HOLY CLOSET!
Whereas many theater companies are becoming experimenters with video during the COVID-19 shutdown, Theater in Quarantine has been actually transforming theater into a small space successfully. This pandemic performance laboratory from writer, director, and performer Joshua William Gelb and choreographer Katie Rose McLaughlin, has blown me away with its creativity. From their technically ambitious production, The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy, to the amazing and awesomely funny Kafka-esque playlets, Gelb has never ceased to impress me.
Now comes the world premiere of I Am Sending You the Sacred Face by Obie Award-winner Heather Christian for Theater in Quarantine. This evocative expressionist one-act musical portrait charts the spiritual journey of nun and missionary Mother Teresa. Set to premiere tonight, December 14, 2020, on YouTube,
Shortly after the coronavirus pandemic closed all theaters in mid-March, Gelb transformed a 2′ x 4′ x 8’ closet inside his East Village apartment into a white-box theater, so I Am Sending You the Sacred Face will have director and performer Gelb in drag live from his 2’ x 4’ x 8’ East Village closet. (I guess he’ll be in and out of the closet at the same time.) The 40-minute performance in triptych features choreography and additional direction by McLaughlin and is presented in partnership with Theater Mitu’s Expansion Works.
Additional live streamed performances will take place on December 16 and 18 at 9pm.
And definitely check out other works from Gelb on the same YouTube page; his new series of live-streamed performances (photos below) are dedicated to the exploration of the theatrical experience inside the digital space, and it shows.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I’ve seen all of your shows. I’ve never seen anything like your shows in all of my 86 years; I applaud your creativity, physicality and guts. I love the innovative tech you produce. Its surprising and exciting. You’re a wonder and I’m glad I had the luck to see your art