Author: Ben
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GRANDMA
GRANDMA was founded by Kate McGee, Peter Mills Weiss, and Tim Platt; in 2013 I joined as the fourth member (Julia Mounsey made five in 2015). Creating surreal and meticulous performance works drawing from the vocabulary of stand-up comedy, multi-level marketing schemes, TED talks, and ‘The Moth’-style storytelling, GRANDMA explored questions of family, friendship, identity,…
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Cloud City
One of the few community arts spaces still active in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Cloud City was founded in 2012 by Liz Beeby, Nicki Ishmael, Andrew Lynch, Katie Melby, Jeff Seal, and myself. From 2012 – 2015 I served as Producing Artistic Director of Cloud City; during that time I produced over 50 events, from concerts to…
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Seven Minutes in Heaven
An exploration of guided intimacy and the performance of romance It begins with a shot. Of whiskey, usually. The two participants are given audio devices and headphones and are directed to begin playback simultaneously while standing outside of a room. Once the audio begins, a friendly voice instructs the players to follow its directions and…
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P.I.C.N.I.C. (Performative Interactions Creating Naturally Inclusive Community)
Examining the boundaries of public and private space in Northeast Minneapolis A group of thirty people assemble on a grassy vacant lot in Northeast Minneapolis. Each has downloaded an MP3 track necessary for the experience of this piece. Unbeknownst to the participants, not each person has the same track. Individuals begin their audio simultaneously; they…
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Sad Portland
“Welcome. I am sorry to inform you that you have reached the Sad Portland hotline. If you are currently in the depressing cemetery, please press 1. If you are in the gloomy schoolyard, please press 2.” First you’ll need to get ahold of one of the Sad Portland maps, distributed to Portland galleries and theatres.…
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Knollr
Satisfy your OCD and fit all of the objects in the frame at a 45°/90° angle. Exactly. No gaps. And on time. ASAP. Recommended if you like packing things nicely and neatly. Created for the 2016 Global Game Jam “Ritual” with Nic Albrecht, Chloe Chia, Dominic Liu, and Alex Voskuil. Additional information and a downloadable…
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Cartball
fast-paced, hilarious, requires a stolen shopping cart Created in collaboration with Minneapolis-based collective MYNDWYRM, Cartball is a 3v3 game in which teams compete to score points by throwing a ball into a shopping cart controlled by the defense. For a sense of the rules and gameplay, watch this goofy video:
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National Psychogeographic
“Turn so that the wind is at your back. When you reach the blue building, call me again.” A highly subjective urban journey, directed by phone. Participants begin in a gallery space by calling the National Psychogeographic Hotline, which guides them through a meditative centering exercise inside the gallery before inviting them to hang up, walk…
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Start by pressing on your eyeballs
That feeling you get when someone else is touching your phone In a pitch-dark room, a boombox tinnily plays spooky music. A voice interrupts the music and invites the audience to use their phones to light their way to the stage to come sit in a circle. Sitting together in the semi-dark, lit by blue device-light,…
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MAKE PEOPLE (parts 1 & 2)
It’s a show about doing you. And our need to consume, acquire, and destroy. There are also some fun surprises, and fresh beats. MAKE PEOPLE (parts 1 & 2) was presented by LaMaMa Experimental Theatre Club/s The Club October 23 through November 1st, 2015. Previewed at Ars Nova’s ANT Fest in June 2015 and at CATCH performance…