But after experimenting with life, she recovers in a hospital. Slowly, her dreams become reality as she finds herself related to the prestigious Utopian planet Aricama, the land of practice, play, and healing. Will she be able to live a normal life after aligning with her truth? Join Allimah in her most groundbreaking awakening yet! Approx. run time: 65 minutes. Rated PG.Bill's 44thby Andy Manjuck & Dorothy JamesJune 2, 3, 4, 5, 2021 at 7:30pm EST (Live performances with limited in-person audiences)Available to stream through June 15, 2021The streamers are hung, the punch has been spiked, and the cake is just begging to be eaten! Now all Bill has to do is wait for his guests to arrive. But waiting is hard. Bill's 44th is an original comedic show that brings two puppeteers together to create one (very worried) protagonist. Many styles of puppetry, raucous balloons, and a cheeky piece of crudit all collide to examine the pitfalls of impatience and the wonder of loneliness. Approx. run time: 55 minutes. Rated PG.These Dixon Place Commissioned Productions are made possible with private support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation,Howard Gilman Foundation, Cheryl Henson & the Jim Henson Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Scherman Foundation,andShubert Foundation; and public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs with the City Council, and the NY State Council on the Arts w/the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NY State Legislature.About the ArtistsShayna Strypeis a theater, film, and puppetry artist based in Brooklyn. Her latest film,Our Mine, was commissioned by Heather Henson and Handmade Puppet Dreams. Her shortfilmPink Fluffy Hopewas awarded Best NY Film in the LA Puppetry Guild's 48 hour Film Festival in 2020. In 2019, she was Director of Puppetry for Pig Iron Theater Company and Mimi Lien'sSuperterranean. Shayna was an Artist in Residence at the Object Movement Puppetry Festival in 2018 where she created a multimedia puppetry piece calledAntrak. She has an MFA at Sarah Lawrence College. For more on Shayna, visitshaynastrype.com, follow her on Instagram@woosieparty, or check her out on Facebookhere.Justin Perkinshas appeared in works by Ping Chong + Company, Basil Twist, Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Tom Lee, Lake Simons, Patti Bradshaw, Puppet Cinema, Unitards, imnotlost, and more. Justin's works have been presented at NYC venues including Dixon Place, 14th St Y, Center at West Park, Jim Henson Carriage House, and FlameCon. Justin is a curator at Object Movement Puppetry Festival, a residency program for puppet artists;and the Director of Programs at New Country Day Camp. For more on Justin andUnicorn Afterlife, follow them on Instagram@itsjustmejustinpand@unicorn_afterlife.Maria Camiais a visual theatre artist who creates spiritual/sci-fi plays, puppets, spiritual clothing, illustration, comics, and social media videos with the intention to globally inspire healing and play. Maria performed original work for La Mama, 7 Daughters of Eve's Church Service, FEAST, Great Small Works, Dixon Place, The Center @ West Park's Object Movement, and Pan Asian Repertory Theatre. She is a 2020 Jim Henson Workshop Grant Recipient and a participant in DP's Puppetry Residency Program, both in support of her first full length puppetry productionNew Mony!premiering May 2021. For more on Maria, visitmaricama.comor follow her on Instagram@themaricama.Andy Manjuckis a Brooklyn-based puppeteer, director, and voiceover artist. Recent work: Puppetry:Chimpanzee(Nick Lehane);The Plastic Bag Store;The Pigeoning(Robin Frohardt);Made in China;Baby Universe;Saga(Wakka Wakka);UAE 48th National Day(Betty Productions);Petrushka(NY Philharmonic Orchestra, Giants Are Small), VO:Adam Ruins Everything(TruTV);Unavowed(Wadjet Eye Games);Whispers of a Machine(Clifftop Games);MooseTube(GoNoodle).Bill's 44th, co-created with Dorothy James,was developed with Puppet Lab at St. Ann's Warehouse, the New York State Puppet Festival, and Dixon Place, with support from the Jim Henson Foundation. Saturday nights, Andy isaninternon theLate Night Puppet Talk Show with Special Guest, a 100% live, 100% improvised puppet catastrophe on Saturday nights at 10pm ontwitch.tv/talkpuppet2me. For more info,visitwww.andymanjuck.comor@andymanjuck on Instagram.Dorothy Jamesis a Brooklyn-based puppeteer, educator, and maker of tiny things. She's performed with Basil Twist (Hansel & Gretel, Michigan Opera Theatre), Wakka Wakka (Made In China,The Immortal Jellyfish Girl), the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (Petrushka,Giants Are Small), the Rockettes (The New York Spectacular, Radio City), and puppeteers for the new BBC children's seriesMoon and Me. Her work has been seen at the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage,Jim Henson Carriage House, St. Ann's Warehouse, 59E59, Dixon Place, La MaMa, and overseas in Norway and the Czech Republic. Dorothy is a co-creator ofBill's 44th, for which they received a Jim Henson Foundation Grant; and isco-creator/internof theLate Night Puppet Talk Show With Special Guest, a 100% live, 100% improvised puppet catastrophe ontwitch.tv/talkpuppet2me. More info:dorothy-james.comand Instagram@instadeej.About Dixon PlaceAn artistic incubator since 1986, Dixon Place (DP) is non-profit institution committed to supporting the creative process by presenting original works of theater, dance, music, puppetry, circus arts, literature and visual art. Presenting over 1000 creators a year, this local haven inspires and encourages diverse artists of all stripes and callings to take risks, generate new ideas, and consummate new practices. The artist's experience is given top priority through our professional atmosphere and remuneration, and their process is enhanced by our adventurous audiences. With a renewed commitment to racial equity and justice, Dixon Place is a local haven for creativity as well as an international model for the open exploration of the creative process. After spawning DP in 1985 as a salon in Paris, Ellie Covanpioneered the organization in her NYC living room for 23 years. Organic development and expansion, DP is now a leading professional, state-of-the-art facility that remains at the heart of the NYC experimental performance scene. In compliance with Covid19 restrictions, DP's live programs were suspended March 13, 2020. Deeply committed to artists and patrons, DPbegan presenting virtualliterary, dance, & theater programs onDP TVinApril '20. The theater is reopening inMay 2021 for in-person performances. For service to the community, DP has received a NY Dance & Performance Award (a Bessie), two Obies, a BAXten Award, the NY Innovation Theater Foundation's Stewardship Award, CUNY's Edwin Booth Award, and the Alliance of NY State Arts Organization's Celebrate the Arts Award for outstanding contributions to NYC. Many artists, such as Deb Margolin, Blue Man Group, John Leguizamo, Lisa Kron, David Cale, Penny Arcade, and Reno began their careers at Dixon Place. Over the years, DP has also been privileged to present performances by established artists, such as: Justin Vivian Bond, Taylor Mac, Lily Tomlin, Wallace Shawn, Craig Lucas, BD Wong, James Lecesne, John Fleck, Kate Bornstein, Ethyl Eichelberger, Holly Hughes, Karen Finley, Kate Clinton, Peggy Shaw, Mac Wellman, Big Art Group; A.M. Homes, Rick Moody, and Oscar Huelos; Mark Dendy, Jane Comfort, Sarah Michelson, Douglas Dunn, Paul Taylor 2, and Yoshiko Chuma; Vernon Reid, Diamanda Galas, Martha Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Suzy Roche, Maggie Roche, and They Might Be Giants. For more information, visitdixonplace.org.