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| Theater in Quarantine Continues with HYPOCHONDRIAC!, taken from Molière | |
| Last Edit: Official_Press_Release 01:35 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 01:32 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| THEATER IN QUARANTINE CONTINUES WITH HYPOCHONDRIAC! taken from Molière with improvements by David McGee and Joshua William Gelb Performed live by Joshua William Gelb from his closet with special guest Jessie Shelton Publicity Images Theater in Quarantine is a new performance laboratory from writer/director/performer Joshua William Gelb dedicated to the exploration of the theatrical experience inside the digital space. On Thursday, July 2nd, Theater in Quarantine will premiere HYPOCHONDRIAC!¹ the first installment of a new adaptation of Molière's The Imaginary Invalid by David McGee and Joshua William Gelb. Featuring Gelb, Jessie Shelton (Hadestown), and Alex Hawthorne (Theater Mitu). Movement Direction by Katie Rose McLaughlin (Hadestown). Sound by Alex Hawthorne. Scenic/Lighting Design by Marika Kent. Video Design by Justin Nestor (Theater Mitu). This new work will premiere live on Gelb's YouTube channel at 7PM and 9PM. Each 20-minute performance will be followed by an opportunity to chat with Gelb about Theater in Quarantine and the challenges of making work in isolation. In support of the ongoing #BlackLivesMatter protests, all donations sent to Theater in Quarantine's Fractured Atlas page will be passed on directly to The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. - America's premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Shortly after the coronavirus pandemic closed all theaters, Gelb transformed a closet inside his East Village apartment into a white-box theater. Gelb says, "When everything shut down, I set out to adapt to the digital form without sacrificing the integrity of the live event, or what we might consider our shared theatrical values. I'm also interested in figuring out how we might continue responsibly collaborating even while we social distance." For the past two months, Gelb and his collaborators have been releasing pre-recorded studies in movement, clown, camera orientation, and perspective as they build towards more complex theatrical experiences. Weeks ago, they premiered the project's first live-stream performance: an adaptation of Kafka's The Neighbor followed by an unauthorized edit of Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape. And as New York City begins to reopen amid vital protests and the threat of a second viral wave, Theater in Quarantine remains dedicated to producing new live experiences while brick and mortar theaters remain closed. "How can we artfully push against the boundaries of this new social distance to theatrically embrace the limitations of remoteness," asks Gelb. "I often think about Peter Brook's invocation of the empty space when standing in front of my closet. How can this utilitarian container, so uncomfortably small, so disproportionate in its aspect ratio, become a stage for the imagination? And it's here I find the central metaphor, and perhaps appeal, of the entire project - it's about as obvious as you might expect - that my attempts not only to make art in this confinement but to exist whatsoever, are not so dissimilar from what many of us are experiencing. There is frustration, and boredom, and lots of loneliness. But there is also great potential and for once an expanse of time that we have the chance to fill not with mere anxiety but with the thoughtful, rigorous creative impulse." About the Artists Joshua William Gelb is an East Village-based director, performer, and librettist currently building theater out of his converted closet christened the Theater in Quarantine. Prior to the pandemic, Gelb created the musical interrogation of the 1927 Al Jolson film Jazz Singer (New Yorker critic's pick) which was commissioned and built-in residence at Abrons Arts Center with Nehemiah Luckett. Previously in residence at Abrons, Gelb conceived and directed the sesquicentennial anniversary reimagining of America's supposed first musical The Black Crook (NYT Critic's Pick), about which he lectured at Harvard University's Houghton Library. His Drama Desk-nominated adaptation of A Hunger Artist, created with Sinking Ship, continues to tour. Other work has been presented at Ars Nova, LMCC Process Space, New Ohio, Joe's Pub, Polyphone Festival, and Target Margin. Gelb participated in the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, is an associate artist with Sinking Ship, and teaches Theater Collaboration at Cooper Union. joshuawilliamgelb.com EVENT DETAILS Theater in Quarantine presents HYPOCHONDRIAC!¹ by Scott R. Sheppard take from Molière's The Imaginary Invalid with improvements by David McGee and Joshua William Gelb Featuring Joshua William Gelb, Jessie Shelton, and Alex Hawthorne Movement Direction by Katie Rose McLaughlin Sound by Alex Hawthorne Scenic/Lighting Design by Marika Kent Video Design by Justin Nestor Thursday, July 2nd @ 7PM and 9PM 7PM Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiJmv1H-3Kg 9PM Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=442l-GZQpCE Theater in Quarantine is free to view online, but all donations sent to his Fractured Atlas Page will be directed immediately to the LDF.: https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/jv-squad |
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