New York, NY
Books of Jacob / Part II
In partnership with Polish Cultural Institute NYC and CultureHub
In this quantum, Kabbalistic, VR spectacle, the story of Jacob Frank comes to life simultaneously in seven locations around the world in a synchronized performance happening in New York, Serbia, Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Greece. Actors performing on physical stages in each country and on a digital stage in virtual reality, capture a world on the brink of change as they animate the story of a young Jew in the 18th-century who experiences ecstatic visions travels across the Habsburg and Ottoman empires, meeting heretical condemnation one moment and messianic recognition the next. The Books of Jacob is a live performance that audiences can experience in-person in each country or online in VRChat. Audiences at La MaMa will have the opportunity to put on a VR headset and experience the production digitally, as well as from their seat where the virtual environment will be projected and layered into the scenography. The digital performance network activated as part of this project transforms how theater is experienced and expands the theater’s global reach. Through La MaMa, CultureHub, and Dream Adoption Society’s global outreach, teams of artists and theater groups in different parts of the world are connected in a VR environment. Real-time translation services and subtitles in the virtual environment facilitate this multilingual production.
Audience Role
Observer.
Ages: All ages
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Tags
6
Events
3
Years on EI
About La MaMa ETC
La MaMa has been honored with 30+ Obie Awards, dozens of Drama Desk, Bessie Awards, Villager Awards, the 2018 Regional Theatre Tony Award, and most recently a 2023 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Special Citation. They are a creative home to artists and resident companies from around the world, many of whom have made lasting contributions to the arts, including Blue Man Group, Bette Midler, Ed Bullins, Ping Chong, Jackie Curtis, André De Shields, Adrienne Kennedy, Harvey Fierstein, Diane Lane, Playhouse of the Ridiculous, Tom Eyen, Pan Asian Rep, Spiderwoman Theater, Tadeusz Kantor, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Mabou Mines, Meredith Monk, Peter Brook, David and Amy Sedaris, Julie Taymor, Kazuo Ohno, Tom O’Horgan, Andrei Serban, Liz Swados, and Andy Warhol. La MaMa’s vision of nurturing new artists and new work from all nations, cultures, races and identities remains as strong today as it was when Ellen Stewart first opened the doors in 1961.