Raga & Rhythm: A Classical Cultural Showcase
Jun
15

Raga & Rhythm: A Classical Cultural Showcase

June 15 from 2-5pm - Raga & Rhythm: A Classical Cultural Showcase with sitar master Pandit Partha Bose, vocalist Smt. Esha Bandyopadhyay, and tablaist Indranil Mallick. Presented by Bangla School of Music and Play House Laboratories. Free, donations welcome and appreciated! Contact Akram Hossain at 248-719-0422 for more information. banglaschoolofmusic.org

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OPEN TRAINING with The Hinterlands
Jun
26

OPEN TRAINING with The Hinterlands

Join us in the embodied research practice that we call "training." Training is investigation and practice for working on the self, for exploring group dynamics, and for researching performance material. It's not about fitting into an aesthetic or following choreography, but rather about finding ways to work together, listen, sense your body and voice and the bodies and voices of others. Discoveries made during training can be revelatory for performers and non-performers; no experience necessary. If you haven't made it out to one of our sessions yet, now is the time! Thanks to a generous grant from the Michigan Department of Labor, trainings are offered on a sliding scale from $0-$30 based on economic need and geography. Questions? Reach out! 

Play House (12657 Moran St, Detroit, 48212)
$0-$30 sliding scale based on need/free for 48212 residents
RSVP

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PERFORMANCE FILM SERIES: Split sides
May
30

PERFORMANCE FILM SERIES: Split sides

Join Play House Labs and arts writer and curator Matthew Piper for a free screening of Split Sides 45 and Split Sides 46 (2009), two films by Charles Atlas that document Merce Cunningham's 2003 dance Split Sides.

Cunningham (1919-2009), one of America's most original and influential choreographers, was well known for his embrace of technology and use of chance operations to guide his creative process. His chance-based approach is nowhere more evident than in the two-part Split Sides, where pre-performance dice rolls determined which of two choreographies, sets, costumes, lighting designs, and pieces of music were to be combined live in which order, yielding 32 possible variations of the “same” dance. (Atlas' films document two versions, the 45th and 46th performances, respectively.) In addition to its elaborate conceptual architecture, spellbinding choreography, and minimalist sci-fi aesthetic, Split Sides is notable for its richly emotive score, comprised of original electroacoustic music by art rock stars Sigur Rós and Radiohead.

Free!

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SUNSET: A CYBER LAMENT By The Hinterlands & Renee Willoughby
May
23

SUNSET: A CYBER LAMENT By The Hinterlands & Renee Willoughby

A 30-minute hunt for a secret passage out of the Internet enchantments that bind us melding sound, image, and performance technologies old and new. Seats limited - get tickets here ($10-? pay what you wish).

Down into the Digital Otherworld journeys virtuosic Orpheus in search of his lost Eurydice, enchanted away by the mischievous Faery King…like a body and its soul rent in two - one party frozen outside of time in a world of illusion, the other desperate to return things to how they once were. But how to become whole again? 

Inspired by medieval retellings of the Orpheus myth and our collective internet-driven madness, Sunset weaves technologies old and new - mask performance, live video mixing, AI chatbots, electronic music, lamentations, spirit talking, automata, Victorian illusion and more - into a music-driven terrifyingly embodied work that mythologizes our relationship with technology, and how it has changed and shaped our imagination. Join The Hinterlands and video artist Renee Willoughby in the Otherworld of ones and zeroes as we wrestle our souls back from the trickster in the black box and break the spell that traps us in the algorithm.  This performance/installation runs approximately 30 minutes.

With support from the James S. and John L. Knight Foundation.

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SUNSET: A CYBER LAMENT By The Hinterlands & Renee Willoughby
May
23

SUNSET: A CYBER LAMENT By The Hinterlands & Renee Willoughby

A 30-minute hunt for a secret passage out of the Internet enchantments that bind us melding sound, image, and performance technologies old and new. Seats limited - get tickets here ($10-? pay what you wish).

Down into the Digital Otherworld journeys virtuosic Orpheus in search of his lost Eurydice, enchanted away by the mischievous Faery King…like a body and its soul rent in two - one party frozen outside of time in a world of illusion, the other desperate to return things to how they once were. But how to become whole again? 

Inspired by medieval retellings of the Orpheus myth and our collective internet-driven madness, Sunset weaves technologies old and new - mask performance, live video mixing, AI chatbots, electronic music, lamentations, spirit talking, automata, Victorian illusion and more - into a music-driven terrifyingly embodied work that mythologizes our relationship with technology, and how it has changed and shaped our imagination. Join The Hinterlands and video artist Renee Willoughby in the Otherworld of ones and zeroes as we wrestle our souls back from the trickster in the black box and break the spell that traps us in the algorithm.  This performance/installation runs approximately 30 minutes.

With support from the James S. and John L. Knight Foundation.

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SUNSET: A CYBER LAMENT By The Hinterlands & Renee Willoughby
May
22

SUNSET: A CYBER LAMENT By The Hinterlands & Renee Willoughby

A 30-minute hunt for a secret passage out of the Internet enchantments that bind us melding sound, image, and performance technologies old and new. Seats limited - get tickets here ($10-? pay what you wish).

Down into the Digital Otherworld journeys virtuosic Orpheus in search of his lost Eurydice, enchanted away by the mischievous Faery King…like a body and its soul rent in two - one party frozen outside of time in a world of illusion, the other desperate to return things to how they once were. But how to become whole again? 

Inspired by medieval retellings of the Orpheus myth and our collective internet-driven madness, Sunset weaves technologies old and new - mask performance, live video mixing, AI chatbots, electronic music, lamentations, spirit talking, automata, Victorian illusion and more - into a music-driven terrifyingly embodied work that mythologizes our relationship with technology, and how it has changed and shaped our imagination. Join The Hinterlands and video artist Renee Willoughby in the Otherworld of ones and zeroes as we wrestle our souls back from the trickster in the black box and break the spell that traps us in the algorithm.  This performance/installation runs approximately 30 minutes.

With support from the James S. and John L. Knight Foundation.

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SUNSET: A CYBER LAMENT By The Hinterlands & Renee Willoughby
May
22

SUNSET: A CYBER LAMENT By The Hinterlands & Renee Willoughby

A 30-minute hunt for a secret passage out of the Internet enchantments that bind us melding sound, image, and performance technologies old and new. Seats limited - get tickets here ($10-? pay what you wish).

Down into the Digital Otherworld journeys virtuosic Orpheus in search of his lost Eurydice, enchanted away by the mischievous Faery King…like a body and its soul rent in two - one party frozen outside of time in a world of illusion, the other desperate to return things to how they once were. But how to become whole again? 

Inspired by medieval retellings of the Orpheus myth and our collective internet-driven madness, Sunset weaves technologies old and new - mask performance, live video mixing, AI chatbots, electronic music, lamentations, spirit talking, automata, Victorian illusion and more - into a music-driven terrifyingly embodied work that mythologizes our relationship with technology, and how it has changed and shaped our imagination. Join The Hinterlands and video artist Renee Willoughby in the Otherworld of ones and zeroes as we wrestle our souls back from the trickster in the black box and break the spell that traps us in the algorithm.  This performance/installation runs approximately 30 minutes.

With support from the James S. and John L. Knight Foundation.

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PERFORMANCE FILM SERIES: HOME OF THE BRAVE
Apr
30

PERFORMANCE FILM SERIES: HOME OF THE BRAVE

Join Play House Labs and arts writer and curator Matthew Piper for a free screening of Home of the Brave, Laurie Anderson's 1986 concert film.

Home of the Brave presents a quintessential portrait of Anderson, an influential American performance and multimedia artist, at a pivotal point in her career. Filmed in New Jersey during her 1985 Mister Heartbreak tour, it showcases her signature blend of prophetic poetry, bespoke technology, and avant-pop music and visuals. An inventive, funny, and haunting document from "deep in the heart of darkest America," Home of the Brave's incendiary Reagan-era energy shines vivid light on our own. Directed by and starring Anderson and featuring William S. Burroughs, Adrian Belew, Janice Pendarvis, and others.

Free!

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Cui Guangli Master Class
Apr
6

Cui Guangli Master Class

Join internationally-renowned chuanju (“Sichuan opera”) artist Cui Guangli for a master class/lecture in the expressive techniques of traditional Chinese performance. Learn how the codification of “the four skills” of xiqu (“Chinese opera”) - singing, movement, recitation, and fighting - are configured and reconfigured to present a range of characters, situations, and circumstances, and how these performance strategies might be leveraged for physically-driven work in other performance styles. No performance experience necessary. Free, donations welcome!

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