'Death Valley' opens tonight: Just call it 'The Walking Deadwood'

By Meredith Deliso

It was only meant as a joke. Williamsburg roommates Dan Rogers and Adam Scott Mazer were brainstorming a serial to do for the genre-bending theater group Vampire Cowboys when Rogers threw out the words “zombie Western.”

“He said it as a joke originally,” said Mazer. “But I said, ‘That’s brilliant, that’s what we have to do.’ ”

And they did, with Mazer writing 15 minutes bursts of the play “Death Valley” last fall, setting up for its first full-length production at the Bushwick Starr, with Rogers directing.

“Once you get into it, there’s a lot in common between the Western genre and the horror zombie genre,” said Mazer. “It’s all about freedom and justice, and what happens in a world where there are no real rules, and laws aren’t binding.”

The dark comedy, which was written before this summer’s anticipated blockbuster, “Cowboys and Aliens,” is set in 1880 on the Texas-New Mexico border and follows Lawrence, a smooth-talking cowboy, and his occasional lady friend, Adele, who soon find themselves in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

As far as influences go, it’s a little bit “Deadwood,” a little bit “True Grit” (the remake), a little bit “28 Days Later,” a little bit “Walking Dead” (the comic book).

“Dan coined the term ‘The Walking Deadwood’ to describe the tone and general idea of the show,’ ” said Mazer. “That’s pretty accurate.”

“Death Valley” at the Bushwick Starr (207 Starr Street between Irving and Wyckoff Avenues in Bushwick, no phone), June 23-July 10. Tickets $15. For info, visist www.thebushwickstarr.org.

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One big art weekend in Brooklyn

By Meredith Deliso

This spring, art is synonymous with the first weekend in June.

In neighborhoods all across the borough from June 2 to 5, unique festivals will bring dance, music, workshops and, of course, art to the galleries, streets and bars of Red Hook, Bushwick, Downtown and Coney Island. It’s a choose your own arts adventure.

  

Red Hook Fest

Are you ready for the remix? On June 3 and 4, the Red Hook Fest returns to the waterfront, with two days of arts events that encourage audience participation, from photojournalism to drawing. That doesn’t mean it’s all you; performers include La Roka RPM and Full Circle, hip-hop, break-dance salsa mash up; Tato Torres y Yerbabuena, a Boricuan roots band; Paul Josephs and MetroSonics; hip-hop theater duo Climbing PoeTree; and the all-female dance collective INSPIRIT.

Red Hook Fest at PS 15 [71 Sullivan St. between Richards and Van Brunt streets in Red Hook, (718) 330-9280], June 3, 6-9 pm; Louis J. Valentino, Jr. Park and Pier (Coffey and Ferris streets), June 4, 11 am-7 pm. Free. For info, visit www.redhookfest.com.

ArtWalk

In Boerum Hill, ArtWalk takes over Atlantic Avenue on June 4 and 5 with art, live music and restaurant deals. Since forming six years ago, the annual arts festival has gradually spilled out into neighboring galleries and studios, with Downtown, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights hosting more than 200 artists at home studios and such diverse sites as Proteus Gowanus, the Micro Museum, Flavor Paper, the Brooklyn Ballet, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and, in a sneak preview, Roulette Brooklyn, which is opening this September.

ArtWalk, June 4-5, 1-6 pm. Locations vary. Free. For info, visit www.artwalk2011.com.

Bushwhack Series and Bushwick Opens Studios

It’s one mad weekend in Bushwick, with the Bushwhack Series from June 2 to 5 and the Bushwick Open Studios from June 3 to 5. The former bunkers down at the Bushwick Starr, with four days of new experimental performance art, while the latter can be found at galleries and street corners-turned-galleries all over the neighborhood. With more than 350 shows promised, they have to improvise.

Bushwhack Series at the Bushwick Starr [207 Starr St. between Wyckoff and Irving avenues in Bushwick, (212) 868-4444], June 2-5 at 8 pm. Tickets $12. For info, visit www.thebushwickstarr.org; Bushwick Open Studios from June 3-5. Venues vary. Free. For info, visit artsinbushwick.org.

Artists Day Out

Maybe it’s a coincidence, but June 4 also happens to be National Drawing Day. To celebrate, Kensington-based artist Sherry Davis is throwing the Coney Island-themed Artists Day Out at Ruby’s on the Boardwalk. Artwork relevant to the area will be shown indoors and out, and artists are invited to add their mark to the fabled bar, which closes after this summer as landlord Central Park Amusement looks to expand its theme park. Fittingly, artists are invited to fight the man and create a “Save Ruby’s” mural inside.

Artists Day Out at Ruby’s [1213 Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island Avenue in Coney Island, (718) 372-9079], June 4, 1-6 pm. For info, visit drawingday.org.

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Girl games

By Meredith Deliso

Are you ready for some gender politics?

A new play from Williamsburg’s Half Straddle Theater Company celebrates high school football, except that the players who punt, pass and kick just happen to be girls.

“I started watching ‘Friday Night Lights’ and got really obsessed,” said playwright Tina Satter, who was inspired to write “In the Pony Palace/Football,” beginning at the Bushwick Starr tonight. “In ‘The Pony Palace,’ they’re female athletes who happen to play football, and it’s not even commented on.”

Of course, it’s difficult to make a play about girls who play football and not have some comment on it. And yes, on one level, it’s about slyly subverting gender norms by reclaiming the most American — and masculine — of sports. But it’s also about team spirit, camaraderie and the teenage politics of high school, as the loose plot follows the girls from practices to parties to games — where they’re even aided by cheerleaders and a live marching band playing Lady Gaga songs.

“It’s almost a weird idealization, like, let’s not even deal with boys,” said Satter. “It’s just girls and they get to rule.”

“In the Pony Palace/Football” at the Bushwick Starr (207 Starr St. between Irving and Wyckoff avenues in Bushwick, no phone), Feb. 8-26. Tickets $18. For info, visit www.thebushwickstarr.org.

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Ziggy ‘Starr’ dust as Bushwick theater stages Bowie puppet show

By Meredith Deliso

Talk about modern love.

A Bushwick theater is dedicating its stage to one of the most innovative musicians of the last 40 years — David Bowie.

In “Band of Puppets,” running Nov. 11-14 at the Bushwick Starr, theater troupes and performance artists are looking to the Thin White Duke for inspiration, pulling from his diverse catalogue to create live music videos in the style of the golden age of MTV rock epics like “Thriller” — all using puppetry theater.

“The art form of puppetry has become more and more interested in the use of video, media and dance,” said Sue Kessler, artistic director of the Bushwick Starr, who curated the show with Amanda Maddock. “We thought, why don’t we embrace that puppetry revolution and really theme the show after it?”

Bowie was a natural choice, thanks to his visually inspiring, iconic imagery. And the result are pieces that incorporate marionettes, large-form puppets and shadow puppetry, in addition to video projections and dancers, set to songs ranging from “Underground” to “Fame.”

“We really love the way ‘Fame’ sounds, and we love dancing,” said Eliza Laytner, who’s creating a piece with Tanner Slick based on the hit song, incorporating masks,  puppets, dancers and video projection. “Movement is the most important element in puppetry. We picked the song since the beat is so strong and fun to move to.”

Other songs getting their own puppet redux include “Diamond Dogs,” “Modern Love,” “Scary Monsters” and the minor 1980s hit “Cat People,” which No. 11 Theater turned to for inspiration.

“There’s something so overblown and ridiculous about the song,” said Julie Congress, who’s collaborating with Ryan Emmons on their piece. “We knew that we wanted to blend different genres and art forms — make it puppets meets movement theater meets mask work — so we wanted a song that didn’t take itself too seriously.”

Bowie would be proud.

Band of Puppets at the Bushwick Starr (207 Starr St. between Wyckoff and Irving avenues in Bushwick, no phone), Nov. 11 and 12 at 8 pm, Nov. 13 and 14 at 4 pm and 8 pm. Tickets $12, free or children under 18 for the weekend matinees. For info, visit www.thebushwickstarr.org.

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Wagner on steriods

By Alex Rush

Forget holy deities — the gods of 1980s-era America were World Wrestling Federation stars.     

At least that’s the case in a Bushwick theater’s version of the 19th-century opera, “Das Rheingold,” or “Ring” cycle — a a rock stage play production of the very same opera that the Met is staging right now.

Of course, there’s a lot less pretension in Performance Lab 115’s ’80s rock ’n’ roll take on Wagner’s classic work (how can there not be when the immortal characters are pro-wrestlers and the lowly humans are represented by janitors?).

“I grew up with 1980s pro-wrestling and these characters are as bombastic as gods,” explained director Dave Dalton. “Pro-wrestlers are a great contemporary equivalent to Wagner’s gods because they have such big egos.”

And ego is central to Wagner’s main theme: the quest for power.

”The storyline can serve as a metaphor for American foreign policy in the 1980s,” Dalton said. “There is that central dilemma involving bending the rules to do what one believes will be good for the world.”

Americana characters and setting aren’t the only things that make Performance Lab 115’s “The Ring Cycle” distinct. 

Instead of classical music, this Brooklyn play features a soundtrack of classic ’80s metal, like “Rock You Like a Hurricane” by The Scorpions. There will also be burlesque dancers replacing the traditional production’s mermaid characters.

And unlike Wagner’s “Das Rheingold,” which is comprised of four parts that can total a 17-hour long performance, this modern take on parts one and two is only two hours long.

“We encourage multiplicity of interpretations of classic works,” Dalton said. “Because most people will probably never get to see the full version of the Ring Cycle, so we wanted to make it more accessible.”

Coincidentally, Performance Lab 115’s “The Ring Cycle” is opening only five days after The Metropolitan Opera House’s $16-million performance of “Das Rheingold” closes for the season. This Brooklyn version’s budget may be a lot smaller, but its eccentricities (and $15 tickets) make it worth watching. 

And make sure to look out for Performance Lab 115’s version of parts three and four down the road.

“We’re working on developing a script for the final two parts of ‘Ring’ right now,” Dalton said. 

“We hope The Met runs parts three and four of ‘Das Rheingold’ at the same time we do our version.”

“The Ring Cycle: Part 1 and 2” at The Bushwick Starr (297 Starr St. between Wyckoff and Irving avenues in Bushwick, no phone), Oct. 14-30, Thursday through Sunday at 8 pm. In previews Oct. 7-10. Tickets are $15. For info, visit www.thebushwickstarr.org.

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Watts up at the Bushwick Starr

It’s difficult to take your eyes off of Reggie Watts.

It’s not just the giant afro, or the way he comically moves it about. The Williamsburg-based performer has a way of captivating an audience, keeping listeners hanging on his every word, waiting for the punchline.

Part of it has to do with the fact that the punchline isn’t delivered in a wrapped box with a bow, but through his meandering delivery that, with little exception, is always new — improvised in a stream-of-conscious-like manner.

“You never know — Reggie works with whatever’s out there in the universe. He’s a true improviser,” said Sue Kessler, managing director of the Bushwick Starr, which hosts Watts as part of its summer music series on Aug. 7. “He’d bang on anything that’s around.”

What can be sure, the performance will be a mix of Watts’s monologuing, singing, beatboxing, funny voices, and experimenting with his loop machine. He doesn’t need a band, just the machine and some time to add the layers — sounds of beats, cymbals, and nonsensical words that combine for an out-of-this-world sound (see evidence below). If there’s a piano, he’ll sit there, too, and play an ironic ballad. Anything goes.

Reggie Watts at Bushwick Starr [207 Starr St. between Wyckoff and Irving avenues in Bushwick, (212) 868-4444], Aug. 7 at 8 pm. Tickets $8 at the door. Also with Sharon Van Etten and Mike Visser. For info, visit www.thebushwickstarr.org.

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So, you think you know Tennessee?

The Bushwick Starr follows up its rock opera with a complete 180 - rare plays by Tennessee Williams.

The mind behind such classics as “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” also made the dense flop “Camino Real." This festival takes a look at the more experimental side of Williams.

“The Unknown Williams" runs March 11-27. Here's a look at what's in store:

WEEK 1

This is the Peaceable Kingdom

Lead Artist-William Burke

A place of love without fear; or a nursing home riot.

Thursday, 3/11 7:30pm

Friday, 3/12 9:30pm

Saturday, 3/13 7:30pm

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The Case of the Crushed Petunias "A Lyrical Fantasy”

Lead Artist- Sherrine Azab

This stylized and flamboyant piece serves as a timeless adulthood fable with subtle notes of Hitchcock and “The Twilight Zone” in flavor.

Why Do You Smoke So Much, Lily?

Lead Artist- Kate Foster

A haunting tale of unfulfilled dreams, parental pressure and personal inertia.

Escape

Lead Artist- Andrew Simon

Three members of a chain-gang can only sit and wonder as a fourth makes a run for his freedom.

Friday, 3/12 7:30pm

Saturday, 3/13 9:30pm

Sunday, 3/14 7:30pm

Monday, 3/15 7:30pm

WEEK 2

Municipal Abattoir

Lead Artist- Diana Konopka

On a city street somewhere, one man stops another to ask for directions. A short play about politics and punctuality.

The Day On Which A Man Dies

Lead Artist- Jake Hooker

Not a play about the death of a Great Painter: it is the death of painting, of art, and of greatness.

Wednesday, 3/17 7:30pm

Friday, 3/19 9:30pm

Saturday, 3/20 7:30pm

Sunday, 3/21 7:30pm

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The Purification

Lead Artist- Kathleen Kennedy Tobin

Williams' only verse drama, a tale of passion, murder and blood atonement in territorial New Mexico, will be performed by puppets on a small stage.

Thank You, Kind Spirit

Directed by Alisa Matlovsky

At the end of Chartres Street, in the Vieux Carre of New Orleans, Mother Duclos presides over a spiritualist service.

Thursday, 3/18 7:30pm

Friday, 3/19 7:30pm

Saturday, 3/20 9:30pm

Monday, 3/22 7:30pm

WEEK 3

Now the Cats with Jewelled Claws

Lead Artist- Donya K.Washington

Ladies Who Lunch in a cafe that's a refugee from a Toulouse Lautrec design with a James Dean-esque (gay) biker duo - what else could it be but a Williams play?

Thursday, 3/25 7:30pm

Friday, 3/26 9:30pm

Saturday, 3/27 7:30pm

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The Pronoun 'I'

Lead Artist- Michael Levinton

A mad Queen of England, nearly nude narcissistic boy-beloveds, hot bedraggled revolutionaries, and a great gilded assertion of the first person singular.

Green Eyes

Lead Artist- Travis Chamberlain

The text of this compact erotic thriller becomes an outlet for one woman’s outrageous fantasy, testing the limits of sexual tolerance in a backhanded satire of heterosexual matrimony.

The Remarkable Rooming-House of Mme. Le Monde

Lead Artist- Shannon Sindelar

In this perverse and brutal work, comic horror plays out with some of Williams’ most outrageous characters.

Wednesday, 3/24 7:30pm

Thursday, 3/25 9:30pm

Friday, 3/26 7:30pm

Saturday, 3/27 9:30pm

All tickets $12.

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Become a citizen of New Hope City

Pass Kontrol are gearing up for their new play, "New Hope City," at the Bushwick Starr, and you can too.

The producers are hoping for a cult following similar to “Rocky Horror Picture Show” or “Hedwig and the Angry Inch," and while you haven't seen the play yet, you can fall in love with the music (available for download here).

You can also start thinking about a costume. Pass Kontrol frontman Oliver Ralli encourages everyone to come dressed for the play - "whatever the future means to you."

Hoverboards, anyone?

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High flying in Brooklyn

Starting this Thursday, The Montessori Circus Show comes to town, an avant garde performance featuring aerialists, hula hooping, puppetry, wood chopping, baking, and some clowning thrown in for good measure.

With its 15-foot ceilings and wood ceiling, The Bushwick Starr makes for a perfect venue for the circus, one of several in Brooklyn able to accommodate a trapeze.

"There seems to be a big following for it," says Sue Kessler, managing director and curator of The Bushwick Starr, who's had several trapeze troupes come through since opening as a performance space two years ago.

With its loft and industrial spaces, Brooklyn at large has been a breeding ground for young trapeze artists. Here's a look at some of the main players and places specializing in trapeze, many of which also have classes so you can get in on the fun as well:

Lollo Brigitta: A trapeze duo comprised of Lollo Romanski and Cecilia Grimm, the two created The Montessori Circus Show for the Bushwick Starr, which is their first full-length show and also features the talents of acrobats Jocelyn Davis and Ana Carolina. It starts this Thursday, December 3, and runs for two weekends only.

Ruby Streak Studio: Founded by performer/instructor Natalie Agee, this Sunset Park-based studio offers private and semi-private instruction in trapeze, handstands, acrobatic partnering and more, to people of all levels. Studio rental space to qualified students and professionals is also available. The space frequently hosts performances as well, though the next event is non-aerial related - a holiday craft fair on December 20.

Espana-Streb Trapeze Academy: This Williamsburg space, a former warehouse near the waterfront, gets you soaring with classes in the flying trapeze. Classes and workshops are held in the Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, which is also home to Streb's Pop Action school, as well as performances by the company. Want to get flying? Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. are devoted to a beginner trapeze workshop (drop ins welcome), costing $425 for 10 weeks. Email trapeze@streb.org to book a spot.

The Trapeze Loft: Tanya Gagné (one half of the world-famous Wau-Wau Sisters) and local circus artist teaches the craft at the Trapeze Loft in Williamsburg. Founded in 1999 as a place to learn and improve circus skills in a professional yet relaxed and supportive environment, the Loft offers classes in juggling, hula hooping, tightrope, handstands, lyra, doubles trapeze, and more. An upcoming highlight includes aerial silks lessons from Kellie Vella, for both beginner and advanced levels. For two weeks starting December 18. Email kvelour@yahoo.com to sign up.

Galapagos Art Space: The DUMBO venue has seen its fair share of aerial arts, including shows from The Trapeze Loft and various runs by aerial troupe Suspended Cirque. Each week, the cabaret space hosts its Floating Karaette, a variety show sure to have an acrobatic or two. In fact, this Friday's features Germany aerial adonis Jan Manke and aerial beauty Lisa Natoli as some of its featured acts. And on December 19 and 20, the aforementioned Suspended Cirque brings its 12 Acts of Christmas to the space, a holiday spectacular up in the air.

Unata Aerial Yoga: Michelle Dortignac, a member of Suspended Cirque, is at the helm of this yoga studio, which combines traditional yoga with the physical training of an aerial acrobat, so you're suspended as you stretch your spine. The main class location in Brooklyn in Williamsburg kicks off its winter schedule this Saturday for those interested in checking it out. All levels welcome.

LAVA: Artists like Lollo Romanski and Cecilia Grimm have trained with LAVA, a troupe of artists who perform original works that combine dance, theater and acrobatics, training in their Prospect Heights studio. Last seen in Brooklyn performing "we become," LAVA is currently on tour for that show. The studio also provides classes in acrobatics and trapeze for kids and adults. The winter session begins January 4, with registration beginning December 7. Check its website for the complete schedule.

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Montessori Circus Show comes to town

By Meredith Deliso

Forget parading elephants and cheesy emcees.

The Montessori Circus Show is a Brooklyn-style stage spectacular, an avant-garde piece featuring aerialists, hula hooping, puppetry, wood chopping, baking, and some clowning thrown in for good measure.

Conceived by trapeze duo Lollo Birgitta, the show was commissioned by The Bushwick Starr following the two’s sold-out show last spring during the theater’s Bushwhack Series, an experimental performing arts festival. The production is the second piece to be produced by the two-year-old theater, following their run of “Rocky Philly” this past summer, and will be the first full-length show for Lollo Romanski and Cecilia Grimm, who comprise Lollo Birgitta.

Though there are decidedly diverse elements included in the night, “I didn’t want it to be a variety show,” says Grimm, who, in addition to Romanksi, will be joined by acrobats Jocelyn Davis and Ana Carolina on stage. “We wanted to create small stories within a bigger story.”

Specifically, the show will feature circus acts and vignettes inspired by classic 19th century American carnivals as it plays upon aspects of the Montessori method, specifically the idea that physical activity should be used in a child’s absorbing abstract concepts and learning practical skills. Fittingly, the show answers the question “What do I want to be when I grow up?” as it weaves its various acts together, performed on the stage and in the air at the Bushwick space, which, with its 15-foot ceilings, is a natural for aerial stunts.

“Our space is a good-sized theater, but you feel really close up to the action,” says Sue Kessler, managing director and curator of The Bushwick Starr. “It’s so exciting to see aerial work and these kinds of things in an intimate space like ours. You’re just so used to watching trapeze from very far way in more of an arena setting.”

When Kessler and partner Noel Joseph Allain got the Starr Street space in 2002 to use for their theater company, they never envisioned performances would take place above the stage. But since opening as the Bushwick Starr in 2007 after the theater company fizzled, they’ve hosted Lollo Brigitto, as well as Agee’s Ruby Streak Studio and the San Francisco-based company Bow and Sparrow, among others.

“(Aerial work’s) always been really received well, especially by the Bushwick community,” says Kessler. “I think it’s great that a lot of theaters are embracing this art form. We’re very happy to be a part of it.”

In addition to trapeze work, the Montessori Circus Show will also feature stilt walking, juggling, live baking (to include more of the senses), and finger puppetry, which will involve animal shapes projected onto a large screen. So, in a way, there will be elephants.

The Montessori Circus Show runs at the Bushwick Starr (207 Starr St.) December 3-5 and December 10-12. All shows are at 8 p.m., with tickets $10. Advance purchase is recommended.

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A familiar story retold in the Bushwick Starr's 'Rocky Philly'

By Tiffany Yannetta

Get ready to search for your inner Rocky.

Beginning September 9, The Bushwick Starr and Van Cougar theater company will present “Rocky Philly,” a 90-minute play that interweaves the classic story of the “Rocky” films with testimonials of everyday experiences from Philadelphia residents.

The Bushwick Starr is a not-for-profit performance venue that was created in 2001 for the theater company Fovea Floods. By 2004, the space was converted into a full black-box venue. In the following years, as Bushwick began to develop as a creative hot spot, the venue opened its doors for other performance artists and theater companies to introduce new types of experimental performance to the growing Bushwick community.

“Rocky Philly” will be presented at the Bushwick Starr by the Van Cougar theater company, founded in 2007. Since then, it has been the company’s objective to remind people of the importance or oral storytelling. To do this, they aim to create an internet database of stories recorded and collected by people of all ages, genders, races and locations.

The performance of Rocky Philly will be no exception, as it is largely composed of stories from Philadelphia citizens. Their goal is also to compare the relationship between personal, intimate storytelling, and facets of modern entertainment, such as television and movies.

During the play, the cast will retell the story of Rocky, as well as recite recorded stories of Philadelphia residents. The stories are woven together, while keeping the theme of the Rocky films intact, to provide insight into the development of a story, from beginning to end.

The play features Rebecca Lingafelter as a female Rocky, Noel Allain as Adrian, and Marty Brown as Mick. Mark Sitko will be directing the performance, with dramaturg Erica Rippy coordinating the stories.

Opening night of the performance is September 9 at 8 p.m., and will run till September 12, picking back up from September 17-21, with a special Monday night showing for industry audience. The last leg will run from September 23-26. There will be an early curtain the last night of the performance, followed by a closing night reception.

Tickets, which are $10, are available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/77242.

For additional information, visit www.thebushwickstarr.org and www.vancougararchive.org.

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Don't miss a moment of the Bushwhack Series

Get “bushwhacked” all over again when The Bushwick Starr’s theater festival, The Bushwhack Series, returns this month to the burgeoning arts neighborhood.

After premiering last year to a positive reception, the festival looks to once again provide a platform for both the neighborhood’s up-and-coming and established performance artists, by providing free rehearsal space; access to their full technical package; the support of their on-site technical director and staff; the opportunity to work with the Starr’s resident designers; a project stipend; and, of course, a weekend of public performances.


The diverse group involved includes those working in theater and dance to film and aerial performance, with new short works being performed this May 14, 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23.

There’s the Lollo Birgitta Duo Trapeze, a duo act that has performed work with Ruby Streak Trapeze Studio, Arts In Bushwick Open Studios, and various arts and performance spaces in the NYC area, including Glasslands Gallery in Williamsburg, since forming two years ago.

Closer to the ground, 31 Down Radio Theater creates audio-based performance work with a heavy emphasis on imagery and mood. There is an invested use of new technologies and interactive systems to create and control the performances; all of the works are automated and controlled by the performers on stage.

Formed in 2001 in Brooklyn, the company’s designers and collaborators include Ryan Holsopple, Mirit Tal, Shannon Sindelar, Jon Luton, Benjamin Brown, TaraFawn Marek and Andreea Mincic.
Artist Ryan Bronz, founding member of The National Theater of the United States of America, performs an original piece, though you may have seen him previously in the company productions of Garvey and Superpant$:Episode #23, Episode #17 of our Fathers, Garvey & Superpant$: Placebo Sunrise, What’s That On My HEAD!?!, and Moliere’s Don Juan, among others. Original pieces include recently “tap tap” and “Randy Lineset Twenty” at the Ontological Theater.

Multi-disciplinary artist Julia May Jonas (who performs under the auspices of Nellie Tinder) has been presented locally at HERE Arts Center, PS122, La Mama, Galapagos Arts Space, The BRIC, BAX, University Settlement, The Bushwick Starr and Tonic. She recently presented her full-length solo show, Take Heart, as part of the SoloNOVA festival, which premiered at PS122 in June 2008.

Last but not least, live artist Jake Hooker has traveled in the same circles as these artists, performing at HERE, La Mama, The Ontological-Hysteric Theatre, The Kitchen, and The Chocolate Factory, among others. Most recently, Jake created and performed a lecture/performance called [What We Should Judge When We Judge...] Loneliness, Loss, Regret, Redemption: Four (4) Lectures on the Recalcitrant Human Condition, Viewed Through The Prism of Modern Art as Refracted Through The Aesthetic of the Ancients...On Sensation presented by the Ontological-Hysteric Theater. He is currently making a new lecture, part of which will be presented by the CATCH Series this October in Brooklyn.

The Bushwhack Series, curated by Sue Kessler and Noel Allain, is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Funding for this project has been provided in part by: The Brooklyn Arts Council, The New York City Dept. of Cultural Affairs, The Judith Rothschild Foundation, The Faro Foundation, Brooklyn Brewery, and the generosity of individual contributors.

The series runs May 14, 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23 at 8 p.m. The Bushwick Starr is located at 207 Starr St. Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door or by reservation at www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/64079.

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