Mugwumpin Announces The World Premiere of IN EVENT OF MOON DISASTER

San Francisco's adventurous, award-winning devised theater ensemble Mugwumpin returns next year in the world premiere of IN EVENT OF MOON DISASTER, an immersive theater experience about space exploration, contingency planning and the watchful eye of the Moon. Co-presented by Z Space in association with Intersection for the Arts, In Event of Moon Disaster opens in previews on January 3 and runs through January 28. The opening night is scheduled for Friday, January 5 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25, $15 for previews, and may be purchased online at zspace.org/moondisaster or by phone at 415-626-0453.

"Fate has ordained that the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will stay on the Moon to rest in peace." Thus begins the speech that Nixon would have given had the Apollo XI astronauts not returned to earth in 1969. "The words remain as a poignant artifact of the worst-case-scenario contingency planning behind one of our country's most ambitious and hopeful endeavors," said Mugwumpin Artistic Director Natalie Greene, who also directs the show. "The title, In Event of Moon Disaster, is taken directly from this speech which has served as the launch pad for our play."

Transforming Z Below's black box theater into "a radically different performance space," In Event of Moon Disaster takes audiences on an intimate journey backwards and forwards in time, blending story, video, live music and dance in an investigation of its source text. Among the questions it addresses are: What secret truths are hidden in the cosmos? What magic powers does it hold? And how do we plan for an uncertain future?

The performance unfolds under the watchful eye of the Moon. In folklore and mythology, for thousands of years the Moon has been characterized as female and potent. In Event of Moon Disaster dramatizes the opposition between this idea of a mystical, feminine Moon and the patriarchal forces that propelled the space race and compelled nations to colonize beyond the Earth.

Mugwumpin developed the play collaboratively over a period of two years, with each company member wearing some combination of hats - writer, performer, designer, director, producer, dramaturge. Ultimately, certain individuals took the lead in one area or another. In Event of Moon Disaster is performed by Stephanie DeMott, Isa Musni, Nayeli Rodriquez, Soren Santos, Erin Mei-Ling Stuart and Don Wood, with production and video design by Wolfgang Lancelot Wachalovsky and Darl Andrew Packard, lighting design by Ray Oppenheimer, sound design by Teddy Hulsker, costume design by Christine Crook and props, stage and production management by Allie Khori. Natalie Greene directs.

The play marks Greene's first turn as Mugwumpin artistic director. In this position she succeeds Christopher W. White. A company member since 2010, Greene has performed in Future, Motive, Power; The Great Big Also; and Super:Anti:Reluctant, among other Mugwumpin productions. In addition to her work with Mugwumpin, she is Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Performing Arts & Social Justice at the University of San Francisco, where she directs the intergenerational performance company, Dance Generators. She is a longtime artist-in-residence with the San Francisco Arts Education Project, and has performed in the companies of Deborah Slater, Erin Mei-Ling Stuart, Kim Epifano, Mary Armentrout and more.

"I love the way Mugwumpin's creative inquiry is not restricted by traditional disciplinary structures or hierarchies," said Greene. "Mugwumpin artists are invited to bring their full selves into the room and onto the stage, and that's why I got involved. For this production, we're working with performers from three different generations, which is one of the ways that we're consciously trying to diversify the voices in the room. I am honored now to serve as the company's artistic director during this time of heightened social consciousness, and I look forward to broadening the company's engagement with issues that matter within our community."

ABOUT MUGWUMPIN
Now entering its 14th season, Mugwumpin is an award-winning devised theater company, based in San Francisco, part of a wave of young American companies which are expanding the art form by questioning the primacy of text and narrative in theater and playfully transgressing received notions of the audience-performer relationship. Since its founding, Mugwumpin has created 15 evening-length productions and many smaller performances. The company has earned honors at the San Francisco Fringe Festival, and has toured internationally in Europe and North Africa. Its productions have earned sold-out houses and critical praise for their "provocative images and ideas" and their "urgent call for us to question our ideals" (Howlround).

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