WONDER/LUST
A quest for the wondrous has inspired artists, scientists and explorers for centuries. The iconic 1933 film King Kong presents the story of a man on a journey to find the elusive and terrifying monster, Kong. WONDER/LUST simultaneously follows his journey as well as the making of the film itself. As actors screen test, rehearse, and perform scenes from King Kong on a soundstage, the film’s plot is woven with contemporary reflections on the themes it presents. The result is a kaleidoscopic view of wonder and the human thirst for it.
Credits
Performed at
HERE Arts Center, Soho, New York City, July 2009.
Conceived, Directed and Designed by
Andrew Ondrejcak
Production
Dramaturgy by Anne Seiwerath
Music and Sound by Konstantin Fritz
Costume and Styling by Mary Catherine Muir
Hair Design by Miki Mori
Make-Up design by Jun Funahashi
Photographs by Georgia Nerheim
Production Management by Lydia Andersen-Tarnell
The cast is as follows:
- Red-Faced Man with Gin on His Breath Doug Barron
- Man Who Never Smiles Manuel Fihman
- Small Woman with a Large Headache Jennifer Claire Dees
- Woman with an Extremely Long Neck Nicole D'Amico
- Man with Big Shoulders Jason Winfield
- Woman with Ginormous Eyes Yuki Kawahisa
- Bad Girl Gone Good Rosebud Baker
WONDER/LUST was originally workshopped at the CSV Cultural Center, New York City, January 2009. Production Management by Tom Palmer Projects. The creative team was the same as above. The cast was as follows:
- Charles Chemin
- Nicole D'Amico
- Jennifer Claire Dees
- Tammuz Frankel
- Yuki Kawahisa
- Christopher James Raynor
- Jennifer Soo
The Treachery of Image
Synopsis
Four short plays are yoked together, embodying a theater of juxtaposition—the difference between what we see and what we hear, what we hear and what we think, what we think and what we do. Just as the individual assimilates disparate personal experiences into a unique perspective on the world, The Treachery of Image attempts to discover truth through the juxtaposition of experience, image, and word in works by Samuel Beckett, Caryl Churchill, and Harold Pinter. This series of plays examines how everyday life –image, memory, fear, love, culture, personal history– defines our perception, informs what we believe to be truth, and, ultimately, shapes our behavior.
Credits
- Request Stop by Harold Pinter
- This is a Chair by Caryl Churchill
- Catastrophe by Samuel Beckett
- Night by Harold Pinter
Performed at
BRIC Studios, New York, July 2008.
- Compiled, Directed, and Designed by
Andrew Ondrejcak - Costume and Styling by Mary Catherine Muir
- Technical Direction by Omar Jaslin
- Photographs by Georgia Nerheim
with
- Chris Bannow
- Nicole D'Amico
- Jennifer Dees
- Michael Goldlist
- Christel Halliburton
- Jessica Krueger
- Jacquelyn Landgraf
- Alessandro Magania
- Jennifer Soo
- Ben Wood
The Seven Woes of a Libra Prophet
Synopsis
Royal Robertson (1936-1997) was an American self-taught artist and self-proclaimed prophet. Born in St. Helena’s Parish, Louisiana, Robertson looked to the heavens for inspiration –both as God’s dwelling-place and as an abyss where extraterrestrial life thrives. His drawings and homemade signs fused images of contemporary battles with interplanetary travel and biblical scriptures, prophecies, and damnations. Influenced by the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still, Robertson invented a futuristic world of invaders, weapons, barbarellas, and utopias.
Taking inspiration from Mr. Robertson’s life and work, The Seven Woes of a Libra Prophet explores how our ideas of the unknown shape our behavior and perception of the world.
Credits
Performed at
303 Bond Street, New York, December 2007
Conceived, Directed and Designed by
Andrew Ondrejcak
Created by
- Joe Basile
- Jennifer Dees
- Tim Eilot
- Thomas J. F. Regan III
- Jennifer Soo
- Amanda Street
- Jason Winfield
Photographs by Georgia Nerheim
Original Music by Susan Enan
Scenes:
- Procession
- A Pale Blue Dot
- Klaatu Barata Nikto
- Chat with Me
- Gort Enters the Picture
- The Abyss I (Have you ever?)
- The Abyss II (Kierkegaard)
- The Abyss III (Professor Marvel)
- Jenny Soo as Orson Welles
- The Prowler: Bash it with a Garden Hoe
- Entreat Me Not to Leave Thee
- The Seven Woes
- The Last Scene
Akropolis or The Prototype
Synopsis
A retelling of Orestes is interlaced with sketches of contemporary Americans confronting the struggles inherent in wartime. Visitors to the Athenian Akropolis find themselves reflected in the history and culture they have come to investigate, and their stories metaphysically intersect with those of the people who lived long before. Through these characters and their timeless struggles, the play explores broader questions of cultural inheritance and personal legacy.
Credits
Performed at
303 Bond Street, New York, August 2007
conceived, directed and designed by
Andrew Ondrejcak
created by
- Joe Basile
- Nicole D’Amico
- Christel Halliburton
- Tim Eliot
- Jacqueline Lynch
- Tami Mansfield
- Jason Winfield
Scenes:
- Prologue
- A Report on the Cultural Geography of Argos, Greece and Argos, Indiana
- The Fourth of July
- The Family Tree
- Direct Directions
- Not Too Terrible to Mention
- The Score (a symphony)
- The Ill-Premised War
- The Composition of Decomposition
- The Messenger Speech
- Ground Zero
- When The Dawn Bites
- Salus Per Acque
- Deus Ex Piñata
- Epilogue: A Stab at the Metaphysics