Jody Christopherson
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The So-fi Festival proudly presents the New York premiere of Tyler Wests’ ABEYANCE at Westbeth, Home to the Arts (463 West Street, Room 1209, between Bethune and Bank St) June 20th @ 7pm, June 23 @ 2pm
ABEYANCE is An audio/visual comedy catastrophe on killing time, written and Performed by New York newcomer Tyler West in a unique style called “microphoned-mime” which combines pantomime and sound effects produced live by the actor.
ABEYANCE plays in rep with The Assembly’s The Dark Heart of Meteorology, 6/20 and Cara Francis’ DAD 6/23.
Tell us about your show? In your own words, what is it/ what is it/what is it about?
Abeyance means “a state of temporary disuse or suspension…” which is basically a fancy term for waiting. The show is about the little moments in life that feel like an eternity. A guy is waiting in the lobby for a job interview and for him everything goes wrong. He traps himself inside a vending machine, breaks a water cooler, falls asleep, dreams of being a knight, and almost loses his resume. For him and the audience, five minutes ends up feeling like an hour.
What multidisciplinary elements does it include and how are they used? How are they unique?
Imagine if you combined “Mr. Bean” and “Waiting for Godot”… You’d get “ABEYANCE.” It’s a physical comedy show that relies on action and physicality rather than dialogue. It also uses a style of clowning called “Microphoned-Mime” which merges together the use of pantomime and sound effects produced live. This allows for simplicity of storytelling that is both creative and fun. Rather than having fancy props, detailed costume pieces or elaborate set design the show invites the audience to use their imagination and fill in the gaps. The show could literally show the audience a 50-foot monster. It would be hard to do but could be done. However, it is much more interesting if the audience created a 50 foot monster with your imagination.
Why do you make theater? Can you talk about the medium and what it lends to your work?
I love theatre. I love that it’s live and those 60 minutes it will never happen again in the same way. It’s lives and breathes with the audience and the actors. The show has a lot of participation, and so every night it keeps it unpredictable for me but also fresh and new for the audience. I created this show because I love making people laugh. Laughter has the power to heal and be present. It allows you to not worry about your past and just enjoy the moment. Lastly one of my major hopes with this show is to break any judgments the audience might have of me. I am a little person. Sure I might look a bit different than most, but I hope with my show you leave thinking “oh he was a funny guy” not “oh he was funny, because of his differences.”
TYLER WEST is a self-taught physical comedian! He’s created his own work for several shows in Tucson, and has traveled across the nation from various Fringe Festivals with “ABEYANCE.” You can also check him out regularly performing at the Slipper Room in New York. https://tyler-west.wixsite.com/abeyance
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 June 20th @ 7pm, June 23 @ 2pm So-fi is a festival for cutting edge, low-fi, high concept, multidisciplinary solo work. Westbeth is New York City landmark listed on the National Registrar of Historic Places since Dec 8, 2009, a home to artists and major cultural organizations including the New School for Drama, The Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, the School for Poetic Computation. The location where ABEYANCEwill be performed was the location of Bell Labs’ Boardroom where the first talking movie, the condenser microphone, the first TV broadcast, and the first binary computer were demonstrated. ABEYANCE is An audio/visual comedy catastrophe on killing time, written and Performed by New York newcomer Tyler West in a unique style called "microphoned-mime" which combines pantomime and sound effects produced live by the actor. The June festival includes 7 premieres, as well as revivals of 4 critically acclaimed remounts and 3 works in progress. World Premieres: Dad by Cara Francis (The New York NeoFuturists), Parlor Poems created by Natalie Johnsonius Neubert (Necessary Exposure: The Female Playwright Project) with permission from the Estate of the late Dennis Krausnick (Shakespeare & Co), Whiskey Flicks Live: King of New York by Michael Niederman (uniform) and Daniel McCoy (The New York NeoFuturists), Toys 101: The Last Class by Jonathan Alexandratos, Lost My Train of Thought by Tiny Box Theater. New York premieres: Abeyance by Tyler West (Glitter Gutter at The Slipper Room) Critically Acclaimed Revivals: Shasta Geaux Pop by Ayesha Jordan and Charlotte Brathwaite (The Public Theater’s Under The Radar), The Assembly’s The Dark Heart of Meteorology, By Steven Aubrey, Directed by Jess Chayes (HOME/SICK), St Kilda written and performed by Jody Christopherson (AMP, Greencard Wedding at HERE Arts Center), Directed by Isaac Byrne (The Other Mozart) and The Legend of White Woman Creek by The Coldharts (Edgar Allan). Workshops include Kyra Miller’s BlueBeardGasLight (in association with The Muse Project, Artistic Director Jocelyn Kuritsky), Jonathan Torn’s The Scientist: an Evening with John C. Lilly and phase(un)fazed by Natalie Deryn Johnson ABEYANCE plays in rep with The Assembly's The Dark Heart of Meteorology, 6/20 and Cara Francis' DAD 6/23. Tickets are currently on sale and will be $25 per single ticket, $36 per two-show double bill ticket. (Please note that Westbeth is handicap accessible with ramps and elevators.) Nearest trains to Westbeth are (1,2,3 to 14th Street). Tickets can be purchased at https://www.so-fi-festival.com/, (888) 692-7878, or in person at the box office 30 minutes prior to curtain (463 West Street, Room 1209, between Bethune and Bank St). Full performance line-up listed below. For more info and a full festival calendar please visit: https://www.so-fi-festival.com/ Tell us about your show? In your own words, what is it/ what is it/what is it about? Abeyance means "a state of temporary disuse or suspension..." which is basically a fancy term for waiting. The show is about the little moments in life that feel like an eternity. A guy is waiting in the lobby for a job interview and for him everything goes wrong. He traps himself inside a vending machine, breaks a water cooler, falls asleep, dreams of being a knight, and almost loses his resume. For him and the audience, five minutes ends up feeling like an hour. What multidisciplinary elements does it include and how are they used? How are they unique? Imagine if you combined "Mr. Bean" and "Waiting for Godot"... You'd get "ABEYANCE." It's a physical comedy show that relies on action and physicality rather than dialogue. It also uses a style of clowning called "Microphoned-Mime" which merges together the use of pantomime and sound effects produced live. This allows for simplicity of storytelling that is both creative and fun. Rather than having fancy props, detailed costume pieces or elaborate set design the show invites the audience to use their imagination and fill in the gaps. The show could literally show the audience a 50-foot monster. It would be hard to do but could be done. However, it is much more interesting if the audience created a 50 foot monster with your imagination. Why do you make theater? Can you talk about the medium and what it lends to your work? I love theatre. I love that it's live and those 60 minutes it will never happen again in the same way. It's lives and breathes with the audience and the actors. The show has a lot of participation, and so every night it keeps it unpredictable for me but also fresh and new for the audience. I created this show because I love making people laugh. Laughter has the power to heal and be present. It allows you to not worry about your past and just enjoy the moment. Lastly one of my major hopes with this show is to break any judgments the audience might have of me. I am a little person. Sure I might look a bit different than most, but I hope with my show you leave thinking "oh he was a funny guy" not "oh he was funny, because of his differences." TYLER WEST is a self-taught physical comedian! He's created his own work for several shows in Tucson, and has traveled across the nation from various Fringe Festivals with "ABEYANCE." You can also check him out regularly performing at the Slipper Room in New York. https://tyler-west.wixsite.com/abeyance <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p.font9, li.font9, div.font9 {mso-style-name:font_9; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Times; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} span.color14 {mso-style-name:color_14;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;}){kind=link}