Returning for its 22nd annual New Original Works Festival, REDCAT, the Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater, offers three weekends of exciting premieres created by Los Angeles music, dance, theater and media artists. Beginning this Thursday, Nov. 6, and running each Thursday, Friday and Saturday through Nov. 22, at 8 p.m., each week unveils a different trio of creatives who unearth their newest ideas.
Week No. 1 includes interdisciplinary artist Maylee Todd, composer/director Jacob Wolff and Diana Wyenn with the Ammunition Theatre Company.
Todd will present “MOUTH,” which is described in promotional materials as a “journey through the chaos of identity and mental health … that fuses music, raw humor, video projections and inflatable set design.” The resulting solo is also labeled a “boundary-blurring surreal cabaret.”
In an exploration of spectacle, sacrifice and labor, CalArts music grad Wolff digs into the role of the rodeo clown in his experimental opera, “BEG.” The piece highlights the “tension between performance, risk and self-deprecation” via its eight performers, live and pre-recorded electronic music, dance, theater and improvisation. The artists transform ordinary objects into dynamic set pieces as the work re-interprets the relationship between performers, audience and the stage.
In an amalgam of autobiographies, song and spectacle that is performed by a cast of 12, “I Am an American (via Los Angeles)” exposes an upclose and personal perspective as it attempts to answer the question, “What are the challenges of participating in a democracy that was built without many of us in mind?” Conceived and directed by Wyenn, in collaboration with the Ammunition Theatre Company, this piece takes a “searing look at being in relationship with ideas of America.”
The NOW Festival has often been the starting point for many productions that have toured across the globe. Defining itself as a laboratory for cutting-edge innovation in the performing arts, its participants have been selected from an open application process. Each artistic team is provided rehearsal space, production support, technical support, artist fees and professional development.
ASL interpretation is provided on Fridays, and Saturday performances are livestreamed.
Please note: “MOUTH” contains mature content and loud sounds; “BEG” contains nudity, mature content, flashing lights and loud sounds; “I Am an American (via Los Angeles)” contains mature content and flashing lights.
–Benn Widdey, CultureSpot LA
LOCATION:
631 W. Second St., LA 90012
TICKETS:
INFO:
https://www.redcat.org/events/2025/now/week1
https://www.instagram.com/jacobxolff
https://www.instagram.com/mayleetodd
Photo courtesy of Maylee Todd and Gena Tuso