PhysFestNYC: Early Drafts II - Before I Was an Egg I Was a Chicken / The Grim Reaper Presents: DEATH / Uninvisible

FEEDBACK SESSION LED BY QUINN BAURIEDEL AFTER EACH PIECE:

EARLY DRAFTS I: Before I was an egg I was a chicken & The Grim Reaper Presents: DEATH (A Clown Show) & Uninvisible

Suggested ages 15+

The Early Drafts Series features works in development. These performances may include opportunities for feedback or an industry leader in conversation with the artists. 

Before I was an egg I was a chicken

“Before I was an egg I was a chicken”, is a look into how we view different versions of the self deeply informed by gender, transition, and absurdity. The term egg refers to those who are in a state of awakening/birth, as well as a term used among those in the trans community to refer to someone who is trans but has not yet realized. The piece utilizes Chickens as a motif to carry this message, focusing on the silliness of this serious topic.

Lulu Munteanu is currently based in New York and is the founder and Director of LUMU Movement, a dance/theater company. They have also been a part of the founding cohort of Gesture Theater, a trans-led movement theater company. They have set works for Waxworks (Triskelion Arts) and Greenspace (Fertile Ground). They are also currently in residency at Green Space through their DIG Residency. Subjects that intrigue them exist in the space where there is dissonance between who we are and our understandings of the world and people around us. This includes interpretations on gender, perception, and absurdity

Chloe Sonnet Brown, Frances Rose Koper Heintzelman, Isa Segall, Alicia Steeves

Chloe Sonnet Brown (Costume Designer)

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The Grim Reaper Presents: DEATH (A Clown Show)

Death is coming to PhysFest! The Grim Reaper has secured a night off from his usual gig: ushering souls to the afterlife. He's taking advantage of the special occasion to show off his skills as a theatrical clowning performance artist. Join the Angel of Death for an absurd, life affirming(?) show to lift your spirits.

Co-creator: Ellena Soloner

Riley Soloner (he/him) is an actor, clown and teaching artist. He teaches clowning at Brooklyn Comedy Collective and leads experimental multimedia "Clowns on Camera" workshops in Bushwick, Brooklyn. He is a longtime improviser and actor with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater NY, where he became a cast member of the popular stage, public access and cable TV show, The Chris Gethard Show. He is a counselor, clown teacher and staff supervisor at Camp Winnarainbow, a circus arts summer camp founded by hippie clown activist Wavy Gravy. Riley is a member of the Clown Spirit Fellowship's inaugural cohort.

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Uninvisible

Uninvisible, a one-man show exploring self-discovery and heroism, blends puppetry (object and shadow theatre) and contemporary theatre clown work.

Uninvisible recounts the history of the Wereth Eleven, 11 African American soldiers who fought in a segregated battalion during WWII. Yelraf relays this account as a storyteller and self-proclaimed hero who desperately wants to be remember for being as brave as the soldiers from WWII and the men of his own military lineage.

The personal, familial, and historical intertwine and coalesce to take the audience on a deeply felt journey of self-discovery with societal significance.

Margarita Blush - Director

Ian Farley - As a physical theater performer, visual artists and sometimes clown, Ian Farley loves collaborating and creating theater for audiences around world (he’s actually performed internationally including a café in Padova, Italy). With a Bachelors of Science in Broadcast Technology, Ian decided to pursue the comedic arts through training with Embodied Poetics, The School for Theater Creators, The Idiot Workshop, and Ecole Gaulier.

Originally from Chicago, Ian devises work, writes shows, and performers for audiences in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C. He attempts to bridge those cities together through humor drawing inspiration from his travels, folklore & mythology, history, and his idle thoughts.

Ian’s excited to perform in PhysFest 2025!

Margarita Blush - Margarita is a Bulgarian American theatre artist and works in the field of devised physical and visual theatre as a creator, director, performer, and educator. She holds a BFA in Performance and an MFA in Directing from the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, and a certificate in devised physical theatre from Embodied Poetics in London, UK.

Margarita is the Artistic Director of Margarita Blush Productions, an ensemble-based company which creates original theatre performances.

Margarita’s work has been supported by The Jim Henson Foundation, Theatre Communications Group, USArtists International, Network of Ensemble Theaters, and many others. She has also received an Asian Cultural Council and a Grant Wood fellowships. Margarita is a member of the Artistic Leadership Circle of PhysFestNYC.

Margarita has performed, taught, directed, and studied in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Turkey, Germany, France, U.K., Japan, Indonesia, and USA.

She is currently an Assistant Professor in Theatre at Hamilton College.

www.MargaritaBlush.com

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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.