THEATER IN ASYLUM
Picture
Five lead artists.
Five rules.
Jimmy's No. 43
April 2, 2012, 7-10 p.m.

Lead Artists: 
Randall Benichak
Christine Drew Benjamin
Katie Palmer
Greg Redlawsk
Sandra Susser
 

Rules:
a misused object
a phrase repeated five times
a non-verbal conversation
an excess of silence
a five-word alliterative phrase

five IN ASYLUM is a night of experiments in which five artists create 10-minute performances that adhere to five rules: a misused object, a phrase repeated five times, a non-verbal conversation, an excess of silence, and a five-word alliterative phrase. Following each performance a short talk-back will provide the audience with the opportunity to engage with the creators.

Event produced by THEATER IN ASYLUM in conjunction with Jimmy's No. 43
Personnel Coordinator: Katie Palmer
Lighting Design: Dan Stearns
Talk-back Moderator: Paul Bedard
Katie Palmer and Paul Bedard, Artistic Directors of THEATER IN ASYLUM
Katie Palmer and Paul Bedard


Click here to see full photo gallery


Rikki and Nag

Composed by Randall Benichak - Performed on Guitar and Didgeridoo

At the hole where he went in/Red-Eye called to Wrinkle Skin. Hear what little Red-Eye saith:/Nag, come up and dance with death! Eye to eye and head to head,/This shall end when one is dead. Turn for turn and twist for twist-/Hah! The hooded Death has missed. -Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book

Randall Benichak - Music is not merely a collection of sounds in time, but a language unto itself that conveys meaning and triggers deep emotion in ways ordinary language cannot.
Randall Benichak
Randall Benichak
Randall Benichak and Paul Bedard
Randall Benichak and Paul Bedard
Randall Benichak
Randall Benichak's guitar and didgeridoo


Unruly Women

Written and Directed by Christine Drew Benjamin
Performed by Christine Drew Benjamin and Shelley Fort

"our father who art in a penthouse//sits in his 37th floor suite//and swivels to gaze down//at the city he made me in//he allows me to stand and//solicit graffiti until//he needs the land i stand on//in my darkened threshold//am pawing through my pockets//the receipts, the bus schedules//the matchbook phone numbers//the urgent napkin poems//all of which laundering has rendered//pulpy and strange//loose change and a key//ask me//go ahead, ask me if i care//i got the answer here//i wrote it down somewhere//i just gotta find it//i just gotta find it" --Coming Up. lyrics/music by Ani DeFranco

Christine Drew Benjamin is a playwright, director, and photographer that has an affinity for good strong words, and loves having mini Beyonce dance parties in her room by herself.
Christine Drew Benjamin
Christine Drew Benjamin
Christine Drew Benjamin and Shelley Fort
Shelley Fort
Shelley Fort
Picture
Shelley Fort and Christine Drew Benjamin


Revolution in 1
Conceived by Katie Palmer
Co-created and Performed by:
Laura Aristovulos, Jake Lasser, Rebekah Levin, Lizzy Palmer, Marchelle Thurman

"United. . .there is little we cannot do in a host of co-operative ventures. Divided. . .there is little we can do. . .for we darenot meet a powerful challenge, at odds, and split asunder." - John F. Kennedy

Revolution in 1 is an ongoing work by THEATER IN ASYLUM. Click here to learn more!
Revolution in 1
Laura Aristovulos
Laura Aristovulos
Rebekah Levin
Rebekah Levin
Marchelle Thurman
Marchelle Thurman
Jake Lasser, Marchelle Thurman, Lizzy Palmer
Jake Lasser, Marchelle Thurman, and Lizzy Palmer


Landfall

Written by Greg Redlawsk, Performed by Natalie Kropf and Greg Redlawsk

"I spent a decade and a half – almost my entire life in that house, in that room. And now it’s been swept away as if it was never there at all. And when you look around everything is so calm… you could imagine we were just out sailing on a normal day…"

Greg Redlawsk is a Director/Playwright who moonlights as a Teaching Artist with NYTW and as a Children's Fitness instructor with MyGym NYC.
Greg Redlawsk
Greg Redlawsk
Natalie Kropf and Greg Redlawsk
Natalie Kropf
Natalie Kropf
Natalie Kropf and Greg Redlawsk
Natalie Kropf and Greg Redlawsk


A Torrent of Phrases
Written and performed by Sandra Susser

A Torrent of Phrases questions the available means of communication that exist between individuals.  The poet Jack Gilbert wrote, "How astonishing it is that language can almost mean/ and frightening that it does not quite."  This statement speaks to the heart of "A Torrent of Phrases."  Directed at someone who can hear but not listen, this poem voices the struggle inherent in finding the right words with which to articulate our turbulent emotions. 

Sandra Susser teaches seventh grade Humanities in the city, is continually fascinated by the manipulation of language, and has immense love for peanut butter.
Sandra Susser
Sandra Susser
Sandra Susser


THEATER IN ASYLUM would like to thank Nik and the staff of Jimmy's No. 43 for their continued support of our work.

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Theater in Asylum (TIA) is a New York-based theater company founded in 2010 to challenge and empower our community. TIA joyfully pursues a rigorous research and an ensemble-driven approach to theater-making. We create performances to investigate our past, interpret our present, and imagine our future. We prize space to process, space to question—asylum—for ourselves and our community.

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  • ABOUT
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    • The FTP Show
  • CABARETS
  • COLD READINGS
  • SUPPORT
  • MORE
    • MISSION
    • COMMUNITY
    • TRANSPARENCY