DRUNKFISH OCEANRANT
Photo courtesy of the artist
A J-pop extravaganza in the style of Rakugo with one, Fishy Fisherman, who loves bourbon whiskey. What is Rakugo? Quite literally, it means “fallen words”: the art of storytelling where one must be seated on a cushion in seiza (that way of Japanese sitting that hurts most Westerners.) The fisherman who casts his net into a sad ocean of radio-listening, radioactive fish, and is soon joined by draggy fishy ocean creatures who are all attempting to retell a horrific experience that has been lost in the tsunami-like waves of time.
A co-production by Built for Collapse and Kristine Haruna Lee.
Collaborating Artists: Written and Performed by Kristine Haruna Lee; Directed by Sanaz Ghajarrahimi; Composed by Kathryn Hathaway; Choreography by Ben Hobbs; Lighting by Dan Stearns; With Andrew Butler, Lauren Swan-Potras, Stevo Arnoczy & Vincent Santvoord
About Kristine Haruna Lee: Kristine Haruna Lee is a playwright, director, and performer living in Brooklyn, NY. She has performed nationally and internationally with artists such as Taylor Mac, NAATCO, The Talking Band, Andrea Geyer, and Antony and the Johnsons. Her work has been presented at Joe’s Pub (Drunkfish Oceanrant), Ars Nova (She’s Sleep), Bushwick Starr (Plum de Force, TROIKA), and Dixon Place (These Robes, Those Robes and She’s Sleep) and has been developed with The Propeller Series, Target Margin’s Lab Series, Asian American Writer’s Workshop, 2nd Generation, and New Dramatists. She has received a Dixon Place Artist Residency and is a recipient of the New Dramatists Van Lier fellowship. She holds a BFA from NYU Tisch, and is an M.F.A playwriting candidate at Brooklyn College.
About Built for Collapse: Built for Collapse is an award-winning New York City-based company committed to building multidisciplinary work that challenges theatrical form. Work is developed through an ever-evolving process that involves original writing, music and choreography inspired by found texts, political events, film and visual art references, and pop culture. An “ambitiously subversive young troupe” (Time Out NY), their work has been presented at New Ohio Theatre’s Ice Factory Festival, HERE, 3LD Art & Technology Center, Ars Nova, JACK, Dixon Place, Galapagos Art Space, the Brooklyn Lyceum, Grace Exhibition Space, Riverside Park, Access Theater and elsewhere; and internationally in Prague, Krakow, Rome and Berlin. It has been described as “sexy yet heartbreaking” (Prague Post) and “an amazing theatrical experience” (NYTheatre.com). They have received grants from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and The Drama League. They have been awarded residencies at 3-Legged Dog Art & Technology Center, Goldex Poldex Gallery in Poland, LaGuardia Performing Arts Lab, The Tank and the Hangar Theatre. They are currently in residence at The Drama League as part of their New Directors/New Works program. Artistic Directors: Sanaz Ghajarrahimi, Ben Hobbs & Vincent Santvoord.
Upcoming for Drunkfish Oceanrant: Premiering at La MaMa Club Spring 2014