Friday, Feb. 14, 8 pm
Saturday, Feb. 15, 3 pm
Saturday, Feb. 15, 8 pm
Sunday, Feb. 16, 3 pm
World premiere -- AUTOMATA is excited to present new work by two stellar Los Angeles artists working in the realm of puppet and object performance.
Sponge hollow is a live-action graphic novel by interdisciplinary artist /performer zach dorn (MFA2 Experimental Animation) with original music composed and performed live by Danielle Dahl. Performing in the midst of an elaborately designed miniature train set, dorn is part-storyteller, part puppeteer, part wizard, part memoirist as he recounts (and possibly embellishes) the story of his mother and the Florida swamp where he grew up.
Live feed video brings the full experience to the audience, as tiny cameras within miniature trains film the landscape and characters as it moves through the set. Additional cameras pick up the action at numerous small storefronts, homes, and local attractions. From the window of a moving O-scale train set, audiences travel through the model of a Florida swamp, meeting the world’s largest sponge, a man obsessed with the television drama Gilmore Girls, and witnessing the destruction of a tourist-ridden town. Full of humor, wonder, and pathos, Sponge hollow is a singular experience. Sponge Hollow was presented at REDCAT in Summer 2019, as part of REDCAT New Original Works (NOW) Festival.
“Dorn reimagines and nails a lower-middle class time capsule, paying homage to the American cultural norms of kids growing up in the 90s.” - Broadway World
Sponge hollow will be preceded by a special presentation of Selkie, a double overhead projector shadow performance by Moira MacDonald (MFA 2012 Puppetry/Integrated Media) Selkie follows a young woman’s journey as she searches for water during a relentless drought. Performed by MacDonald with puppeteer Jesse Kingsley, assisted by Amy Chiao (MFA2 Theater) and Natalie Ferguson (MFA1 Theater) Selkie highlights the increasing challenges we face with a once abundant resource, clean available water. Selkie was presented to enthusiastic audiences as part of the 2019 Skirball Puppetry Festival.
Tickets