PhysFestNYC Presents: New Immigrants & Veni Vidi Vici

This is a Multi-Bill Show. Scroll down for descriptions of both shows included in this performance.

New Immigrants

“New Immigrants” consists of two “monologues” about two international artists’ first moments of moving to New York City and their subsequent breakdown living in the city, presented with humor and warmth in a theatrical manner, through acting, movement, and live musical accompaniment. They are excerpted from the Museum Of Chinese in America’s street performance “Catching Silhouettes”, directed by Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li and Nina Zoie Lam.

Directors: Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li and Nina Zoie Lam

Timmy Ong is a Malaysian multidisciplinary theater artist based in NYC. He enjoys working on new material, and has originated leading roles in new works in multiple languages. He also writes/creates theatrically, both as a solo artist as well as under his writing partnership, The Green-Eyed Monster Project.

Shan Y. Chuang is a multi-talented artist hailing from Taiwan, trained in acting, singing, piano, classical ballet, traditional Chinese dance, and diverse musical theater genres. Chuang’s work, spanning over a decade in NYC, explores themes of LGBTQIA+, social justice, and self-discovery through the language of dance.

Suggested ages 13+.

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Veni Vidi Vici

Embodying “true mischief. . . unfettered at maximum strength,” Deborah Kaufmann’s “Mud” is not quite human, but she shows us our human charm, frailties, quirks and needs. Kaufmann has taken dance, mask work and clown (circus and theatrical), flavored them with a pinch of bouffon and a hint of “Harold and the Purple Crayon” to create this “spritely” buffoon, “Mud.” Mud enters seeking the perfect picnic spot. Finding it, she gleefully proclaims it “MINE” and marks it with chalk, trapping herself inside its boundaries. Magic spells expand the territory; each new acquisition awakens a lust for more, literally drawing the audience into her world. Expansionism and colonialism, greed and exploitation, all from a clown whose entire vocabulary consists of only four words: you, mine, nice, want.

Ages 10+.

Deborah Kaufmann spent her childhood dancing and acting. Careers as production potter, ASL interpreter, and aluminum can inspector, somehow led to her life as a clown. Deborah is a pioneer in the burgeoning profession of Healthcare Clowning. From 1986-2016, Deborah performed with Big Apple Circus Clown Care, where she was also the Associate Creative Director of Community Programs. She co-founded Healthy Humor, Inc in 2016 to bring joy, wonder, laughter and comfort to hospitalized children and all others in need. “Dr. Dibble” brings her own brand of buffoonery to children and their caregivers. As the Director of Training and Education, she has auditioned and trained hundreds of performers. She teaches around the world with companies and at conferences. Studied Clown with Richard Pochinko, Bob Berky, John Towsen, Tony Montanaro, Avner Eisenberg, and Jando. She has performed her original works in North & South America, Europe, and Australia.

Creative Directors: Janet Sturmand Wellington Noguiera.

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PhysFestNYC is a community-focused festival that celebrates, enriches, and envisions our field of physical theaters. As an annual gathering, provides space for practitioners, audiences, and the physical-theater-curious to share in presented works, diverse workshop offerings, and community-building events.

Broken Box Mime Theater's mission is to activate the imagination of our audiences, contemporize the art of mime, and remind us all of the power of simple storytelling.