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God, Love, Death, Afterlife, Perversion and Depravity; philosophical subjects that even after 300,000 years of human existence still remain theoretical and controversial- and none better to unpack them then River L. Ramirez through their heightened, experimental comedic style that their mother often calls “disturbing and not for me.” Gathering highbrow and lowbrow authorities alike, from musicians to characters, comedians to writers, this series promises to be an unhinged meeting of minds for the ages.
God, Love, Death, Afterlife, Perversion and Depravity; philosophical subjects that even after 300,000 years of human existence still remain theoretical and controversial- and none better to unpack them then River L. Ramirez through their heightened, experimental comedic style that their mother often calls “disturbing and not for me.” Gathering highbrow and lowbrow authorities alike, from musicians to characters, comedians to writers, this series promises to be an unhinged meeting of minds for the ages.
God, Love, Death, Afterlife, Perversion and Depravity; philosophical subjects that even after 300,000 years of human existence still remain theoretical and controversial- and none better to unpack them then River L. Ramirez through their heightened, experimental comedic style that their mother often calls “disturbing and not for me.” Gathering highbrow and lowbrow authorities alike, from musicians to characters, comedians to writers, this series promises to be an unhinged meeting of minds for the ages.
With dramaturgy as the core of her artistic practice, Jillian is theatermaker as archaeologist. She investigates the processes and workings of time, ritual, identity and structure to unearth the ways theatrical forms can impact the larger cultural landscape. Through her residency at University Musical Society (University of Michigan), she researched her new play, Tignon, and a lecture/performance work, Songs of Speculation, which premiered at JACK in November 2018. Jillian was recently commissioned to create brand-new work for the critically-acclaimed Soho Rep. and holds an MFA in Dramaturgy from Columbia University.
In this darkly comic and irreverently silly solo show, Ely Kreimendahl explores the intersection of queer motherhood, pregnancy, sobriety, identity and navigating being both a comedian and a psychotherapist. With storytelling, stand-up, sketches and songs, the question remains: how does that make you feel?
A shocking scandal occurs in a small town mayoral race. Two campaign advisors scramble to prep the talking points for their candidate’s interview to explain his actions. But… what should he say? Is he apologizing? Is he resigning? How much can your candidate suck before you think “F*** it, man, game’s over”? It’s a clash of principles and politics in this short, comedic play.
A darkly comic BedTalk and investigation of Eleanor’s time in a psychiatric ward, how she wound up there, what it was like and whether or not the whole system should be burned to the ground. Fair warning: things get dark — but hopefully still funny. Please note, this show does include jokes about suicide.
In a vibrant collage of viral online videos — #femmeboy TikToks, tearful coming out YouTube videos, targeted gay Instagram Ads and more! — this “Gen Z fever dream” dives DEEP into how queer people perform their identities online and how digital media sells queerness. We’re finally asking the question: is the Charmin Bear gay? (Answer: Probably, girl!)
Step into the mind of Joel Perez, who will be broadcasting live from the Ars Nova Hub on West 54th Street, as he loops his way through songs and stories about growing up as a queer Puerto Rican ex-Pentecostal. Watch as he humorously inspects the many dumb layers of the human experience. Part cabaret, part stand-up, part storytelling, fully STUPID.
Young Ricky gives the divas a run for their money and turns the performance of a lifetime in this glittery pop concert for the ages — fighting inner demons and generational trauma on the way — all within the four walls of his bedroom. It’s Black AF, it’s Queer AF and, crucially, it’s Beyoncé AF.
What even IS nonbinary anyway? A computer program? A tropical drink? A word that caused you to have an existential crisis when you finally realized: oh my god, I think I might be one of those, but I’m married and have two kids already and what am I supposed to do now? I have SO many bras! Join drag artist Harvey Gent (Jasmine Joshua) in a hilarious and wholly autobiographical queer spectacle, featuring pregnancy, trekking across tidepools in your underwear and peeing one’s pants in front of Very Important People.
You say you’re sorry, but what good is that? What do we do with an apology — or without it? Some options include: dance, scream, fight, write a letter, pass a bill, build a sculpture, make a wish and eat an egg. Join us on a kaleidoscopic blend of dance, visual art, memoir, critical theory and more as we explore (and attempt to get to the bottom of) what it truly means to apologize.
Why the f*ck are you so ashamed to love Black women — especially the fat ones? While we know the systemic culprits are anti-Blackness and fatphobia, this irreverent variety show offers an opportunity to skewer these ‘norms’ while centering fat Black women in all of their splendor, love and humanity.
A nonsensical yoga teacher; an earnest artist; a self righteous multi-level marketer; an overblown philosopher. In this outlandish rumination on YouTubers and the culture that makes them, Collin Kelly spins a web of performance, stories and dance to critique superficiality and overused opinions while simultaneously celebrating an unabashed humanity.
In 2005, Ana Verde’s mom told her about her period via a PowerPoint presentation, and now, she’ll regale you with that same gift. Part biology lesson, part ode to growing up in the 2000s, <i>Your Changing Body</i> is a short non-fiction film about exorcising shame and (still) trying to come to terms with the fact that one’s body is always changing.
Drawing inspiration from TV shows like Wonder Showzen and Sesame Street, influencer apology videos, viral tweets, shadow puppetry, memes and medical infomercials, Masque On channels them all to create an in-valid perspective of what it means to be disabled, online and laughing. Drawing on the principles of Black radical traditions and disability justice, this joyful series of comedic shorts explores all the things we hide in “ability.”
Curated by Vision Resident JJJJJerome Ellis
Re:collections is a performance film remembering lost language in the body, across land and in alternate universes. Following a recent return to the artist’s motherland in Taiwan during the pandemic, the performance is a first-person account of returning to a site of medical and familial trauma years later. Moving through the artist’s intimate thoughts, the film explores the fallibility of time and ambiguousness of placehood in an ever-shifting disabled, immigrant body. Melding together new media performance and frameworks of traditional Chinese medicine, Taoist cosmology and quantum physics, the film interweaves the mundane with the magical, offering openings for grief, wonder and radical multiplicity.
Curated by Vision Resident JJJJJerome Ellis
Mahayla Laurence and Matt Gehring host a sneak peek at the inaugural comedy residency at Ars Nova: CAMP. Eight comedy groups will perform juicy teasers of their finale shows to come in June on Ars Nova Supra. A full tapas menu of comedy in just 90 minutes. A real appetizer sampler. This was written while hungry.
