RGS LAB Work #3
ICEBERG Sat. May 13th, 2023 at 7:30pm (EDT) NEW MULTIMEDIA LIVE PERFORMANCE PIECE
ABOUT THE SHOW:
ICEBERG is a multimedia piece combining theater, chamber orchestra, visual art, and Butoh, a Japanese avant-garde dance form. It details the journey of discovering a personal fluorescence in life. This depiction gives the audience an experience of tension and release by approaching the sentimental value of life with the use of multimedia elements. The physical body of the Iceberg is a metaphor for society, with the tip expressing daily life, full of pressures and expectations within the mundane. This includes the collective experience of forceful limitations on lifestyles, living in a small box and not being able to pursue one’s deepest dreams. TEAM:
Devisor/Performers: Miles Butler, Annie McCoy, Zak Ma Lighting&Projection: Chase Kniffen Music: Dan Langa Director: Saki Kawamura Producer: Joseph Ehrenpreis, Yoshiko Usami (Artistic Director of Ren Gyo Soh), Saki Kawamura (Associate Artistic Director of Ren Gyo Soh) |
TICKETS
ON SALE PERFORMANCES
Sat. May 13 @7:30pm VENUE Grace & St. Paul's Church (123 West 71st St, NY, New York, 10023) RUN TIME 40mins + Feedback session 20min TICKET INFO Early Bird: $18 with 1 free drink ticket (Until April 30th) Student & Artist: $20 General Admission: $25 |
MILES BUTLER (Performer/Devisor) is an Actor, Physical Theatre Artist from D.C. He has been working with Ren Gyo Soh since 2017. Recent NYC Credits: 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (EPIC), Caveman Play (Third Space), Shinka (RenGyoSoh), Naked Hamlet (Torn Out Theater), Alexander Who’s Not Going To Move (Two Beans, National Tour) DC: Studio Theatre, Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Wolf Trap, Ford’s Theater, Folger Theater and various. Former company member of Synetic Theater and the Flea Theatre. He is a teaching artist with EPIC Players, a neuro-inclusive theatre company, where he will be puppeting Milky White in Into The Woods in June. BFA in Theatre (Brooklyn College)
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ANNIE MCCOY (Performer/Devisor) is an actress from Orlando who started with a focus on Musical Theatre. However, she developed a passion for physical theatre while attending Circle in the Square. Post graduation she continued to train with Danyon Davis, specifically in Creative Physicality. For the last 7 years, she has been training under and collaborating with Yokko through the Ume group and then through Ren Gyo Soh. Past productions include Splitfoot (Piper Theatre) and By Wing, Fin, Hoof or Foot (The Ume Group). As well as Ren Gyo Soh’s Butoh-centric Shinka (IT awards winner) and En. During the pandemic, she continued to create in the virtual productions EN:2021 and Saki Kawamura’s IKIGAI:a purpose of living (Hollywood Fringe). Annie’s belief is that Butoh is a craft that allows for the opportunity to take accountability and notice of all things past, present, and future in our universe. With this awareness, it is her goal to use the body as a vessel to produce art that is truthful, transcendent, and engaging, while also being environmentally conscious.
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ZAK MA (Performer/Devisor) is a NY-based actor and physical theatre artist aiming to transcend societal definitions and connect people of all backgrounds. He received his MFA Acting at the Actors Studio Drama School, and is a member of Ren Gyo Soh since 2019. Zak is passionate in devising multimedia original work such as self-produced The Intermediate, featured internationally, IKIGAI:a purpose of living and Social Action Project with RGS, as well as traditional plays, Northbound Train (Huang), The Seagull (Trigorin), and True Nature of All Being (Hiroshi). IG @letitbezak. zak-ma.com
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NICOLE BRANCATO (Piano) makes music to unlock wonder. Fascinated with contemporary expressions of our shared human experience, the NYC-based pianist merges curation, composition and performance in collaborations across the arts. Described as “brilliant” and an “immense talent” (New York Magazine and Connect Savannah), Nicole is “redefining the very notion of classical music” (Atención San Miguel). Her credits range from the Guggenheim Museum, Rai Italia (television network Italy), and the Banff Centre, as well as Lincoln Center, HBO, and NPR. As an educator, Nicole’s extensive experience includes the Gesellschaftshaus Magdeburg, Germany and the Sphinx Organization. She is an awardee of National Sawdust’s Hildegard Competition (2022 Finalist) and is a member of Seven Hills Chamber Music Festival as Director and Artist in Residence
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YUYU IKEDA (Violin) is a graduate of the Juilliard School and the Oberlin College and Conservatory. Yuyu debuted as a soloist at the age of ten with the Bellflower Symphony Orchestra, andsince then has performed with the Orchestra Collective of Orange County and the Ueno Orchestra in Japan. An avid chamber and orchestral musician, she has performed with the New York Classical Players, the String Orchestra of New York, and the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra. Yuyu is a passionate educator and was a teaching fellow at Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program and at Midori and Friends, where her mission is to make lessons more accessible to children around New York City. In 2022 and 2023, she performed in Carnegie Hall’s Link-Up concert series, an educational program to introduce classical music to children
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JAY JULIO (Viola) From Uniondale, New York, 25-year old first-generation multi-instrumentalist Filipino-American Jay Julio (they/them) is the Assistant Principal Violist of the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra and has performed with the American Composers Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Metropolis Ensemble, and the Portland, Memphis, Virginia, and Dallas Symphony Orchestras. As musician and justice advocate, they have been profiled in Forbes, VAN Magazine, and the Asian American Arts Alliance’s The Amp, and radio appearances include SiriusXM’s Symphony Hall, 4MBS (Brisbane), IPR (Michigan), and WKCR (NYC). Jay holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School after starting formal music studies at 14, and is a proud member of the AFM and IWW.
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ROCíO DíAZ DE COSSíO (Cello) is a cellist and improviser. They are dedicated to exploring the sonic possibilities of their instrument, implementing tape and live electronics, often based on field recordings. Their performances include improvisation, solo and ensemble acoustic and electroacoustic pieces, collective compositions, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Rocío has participated at Darmstadt, Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, at the International Ensemble Modern Academy, Festival Expresiones Contemporáneas, The Center for Advanced Musical Studies at Chosen Vale, and Red Ecología Acústica México. Rocío concentrates their practice in México and the New York City area, focusing on performer-composer practices and cello teaching. www.rociocello.com
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CHASE KNIFFEN (Lighting & Projection Design) a NYC-based director of plays, musicals, and theatre for young audiences. He was the Associate Artistic Director of Virginia Repertory Theatre for ten seasons, where he produced, directed, and designed numerous productions. Select Directing credits include The Sound of Music, The Color Purple, Dreamgirls, Other Desert Cities, Caroline, or Change, Violet, Next to Normal, Gypsy, Fun Home, and South Pacific. He has won multiple Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Awards for his work on those productions. He received his BA in Theatre from Virginia Commonwealth University and his MFA in Directing at the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. www.chasekniffen.com
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DAN LANGA (Composer) is a composer, producer, and arranger creating music that explores bold and vivid textures. He holds a particular fascination with electroacoustic music and incorporating elements of the natural world into his work. Dan has received awards, grants, and recognition from Du Vert à L'Infini Festival, RED NOTE New Music Festival, Hot Air Music Festival, Fire Island National Seashore, Bang On A Can Summer Festival, Sō Percussion Summer Institute, Fresh Inc Festival, The Ear Competition, Amherst College, New York University, and the University of South Carolina Spark Laboratory. Dan is the co-founder of cmntx records, a New York City-based label committed to supporting artists with distinct, multifaceted practices. cmntx records was founded in 2021 along with Alex Ring Gray, Evan O. Adams, and Michael Denis Ó Callaghan. Dan earned his BA in Music from Amherst College and received his Master’s Degree in Music Theory and Composition from New York University.
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SAKI KAWAMURA (Director) is a NYC-based director and interdisciplinary artist from Japan. The wide range of her work seen in theater, film, and visual art included: IKIGAI: a purpose of living (Hollywood Fringe 2021, Encore Award), The Giving Tree, Grown-ups (Unfix NYC) and Precognito (Vireo Production). Regional theatre: Mystic Pizza (Ogunquit Playhouse), A Jolly Holiday: Celebrating Disney’s Broadway Hits, Clue, Murder on the Orient Express (Paper Mill Playhouse), Joy (George Street Playhouse). She also serves as Associate Artistic Director of Ren Gyo Soh and currently focus on immigrant storytelling as well as ICEBERG. She aims to create theatrical experiences which will build bridges across cultures. MFA Directing at the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. www.sakikawamura.com
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JOSEPH EHRENPRIES (Producer / Guitar) is a renowned artist and multi-instrumental performer who specializes in playing the 8-string “Brahms Guitar.” He has gained international recognition for his unique repertoire for this instrument, which includes premiering new music and transcribing works originally written for other instruments. In 2020, he released his debut album, New Music with Brahms Guitar, Volume 1, which was fully funded by the Illinois Arts Council. He also released Sunrise in Africa: The Solo Guitar Works of Taiwo Adegoke in 2022, a self-produced project that showcases the rich musical culture of West African tribes. Joseph was a fellow at Bang on A Can and is currently studying under Benjamin Verdery at the Yale School of Music. Joseph hopes to use music to promote peace and solidarity in the world.
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YOSHIKO SIENKIEWICZ - AKA YOKKO (Producer) has been leading an award winning Butoh Theatre Group, Ren Gyo Soh since 2014. Yokko is an award-winning Japanese artist, whose work has been presented across the USA and Europe. They have acted in, devised, and choreographed a variety of local and international shows and films. Most recently, thier Butoh work have been seen in several art & music videos, including The Eight Dissolutions (Erik Bergrin, 2022), I Don’t Know Where We Went Wrong (HOKO, 2020), Ready To Let Go (Cage The Elephant, 2019) and Ausencias (NOIA, 2019). Yokko serves as an adjunct Movement faculty at several acting & theatre programs (BFA, BA & MFA) at Universities in the city, also offers RGS training course at Ren Gyo Soh. MFA in Acting (Actors Studio at Pace University)
www.yokko-online.com, www.butohmedea.com, [email protected] |
RenGyoSoh is a multi-award winning New York based Butoh theatre group which founded by a Japanese artist, Yokko in 2014. It dedicates to create and produce a work through collaborations, organize an event such as UNFIX NYC, and offer training opportunities. Since 2021, RenGyoSoh created Artist Lab (Playground) program to opened the possibilities to develop a new work by early career artist. Ren Gyo Soh’s primal mission is to be a cultural bridge in the world by not only carrying individual voices but through collaboration, and cultivates new forms of theater that reflect our evolving culture. Our work is constantly challenging to our society, our audience, and our own limitations
Grace & Saint Paul’s Church is a Reconciling in Christ Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). We are located in New York City in the island of Manhattan’s fashionable Upper West Side.
Grace & Saint Paul’s Church is a Reconciling in Christ Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). We are located in New York City in the island of Manhattan’s fashionable Upper West Side.