My Onliness-Daniel Irizarry-Suzanne Fiore Photography-w7Performed with American Sign Language interpretation

Previews begin September 2, Opens September 7, Runs through September 24

New York, NY – One-Eighth Theater, New Ohio Theatre and IRT Theater proudly present the world premiere of MY ONLINESS, directed by Daniel Irizarry, with text and lyrics from Witkacy by Robert Lyons, original music by Kamala Sankaram and artistic sign language direction by Alexandria Wailes and Kailyn Aaron-Lozano.

MY ONLINESS, presented in American Sign Language and English, is a fable/cabaret/circus entertainment about a mad king’s desperate attempt to impress a mysterious petitioner. (The poor writer is simply collateral damage!) Is this a glimpse of our dystopian future? Or just the structure of human consciousness?

Laced with songs of torture, truth, and tenderness; with fully integrated American Sign Language performed by two “Mediums” of the royal court; this is sexy, visceral, dark buffoonery reimagined as The New Absurd; a homage to Stanislaw Witkacy and his theories of “pure theatre.”

The cast includes Daniel Irizarry, Cynthia LaCruz, Rhys Tivey, Dickie Hearts, Malik Paris and musicians Joanie Brittingham and Drew Fleming.

The production team includes Alexandria Wailes and Kailyn Aaron-Lozano (Co-Directors of Artistic Sign Language), Kamala Sankaram (Composer), Kori Ruston (Creative Producer), Jungah Han (Set Design), Christina Tang (Lighting Design), Brittani Beresford (Costume Design), Lawrence Schober (Sound Engineer), Zilvinas Jonusas (Technical Director), and Hannah Staffer and Emily Hart (Production Stage Managers). Additional support is provided by the Seoul Institute of the Arts.

MY ONLINESS runs September 2 - 24, 2022 in a limited engagement at New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher St.) in New York City. Previews begin September 2 for a September 7 opening.

The September 15 performance at 8:30pm EST will include a live-stream educational collaboration between La MaMa’s Culture Hub and the Seoul Institute of the Arts.

Tickets are $25 and $17 for students and seniors. Running time is approximately 80 minutes. Schedule varies - for exact days and times, and to purchase in-person or live-stream tickets, visit NewOhioTheatre.org.

Coinciding with the world premiere, Mercer Street Books, a brand-new small press, is publishing their inaugural book this fall, My Onliness & Others: Select plays by Robert Lyons. The collection of plays will be available for sale in the lobby.

Check out the show’s trailer at https://vimeo.com/613686342.

One-Eighth Theater has been creating new, bold, international theater since 2008. One-Eighth has been both a New York Times and Time Out New York critic’s pick, developed work as a part of the New Ohio Theater and IRT’s Archive Residency, a four-year resident artist at INTAR Theatre, and a two-time resident artist with Mabou Mines. Artistic Director Daniel Irizarry has directed The Inspector General at NCPA in Mumbai, India, staged the world premiere of Witkacy’s The Madman and The Nun with Turkish actors in Ankara, Turkey and the world premiere of Mishima’s Busu at the Tennessee Williams Festival in Provincetown, USA. Traveling and connecting is the key to their company and they have proudly shared sweat all around the world - offering acting labs and kicking ass sharing theatrical pieces along the way! More info at www.one-eighththeater.com.

New Ohio Theatre is a two-time Obie Award-winning theatre under the leadership of Robert Lyons (Artistic Director) and Jaclyn Biskup (Creative Producer). The New Ohio serves New York’s most adventurous theatre audiences by developing and presenting bold work from today’s vast independent theatre community. They believe that the best of this community, the small artist-driven ensembles and the daring producing companies that operate without a permanent theatrical home, are actively expanding what theatre is, how it’s made, and who makes it. From their home in the West Village’s historic Archive Building, the New Ohio provides a high-profile platform for downtown’s most mature, ridiculous, engaged, irreverent, gut-wrenching, frivolous, sophisticated, foolish and profound theatrical endeavors. For info visit NewOhioTheatre.org, Like them on Facebook at /NewOhioTheatre, and follow on Twitter and Instagram at @NewOhioTheatre.

IRT Theater is a grassroots laboratory for independent theater and performance in New York City, providing space and support to a new generation of artists. Tucked away in the old Archive Building in Greenwich Village, IRT’s mission is to build a community of emerging and established artists by creating a home for the development and presentation of new work. Producing Artistic Director is Kori Rushton. More info at http://irttheater.org.

Audience members are required to provide proof of vaccination and must wear a N95 or KN95 mask to be admitted into the theatre. Masks will be available to audience members if they arrive without one. Masks are required at all times for all audience members. Performers will not be masked.

# # #

 

ARTIST BIOS

Daniel Irizarry (Director/Performer) is a Puerto Rico born international director, actor/performer and educator based in NYC. He is the Artistic Director of One-Eighth Theater, best known for his productions of The Maids (New York Times Critic’s pick) and UBU (Time Out NY Critic’s pick), as well as his work at Pregones Theatre, INTAR and at the Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival. He has directed and performed YOVO (written by Robert Lyons) in NYC, Poland, Cuba and South Korea. He has directed and taught workshops in India, Turkey, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, UK, Argentina and his beloved Puerto Rico. He holds an MFA in Acting from Columbia University and is currently an Assistant Professor at Seoul Institute of the Arts. www.one-eighththeater.com

Alexandria Wailes (Co-Director of Artistic Sign Language) received a 2020 Obie Citation for Sustained Excellence as an Artist and Advocate and a Lortel nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play For Colored Girls at The Public. Broadway: Deaf West’s Spring Awakening, Big River (Tony Honoree for Ensemble). Off Broadway: Playwright Horizons I Was Most Alive with You, A Kind of Alaska. As Director of Artistic Sign Language: the revival of Broadway’s Children of a Lesser God and King Lear. She is also a co-founder of BHo5.org.

Kailyn Aaron-Lozano (Co-Director of Artistic Sign Language) is a multi-media DASL. Film, theater and music are her mediums. She’s worked on Sesame Street’s ASL music videos, DPAN’s “Reverse Polarity,” ATT’s “Different Colors” and more. This Los Angeles native co-wrote “Sign Language Music Videos: Language Preservation or Appropriation?” Kailyn’s goal is to raise mainstream attention to Deaf and ASL.

Kamala Sankaram’s (Composer) work has been presented at NYC’s Prototype Festival, HERE Arts Center, Opera on Tap and the American Lyric Theatre; select regional theaters include Minnesota Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Shakespeare Theatre Company and LA Opera, as well as internationally at Tête-à-Tête Opera (London, England). She is a recipient of the Jonathan Larson Award. www.kamalasankaram.com

Robert Lyons (Text & Lyrics - from Witkacy) writes dark, satirical comedies, literary adaptations, and experimental performance texts. He has more than twenty NYC premieres to his credit, including: YOVO (NYC/Poland/Cuba/South Korea), Death of the Liberal Class (“Essential theatre for the next generation” – Huff Post), Red-Haired Thomas (“a sweetly fractured fairy tale” – NY Times), PR Man (featured in American Theatre), and No Meat No Irony (“Ralph Nader channeling Preston Sturges” – Time Out NY). Robert is also the founding Artistic Director of the New Ohio Theatre.

PRESS INVITATION/COVERAGE REQUEST:

Tue 9/6 at 7pm, Wed 9/7 at 7pm, Fri 9/9 at 7pm, Sat 9/10 at 7pm

(Press are welcome to attend shows beyond official press dates)

 

Press contact: David Gibbs/DARR Publicity 646-744-7200 or david@darrpublicity.com