THE SECLUSION

Audio Exhibition/Podcast

Contains mature language, auditorial gore, sudden loud noises and depictions of struggles with mental health.

A devised audio drama centered around the themes of seclusion and artistry. This horror anthology follows an artist who has isolated themselves from the outside world. A story told through an audio tour of their new exhibit, narrated by a museum curator, The Seclusion features a diverse cast of characters that work for the museum. As the listener “moves” through the exhibit, a darker perspective begins to make its way into the world of this seclusion.

Inspired by Eldritch horrors, queerness, old paintings with golden frames and artists, The Seclusion is an exploration of the darkness and the growing fear that your art may never be enough, and how to dive deeper into that for your own sake.

PROJECT LEAD

Avery Brooks

APPROXIMATE RUN TIME

20 minutes

Performances

The Seclusion is an episodic podcast, with digital episodes released each day of the festival. Episodes released daily on demand. More information will be made available soon.

SLAY WITH US Dance

Contains strobe effects.

A representation of belonging and found community based on queer experiences, a love for fashion and slaying. We explore the feeling of being in a new space and finding your true self through kindness of your chosen community. We define “slay” as someone who is confident in their style, energy and place in the world; they are not afraid to have fun, be silly, be seen and be friendly.

PROJECT LEADS

Joylin Wei

Mia Castillo

LOCATION

WIN 2.180

APPROXIMATE RUN TIME

10 minutes

PERFORMANCES

April 3 at 9:30 p.m.

April 4 at 2:30 p.m.

April 6 at 6:00 p.m.

SONG OF THE DAMNED: AN INFERNAL MUSICAL Play/Musical

Contains mature content including language, references to racial trauma and themes of violence.

In a world increasingly divided along arbitrary lines, more of us have started to question who sets those lines, and who is forced to live with those divisions. Is there a way out, or are we doomed to be forever pitted against each other instead of confronting our faceless system head on?

Inspired by Dante’s Inferno, Song of the Damned explores the ideas of classism, justice, and morality through a venture into the most merciless of settings: Hell itself.

Through a rich score drawing from New Orleans jazz, spirituals, gospel blues, and more, Song of the Damned follows a recently deceased sinner’s descent into the underworld and their attempts to reckon with a system they both perpetuate and question.

PROJECT LEAD

Ethan Lao

LOCATION

B. Iden Payne

Two hours

PERFORMANCES

April 3 at 7:30 p.m.

April 4 at 2:30 p.m.

April 5 at 3:30 p.m.

SPOONS

Theatrical Art Exhibition

Contains mature content including discussions of mental illness.

SPOONS is an interactive installation exploring the concept of “The Spoon Theory” and its relation to invisible illness. The terminology surrounding SPOONS expresses the daily struggles of energy budgeting necessary for disabled, chronically, physically, or mentally ill people. Every day, you wake up with a randomized amount of energy, or spoons, and are faced with the choice of how you will spend them, knowing that it will never be enough. Spoon budgeting forces us to monitor our choices very carefully, because when our spoons are spent, so are we.

SPOONS is a multi-day, varying experience challenging participants to complete required and elective tasks all while managing their spoon (energy) budgets for each day throughout the whole week.

PROJECT LEAD

Ezra Rose

WIN 1.108

PERFORMANCES

Performances occur daily April 3-7, 2023.

SQUID KID

Play

Contains strobe effects and mature content including depictions of bullying and physical violence.

Squid Kid is a surreal coming-of-age horror play that is inspired by the playwright’s experiences of growing up neurodivergent. The story follows Loris, an odd fifth-grader who has a peculiar fixation on Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and The Catcher in the Rye, as well as an irrational phobia of giant squid. Squid Kid is an extreme send-up of the coming-of-age genre. Not only does Loris deal with bullies and self-esteem issues, he must also fight for his life with the ultimate manifestation of adolescent dread: the Squid.

PROJECT LEAD

Benjamin Cervantes

LOCATION Lab Theatre

APPROXIMATE RUN TIME 60 minutes

PERFORMANCES

April 3 at 1:30 p.m. (talkback to follow)

April 4 at 10:30 a.m.

April 6 at 8:30 p.m.

April 7 at 10:30 a.m.

There will be a 20-minute talkback following the performance on April 3 at 1:30 p.m.

THEN WE’LL REST Play

Contains mature language and themes.

Penny and Polly are best friends and gymnastics rivals. They like to make up stories and eat donuts in the car. They get in a big fight, grow up, join a cult. They’re lonely and in love and still competing over something neither of them can name. Penny gets sad and Polly gets sick. So does a king living elsewhere. Have you read Uncle Vanya? This isn’t like that. This is a play about getting lost at sea and seduced by power; about two friends and how each informs the other; and about beauty, grief, love, and ambition.

PROJECT LEADS

Caley Chase

Eliya Smith

LOCATION

Oscar G. Brockett Theatre

[UNTITLED MEMORY PROJECT]

Performance

APPROXIMATE RUN TIME

One hour and 30 minutes

PERFORMANCES

April 3 at 1:30 p.m.

April 4 at 8:30 p.m.

April 7 at 10:00 a.m.

Contains strobe effects and mature content including language.

[untitled memory project] is a live event with music, movement and story, formally inspired by the Berlin DANSTHEATRE style. The story explores the chemically erosive qualities of memory, modern gaslighting and the challenges feminine people face in trying to hold on to their own narratives.

PROJECT LEAD

Malena

Pennycook

LOCATION WIN 1.172

APPROXIMATE RUN TIME

25 minutes

PERFORMANCES

April 3 at 8:30 p.m.

April 4 at 8:30 p.m.

April 6 at 8:30 p.m.