Friday, December 09, 2005

The Zoe Zone

The Zoe Zone

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I thought you might be interested in this upcoming festival of theater dealing with neurological conditions, such as autism (and Aspergers). as you can see there are two shows that deal very specifically with the topic, both in a very positive manner. Also, we are looking for panelists to talk about Aspergers and autism in conjunction with these shows.

Here are the details:

NEUROfest
January 5 -29

Theater 5
311 West 43rd Street, 5th floor
Tickets: $15, 212-352-3101 or www.theatermania.com

http://www.untitledtheater.com/NEUROfest.html

Untitled Theater Company #61 explores the nexus of science and art in NEUROfest, the first-ever theater festival dedicated to neurological conditions

A collection of theater artists from around the country will present work inspired by various neurological conditions, including:
Amnesia (Korsakov's Syndrome),
Aphasia,
Autism,
Capgras Syndrome,
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD),
Dementia,
Meniere’s Disease,
Synesthesia, and
Tourette’s Syndrome


CJD
Written and Directed by James Jordan
The Boondogglers
Condition dealt with: Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (a relative of Mad Cow)
A multimedia one man show written and performed by a neurologist about his experience with a patient with CJD, augmented with live music performance.

IMPOSTERS
by Justin Warner
Directed by Ari Laura Keith
Glass House Productions
Condition dealt with: Capgras syndrome
Inspired by the rare neurological condition Capgras' Syndrome, IMPOSTORS is a quirky, funny, heartfelt exploration of the contradictions and distortions that hold all families together. After a brain injury, a son believes his parents have been replaced with exact duplicates of themselves, triggering a series of events that threatens to unravel the entire family. IMPOSTORS won the Kennedy Center-ACTF playwriting contest for the Mid-Atlantic region, and was also a finalist for the Princess Grace Award. IMPOSTORS will run simultaneously with NEUROfest at the Union Theatre in London.

STRANGERS and LINGUISH
Written and directed by Edward Einhorn
Untitled Theater Co. #61
Conditions dealt with: Amnesia (Korsakov's Syndrome) and Aphasia
LINGUISH posits a disease which causes aphasia, the neurological disorder that takes away one's ability to use language. Four relative strangers are among the first to be affected, and are thrown together in quarantine. As the disease affects them, they are forced to try to find new ways to communicate. In STRANGERS a man and a woman are in what seems to be a doctor's waiting room. Is it? If so, what's wrong?

SYNDROME
by Kirk Wood Bromley
Performed and directed by Timothy McCowen Reynolds
Inverse Theater Company
Condition dealt with: Tourette’s
Syndrome is a play about a man sitting in his room attempting to muster the courage to meet his parents for dinner. We quickly discover that there are reasons for his anxiety, stemming from his submission to a "spectrum of psychological disorders" that have taken over his mind. Nothing, however, is really wrong with him.

TABULA RASA
Words by Robert Lawson, Music by Henry Akona
Directed by Henry Akona
Music Direction by Ekaterina Stanislavskaya
High Fidelity Theater
Condition dealt with: Autism
An opera featuring interlinked stories of two children, both lost in the woods. One, a 19th century tale inspired by stories of the Wild Boy of Aveyron and other children who grew up in the wild. The other, the 21st century tale of a young girl lost in the forest of mood altering medications. Tabula Rasa examines the effects of nature and nurture, and the fundamental meaning of language and human relationships.

WELCOME TO TOURETTAVILLE!
by Jonathan Ospa, June Rachelson-Ospa, and Daniel Neiden
Music by Jody Gray, Doug Katsaros and Daniel Neiden
Directed by Daniel Neiden
Condition dealt with: Tourette's Syndrome
A musical inspired by a young boy's dreamworld where 4 aliens, Tick, Blinky, Screamer, and the guru of all Tourettians, The Big Bleeper, befriend and inspire him toward self-acceptance. The musical was co-written by June Rachelson-Ospa and her 7 year old son Jonny Ospa.

NEUROshorts
(NEUROshorts is one entire evening)

THE BOY WHO WANTED TO BE A ROBOT
by Edward Einhorn
Directed by Barry Weil
Evolve Theater Company
Condition dealt with: Autism (Aspergers)
A fairy tale set on another planet, this is a Pinnochio story in reverse, about a child who grows up in a robot country and just wants to be a robot like everyone else.

VESTIBULAR
by: Kelly R. Haydon
Directed by: Jolie Tong
Monkey Business Productions
Length: 20 minutes
Condition dealt with: Meniere's disease
As vertigo routinely attacks a former dancer stricken with Meniere's Disease, an informal conversation with his nurse turns into a revelation that challenges the idea of dependency as a passive force

THE TASTE OF BLUE
by Alexandra Edwards
Directed by Julia Martin
The Transformative Theater Company
Conditions dealt with: Synesthesia, Eidetic memory
The sound of the saxophone is blue. The letter O is blue. And blue tastes good. A woman describes her world, in which every sense calls up another. When the world turns gray, she must turn to her own imaginary landscape, filled with memories, to find something delicious.

DOCTORS JANE AND ALEXANDER
by Edward Einhorn
Directed by Ian Hill
GeminiCollisionWorks
Condition dealt with: Dementia
A found text plays about a psychologist now suffering from dementia, and her father, the discoverer of the Rh factor.

Plus:
For One Night Only!
CINCINATTI
by Don Nigro
Directed by John Clancy
Theater Company: Clancy Productions
Condition dealt with: Brain tumors
A one woman show by Nancy Walsh, a portrait of madness—originally performed after the removal of a brain tumor from Nancy Walsh, allowing her to only say things she had already memorized. Done in conjunction with a seminar.