Lia Chang: Dixon Place presents the World Premiere of Rachel Klein’s Symphony of Shadows: A Tale From the Land Beyond the Veil, June 7-23, 2012

Symphony of Shadows: A Tale From the Land Beyond the Veil. Photo by Michael Blase

Award-winning theater artist Rachel Klein returns to Dixon Place with the world premiere of her latest extravaganza, Symphony of Shadows: A Tale From the Land Beyond the Veil, Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays in June. The performance schedule is June 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23 @ 7:30. Dixon Place is located at 161A Chrystie Street in New York. Tickets are $15 General Admission / $12 Students & Seniors online at www.dixonplace.org.

Symphony of Shadows: A Tale From the Land Beyond the Veil. Photo by Michael Blase

This movement-based spectacular tells the story of a woman combating a variety of sleep disorders, phantasmagorical night terrors, hypnotic horrors, and other, visually stunning conjurings from the subconscious depths of her own disturbed mind. Symphony of Shadows merges striking elements of circus and aerial arts, dance and movement, burlesque, and operatic productions to vividly illustrate its storyline in a genre-defying form which “evokes a live-action silent film.” Symphony of Shadows was commissioned by Dixon Place as a world premiere as part of the theater’s Monde Cane original works series.

Symphony of Shadows: A Tale From the Land Beyond the Veil. Photo by Michael Blase

Starring the expressionistic theatrics of the Rachel Klein Theater Ensemble (The Tragedy of Maria Macabre, Act Up! At Howl Festival), aerialists from the House of Yes (Brooklyn’s foremost aerial venue—Circus of Circus, Caligula), dancers from Martha Graham Company II, Alvin Ailey, the Love Show (Nutcracker: Rated R) and Desert Sin Dance Company (Museé de Femmes at the Zipper Factory) along with acrobatic interludes from Bro Circus (Oh! You Pretty Things at (le) Poisson Rouge, Blunderland at Red Lotus Room), an original concerto by Sean Hagerty (Steampunk Haunted House at Abrons Art Center), and a live electric string orchestra. Symphony of Shadows will be the company’s largest production to date which includes a cast of 25 dancers, aerialists, musicians, a contortionist, and silent film style actors.

Symphony of Shadows: A Tale From the Land Beyond the Veil. Photo by Michael Blase

Rachel Klein Photo by Michael Blase

Rachel Klein (Director, Choreographer, Costume Designer) is a director, choreographer, producer, and costume/production designer. Miss Klein established the RKP ensemble in 2007 with her adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Canterville Ghost and since has worked with RKP and other collaborators (including Junta Juleil Theatricals, the Jackie Factory, Disgraced Productions, HQ Rep, the House of Yes, Bluebox Productions, and Razors Edge Productions) to build and develop the full length productions The Tragedy of Maria Macabre, Metro, All Kinds of Shifty Villains, Sir Sheever, Aenigma, Go-Go Killers!, Hound, Princes of Darkness, Circus of Circus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Lizardman, a Musical. Shorter works and dance pieces include: Our Prison, La Enferma, Medusa, Sisters of the Moon, Sweeter Than Wine, Killer Workout, Beat Girl, Rocky Horror at Oh! You Pretty Things, London Calling, March of the Black Queen, ACT Up! Ballet: Why?, and Night of the Living Dolls. The Rachel Klein Theater Ensemble’s choreographic work has been presented all over the city at several venues, festivals, art galleries, and nightlife events including the Kitchen, Dixon Place, Theater for the New City, DUMBO Dance Festival, Night of 1000 Stevies, the Highline Ballroom, La MaMa, Banzai! at the Red Lotus Room, legendary rock ‘n roll club Don Hill’s, the Hiro Ballroom, the Bushwick Site Fest, Bushwick Open Studios Festival, the World Famous Bob’s Give Thanks!, Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO, the House of Yes, HOWL Festival, and Off-Broadway at the Bleecker Street Theater. Miss Klein was a 2010 recipient of the Emerging Artists’ Residency Grant from the Field in Association with the Tides Foundation, currently curates a monthly performance art review at Bowery Poetry Club, and was nominated for Outstanding Director of a Play and Outstanding Choreography/Movement for the 2011 New York Innovative Theater Awards. – www.rachelkleinproductions.com

Sean Hagerty (Composer, Musician) is a composer, sound designer, and violinist, specializing in live electronics and music for theater and dance. Upon arriving in New York, he found himself writing arrangements for the Broadway cast of Sweeney Todd, performed at the 20th Annual Easter Bonnet Festival. He also performed with the cast, playing violin on his arrangement of “Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down” at the Bowery Ballroom.

Symphony of Shadows features a story by Rachel Klein and Sean Gill, Costume design by Rachel Klein, Kae Burke, and Make Fun Studios, and will be stage managed by Marina Steinberg. Starring Elizabeth Stewart, Michael Porsche, Danielle Marie Fusco, and Eric Schmalenberger. Featuring: Ted Caine, Brian Ferree, Xavier Hageman, Zahra Hashemian, Abdiel Jacobsen, Christina Johnson, Natasha King, Kristen Lee, Freddy Mancilla, Ka Mazing, Danny Mendoza, Nicki Miller, Robyn Nielsen, Megan O’Connor, Scooter Pie, Evgenia Radilova, Brian Rubiano, Francis Stallings, and the Shadow Orchestra.

Symphony of Shadows: A Tale From the Land Beyond the Veil. Photo by Michael Blase

Symphony of Shadows: A Tale From the Land Beyond the Veil
Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays in June
June 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23 @ 7:30
Dixon Place
161A Chrystie Street
New York, NY 10002
Tickets: Advance online: $15 General Admission / $12 Students & Seniors
www.dixonplace.org
212 219-0736
Click below for Symphony of Shadows Vimeo trailer:

ABOUT DIXON PLACE
Dixon Place is a non-profit organization founded in 1986 to provide a space for literary and performing artists to create and develop new works in front of a live audience. While other venues of its kind have since disappeared or now only present established artists, Dixon Place remains at the heart of the New York experimental performance scene. Taking risks is crucial to the life of Dixon Place, its artists and audiences. Dixon Place’s primary commitments are to bring artists and audiences together through live performance in order to expand the understanding of the creative process and its final product, and to provide a supportive environment for emerging artists to present new work. Over the last twenty-five years, Dixon Place has successfully maintained its intimate atmosphere and unique environment while increasing its programming to fulfill the need for performance opportunities for the New York community of performing and literary artists.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Encore Performances of Rachel Klein’s The Tragedy of Maria Macabre at Access Theater
Samrat Chakrabarti in Ajay Naidu’s Ashes, Italo Spinelli’s Gangor and Shome Banerjee’s Hotel New York 2012 at Washington D.C. South Asian Film Festival (DCSAFF 2012)
Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin de Jesus and John Tartaglia set for MUNY’s Aladdin, July 5-13
Susan Soon He Stanton’s TAKARAZUKA!!! featuring Jennifer Ikeda, Brooke Ishibashi, Paul Juhn, Glenn Kubota, and Angela Lin kicks off Clubbed Thumb’s 17th annual SUMMERWORKS at Here, May 26-June 4
C.J. Wilson navigates armor and swordplay in Signature Theatre Company’s World Premiere of Kenneth Lonergan’s Medieval Play
Photos: In Rehearsal with BD Wong at Dixon Place for Live Concert Recording of Herringbone
David Henry Hwang Set as Signature Theatre’s Residency One Playwright for the 2012-2013 Season
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Oskar Eustis, BD Wong, Brian d’Arcy James, Francis Jue, Jennifer Lim and Leigh Silverman at WNYC’s The Greene Space
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
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