Tag: Michael Hayes

written by Mike Daisey | directed by Christopher Comte
October 17 – November 15, 2008

This first play by acclaimed monologuist Mike Daisey (21 Dog Years, Monopoly!, How Theater Failed America) weaves a vision of the brutal history of the Soviet space program with an unbelievable premise: a dead cosmonaut is called back down to Earth on a radio wave when Americans in a remote Arctic base hear the beating of his dying heart. A dark and hilarious fairy tale set against the Cold War, it asks what we risk in the struggle between will and humanity, and what it means to love beyond death itself.

Playwright Mike Daisey has been called “the master storyteller” and “one of the finest solo performers of his generation” by the New York Times for his groundbreaking monologues which weave together autobiography, gonzo journalism, and unscripted performance to tell hilarious and heartbreaking stories that cut to the bone, exposing secret histories and unexpected connections.

His monologues, fourteen and counting, include the controversial How Theater Failed America, the six-hour epic Great Men of Genius, the unrepeatable series All Stories Are Fiction, and the international sensation 21 Dog Years. Over the past decade he has performed his unique extemporaneous monologues at venues such as the Public Theater, American Repertory Theatre, the Spoleto Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Cherry Lane Theatre, Yale Repertory Theater, the Noorderzon Festival, the T:BA Festival, Performance Space 122, and many more.

He’s been a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman, a commentator for PRI’s Studio 360 and NPR’s Day To Day, a contributor to WIRED, Slate and Salon, a web contributor to Vanity Fair and Radar Magazine, and his work has been heard on the BBC, NPR, and the National Lampoon Comedy Hour. His first film, Layover, is being distributed by Lars von Trier’s company Zentropa, and he stars in the Lawrence Krauser feature Horrible Child. His first book, 21 Dog Years: A Cubedweller’s Tale, was published by the Free Press and he is working on a second book, Great Men of Genius, adapted from his monologues about genius and megalomania in the lives of Bertolt Brecht, P.T. Barnum, Nikola Tesla, and L. Ron Hubbard.

He has been the recipient of the Bay Area Critics Circle Award, two Seattle Times Footlight Awards, and a MacDowell Fellowship. He lives in New York City with his director and collaborator, Jean-Michele Gregory. The Moon Is A Dead World is his first play.

REVIEWS

“[Playwright Mike] Daisey has a rich, restless imagination…. Moon is a small, sweet pleasure.” – The Stranger

“Director Christopher Comte has put together an entertaining production worthy of the script.” – Seattle Weekly

“Fascinating…. Annex’s production is an amazing display…. Crisp direction, great set design, and excellent sound support create a great reality for this unreal play. The four actors are all excellent. … This is one of the best efforts Annex Theatre has produced, and that’s saying a lot.” – Seattle Gay News

“If a new play of this caliber opened in Seattle every few weeks, we could stop going to see Hollywood crap or caring about how Christian Slater blows up Russians on the TV.” – Seattlest.com

Preview in the Seattle P-I: Full-length ‘The Moon Is A Dead World’ is a new phase for solo performer Mike Daisey

Interview on Seattlest.com: A Dialog with Newly-Minted Playwright Mike Daisey

The cast of The Moon Is A Dead World

CAST

CREW

AFTRA Seattle Local, Cicada Bridal, Ron Darling, John DeShazo, A.J. Epstein, The Ethereal Mutt, Ltd., David Gassner, Teri Lazzara, Theater Schmeater, Frederick Vegas.

Annex Theatre wishes to acknowledge the generous contributions of 4Culture, The Flintridge Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, The Seattle Foundation, The Boeing Company, ActiveMac, and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs for their support of this production.

Led by Mike Pham and Rachel Hynes
October 12 – November 10, 2007 | 8pm

I Feel Fine is a “neo-Brechtian…song-and-dance orgy…vibrant and even heartwarming in its messy, festive aliveness”! – Misha Berson, Seattle Times

I Feel Fine is a new collaborative performance collage using found objects, dance, music, and food to fiddle like Nero with the dynamic tension created when apocalyptic social collapse meets fin de siècle decadence. Fabulous fashion parades! Delicious party food! Bang-up karaoke numbers! It’s all there!

I Feel Fine catapults the audience into a whimsical world of electrical wonder and human disaster set in a universe on the edge of total collapse. Mixing the quaint and the adorable with fear and desperation, this original new work explores the quagmire between reasonable science and Mr. Id, as they meet on death row in this stylish, dreamy, and dynamic performance collaboration. Be the cat’s pajamas, have a little knosh, and see a few electrocutions in the process.

Light up your life. Reduce regret. Experience the magic of I Feel Fine!

ABOUT THE CREATORS

Local performers Rachel Hynes and Mike Pham have been working together for several years, creating, developing, and producing under the performance art collective moniker Helsinki Syndrome. An outgrowth of their previous performance work with High Kindergarten Performance Group, Rachel and Mike produce non-linear, ensemble driven theater pieces that incorporate text, movement, music and imagery into bold, rigorous, imaginative performance works.

Previous works include True North (Open Circle Theater), Off the Double (Henry Art Gallery), Sideshow (On the Boards’ 12 Minutes Max), Main Event (On the Boards’ Northwest New Works Festival), and This Is Not A Test (Instant Coffee + Henry Art Gallery at Bumbershoot 2007).

CAST & CREW

I Feel Fine features the talents of Ciara Griffin, Brynn Hambly, Rachel Hynes, Andy Loviska, K. Brian Neel, Mike Pham, Jennifer Pratt, Jaime Roberts, Mara Siciliano, and Justin Tracy, with food creations by Pamala Mijatov. Scenic Design by Bret Fetzer, Lighting Design by Chrystian Shepperd, and Sound Design by Michael Hayes White. Kristina Volkman is the Stage Manager.

SPECIAL THANKS

This production is presented as part of Annex Theatre’s ongoing “Oyster Series” Program. Annex Theatre’s 21^st Season is generously supported by: 4Culture, Flintridge Foundation, Seattle Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs.

The cast of I Feel Fine