Flying V Announces 2022 Season

With optimism, Flying V approaches 2022 as a rebooted inaugural season. The twelfth year of programming for the organization is the first year fully helmed by Flying V's new leadership team - Executive Director Katherine Offutt, and Artistic Leads Kelly Colburn, Tim German, Joey Ibanez, and navi. The DC area's premier nerd and pop culture performing arts organization spent the last year building and refining their Shared Leadership model, and in 2022, the company's three artistic wings plan to celebrate the aesthetic principles that have endeared Flying V to so many fans, while evolving the scope and values of its mission. This year, Monstress - the first mainstage production directed by Artistic Lead Kelly Colburn - shares the stage with exciting Flying V Fights: Pro Wrestling shows - produced by Artistic Leads Tim German and Joey Ibanez! And while the transmedia narrative DOCS - a devised digital experience from Artistic Lead navi - will live online, there's all sorts of pop culture infused events, edu-tainment, and workshops to enjoy IRL! FV22 has something for the nerd in everyone!

FV22

Flying V's 2022 Season includes multiple new devised works, the heart-pounding excitement of indie wrestling, and a year's worth of events and education. Additionally, the season moves forward many of the projects that were workshopped and developed in 2021.

According to the Artistic Leads, this programming explores the ever-growing definition of what it means to be a nerd. "For us, " said Artistic Lead Kelly Colburn, "nerd culture includes really any little niche that gets people super excited. Like, there are plant nerds, and performance art nerds. Where my Marina Abramović stans at?"

FLYING V THEATRE

For Colburn and her Theatre wing, this means creating spaces for new and extraordinary work in FV22, both directly and in collaboration with other artists. At the apex of the season, she will direct the devised experience Monstress, a collaboration with Flying V's R&D wing. Monstress reimagines the legacy of the Filipino folklore monster Manananggal through the lens of a fabulously famous YouTube makeup influencer. Designed for short bursts and small-batch audiences, this production debuts in October, and will feature an innovative fusion of live and digital performance, technological wizardry, and atmospheric and sensory immersion!

Furthermore, in FV22, the Theatre wing is hosting two amazing collaborators and their unique blend of entertainment! In August, Flying V is working to bring New York's Neo-Futurists to town for their critically acclaimed production Infinite Wrench, as well as their highly praised devising workshop. In May, DMV powerhouse Twanna Hines of Funky Brown Chick shares her newest one-woman show, Aftercourse, exploring the role of intimacy onstage (and in real life) during a mid-and-post-pandemic world. Aftercourse is offered in tandem with a workshop/lecture led by Hines in collaboration with local intimacy director Cessa Bettancourt.

In the spirit of creating spaces for theatrical growth, Flying V also presents Under the Wing, a developmental residency program for company members. Under The Wing began in 2021 with Jacob York's Initiative, produced by company member Em Whitworth, and in FV22, Flying V company members Dan Mori, Megan Reichelt, and Susanna Pretzer - in collaboration with playwright Iris Dauterman - bring their fantastical Swords & Sorcery one stab closer to the stage, while Ruben Vellekoop begins to string together his take on a traditional Dutch puppet fable, De Bulleketroet.

FLYING V FIGHTS

One wing over, wrestling nerds will be excited by the announcements coming from Flying V Fights Artistic Leads, Tim German and Joey Ibanez. As of this year, Flying V has a Maryland State promoter's license, as well as a 16' wrestling ring, so be on the lookout for 4 live wrestling shows in FV22. The first, Flying V Fights: Professional Wrestling - Technical Difficulties, premieres on January 29th at the Silver Spring Black Box, following a week-long, intermediate-level training intensive, co-hosted by Renaissance Rumble, with whom Flying V partnered to host a three day beginner level intensive in 2021. After that, Flying V Fights Pro Wrestling (FVF:PW) fans can mark their calendars for May 14th - 16th, October 8th, and December 3. Throughout the year, Flying V Fights will produce Into the Fighterverse matches and media that expand and enhance the longform FVF:PW storylines. You read that right - the storylines! While each of FV22's shows can be enjoyed as a standalone wrestling extravaganza, returning viewers can follow along as their favorite faces tackle their favorite heels - and the forces of evil - in a tale that tugs at the very souls of the fighters in Flying V's ring. As if pro wrestling couldn't get any more theatrical!

Additionally this season, Flying V Fights provides an opportunity for stage combat education, partnering again with the DC area's premiere community stage combat troupe The Noble Blades to present a Society of American Fight Directors Theatrical Firearms Safety Certification Course on May 21-22, 2022, taught by Robb Hunter.

FLYING V R&D

Meanwhile, at the intersection of performance, nerd culture, and technology, navi, the Artistic Lead of the R&D wing plans to spend FV22 reworking traditional concepts of art, community, and nerdy expression into something both oddly familiar and daringly uncharted.

At the center of that idea is DOCS - a devised transmedia narrative that blurs the line between audience and performers using digital, text-centric storytelling. navi - the showrunner and a co-deviser on the production, says: "We want to share a very modern story about us, you, and the internet, by way of group chats, memes, shared folders, private living documents, and text-based roleplaying!" DOCS was workshopped in Summer 2021 with a dedicated commitment to building care and healthy support into the creative process, as well as digital trauma-informed support to the audience participants. The returning team consists of navi, Jonelle Walker, and Deb Sivigny, with the addition of new devisers Mel Bieler and Kyra Corradin; Emma Kaywin returns as the trauma informed experience manager. DOCS shows up on screens in June.

Throughout FV22, Flying V R&D celebrates nerds, music, and comedy, with an assortment of exhilarating events to scratch every niche. Flying V continues its long running partnership with Noah Houlihan of +2 Comedy, and is excited to bring back the live version of the Adult Fan Fiction World Championship, where comedians and playwrights write and perform erotic fanfiction while at the mercy of a live audience and the "wheel o' smut". The event, which Flying V first hosted in 2020, returns to the stage in 2022, after several successful virtual iterations during the pandemic.

Diving deeper into the nerdy erotica pool, Flying V brings back 2021 artistic partner Maki Roll to present a scintillating night of Nerdlesque performances, along with her signature brand of nerdy burlesque workshops, through the beginning of May.

Before the 8-bit tassels can start swaying however, R&D invites you to witness The Body at the Silver Spring Black Box on April 2nd. Co-produced with CodAko Entertainment, The Body features an original poem-monologue by artist Shady Rose alongside a performance by DC-based soulpunk band Lightmare and a cast of burlesque, drag, and avant garde performers, in a riotous and energetic celebration of identity, visibility, and acceptance!

AND MORE...

Also in FV22, the R&D and Theatre wings of Flying V collaborate on two exciting educational projects. The first, NestChat, is a recurring digital feature named for the Flying V office/hangout space fondly referred to as "The Nest". NestChat is a digital roundtable that invites artists and creators into energetic conversations about art, the individuals who make it, and the spaces they share. The first episode releases in mid-February, and features Nerissa Hart, Maki Roll, and the members of Philadelphia-based Obvious Agency in conversation with host navi about creativity and digital humanity.

The final collaboration between R&D and Theatre is Are You Afraid of the Booth, returning for its second iteration in October! In 2021, Flying V birthed this day of introductory theatre tech workshops on commonly used stage software. Designed for directors, producers, performers, and audience members, the courses aim to demystify "theatre magic," give folks some new basic skills, and help theatre production teams work more smoothly through a clearer understanding of what exactly happens in that dark booth!

On the community front, the R&D wing also maintains and supports the community Discord server, where fans, artists, and everyone in between can hang out, talk shop, play games and trivia, and enjoy the virtual company of friends. As of FV22, the Flying V Community Discord has been active for over a year, with over 100 members and counting!

Overall, Flying V seeks to expound on their creative aesthetic history and amaze audiences old and new; provide spaces, opportunities, and resources for artists and collaborators; and create a vibrant community around all the weird nerdy joys that make us human. They hope to begin that in earnest in 2022. And they hope you'll join them.

NB: This press release was written prior to the Winter Holidays 2021, and it looks like everything has devolved into a fiery hellscape again, so... While the company would love to go ahead with all the neat things it has forecasted, Flying V is determined to keep audience and artist safety front of mind, and some of the planned events below may be subject to COVID-ability.

TL;DR? The season looks like this! ↓

January - March 2022

Flying V Fights Pro Wrestling: Technical Difficulties
Flying V Fights & Renaissance Rumble's Intermediate Wrestling Intensive
Adult Fan Fiction World Championships
NestChat Release: Convos on Digital Humanity
Kamishibai Workshop with Natsu Onoda Power
Acting for the Camera with Raymond Caldwell
The Body with CodAko Entertainment and Lightmare

April - June 2022

Under The Wing: De Bulleketroet by Ruben Vellekoop
Nerdlesque with Maki Roll
Flying V Fights Pro Wrestling Show #2
Aftercourse with Twanna Hines
Docs
Broadsword Class
SAFD Theatrical Firearms Safety Course
Under The Wing: Swords & Sorcery Staged Reading

July - DARK

August - September 2022

(Scheduling is still in the works!) The Neo-Futurists Infinite Wrench

October - December 2022
Flying V Fights Pro Wrestling Show #3
Monstress
Are You Afraid of the Booth workshop series
Flying V Fights Pro Wrestling Show #4

COVID PROTOCOLS: For Audiences: Flying V requires all staff, artists, workshop participants, and audiences to be fully vaccinated (including boosters) before entering a Flying V hosted event. Masks are required to be worn during events at all times by staff, artists, workshop participants, and audience members. The only exception to this if an artist or workshop participant is a) performing their set/act or b) performing a piece for their workshop leader and fellow classmates. Upon check-in, workshop participants/audience members will be required to show proof of vaccination status and fill out a screening questionnaire. Their temperature will be taken by a Flying V staff member, and their contact information will be recorded for any potential contact tracing needs.

Flying V commits to: Ensuring an Arts & Sciences certified Covid Compliance Officer is on site at all in-person events to ensure company and audience adherence to Covid Safety Protocols. Providing free PPE at all Flying V hosted events, to include hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, and disposable masks. Working with venues and production staff to ensure timely and appropriate cleaning of high-traffic areas and high-use items. Planning space usage conscientiously with a mind for limiting the number of folks in shared spaces as often as possible, and whenever possible, hosting meetings virtually. Adhering to all federal, state and local guidance regarding gathering limitations, contact tracing, and social distancing.

If you have further questions about the details and goals of the Flying V COVID Protocols, please email info@flyingvtheatre.com.

TICKETS: Tickets for Flying V's programming can be found as they're released on the Flying V website or directly at www.flyingv.thundertix.com. Afraid you'll miss a ticket drop? Sign up for the Flying V newsletter here!

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