Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Luminato Festival is honoured to present the Canadian premiere of PARADISIACAL RITES from director Derrick Ryan Claude Mitchell, the visionary behind Seattle’s Saint Genet.
“Is Ryan Mitchell’s work theatre (with fake blood) or performance art (with real blood)? I don’t know, and that’s what fascinates me,” explains Luminato Festival Artistic Director Jorn Weisbrodt. “His work unfolds on a stage even though we decided to stage it at MOCCA in a visual arts context, his visual imagery is epic, and his work is non narrative, yet full of meaning.”
Inspired by American hysteria, PARADISIACAL RITES is Saint Genet„s most ambitious piece to date, and stars a body politic of performers, dancers, composers, singers, ballerinas and bike messengers in an audacious exultation of gloom and glamour. A non-narrative exploration of nationalistic vanity and utopian fervour, PARADISIACAL RITES is fueled by “blood, booze and bands,” and is viewed through the lens of the Charles Manson trials, the final moments of the Jonestown massacre, the cult of celebrity, of the Oscars and others. PARADISIACAL RITES transforms elements of theatre, ballet, symphony, opera, installation, and body-based performance art into holistic and hypnotic, virtuosic and visceral performances where nothing and everything is sacred.
“In order to look for some sort of truth in his performances, Mitchell pushes himself and his performers beyond physical limits,” continued Weisbrodt. “One can perceive Paradisiacal Rites on many different levels, and the work engages all senses. It’s not for the faint of heart but meant for those who are curious to experience something new. Mitchell belongs to the tradition of experimental and physical theatre, as well as performance art, that Artaud, Jean Genet, Buñuel, Robert Wilson, Tadeusz Kantor, Jack Smith and others belong to. He is one of the most interesting younger visionaries I have met and I am proud that Luminato is a festival that can support the work of such an artist.”
PARADISIACAL RITES received its world premiere at the Donau Festival in Austria in April 2013, and returned home for the U.S. premiere at On the Boards in Seattle. Saint Genet is a collection of artists creating work around the singular vision of Ryan Mitchell, the young auteur who has swiftly become one of the most sought-after creators since his days as the co-founder and director of Implied Violence, the Stranger Genius Award-winning company. His works have been seen nationally and internationally, including the museum exhibitions “Implied Violence: Yes and More and Yes and Why” at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, and an appearance at the Guggenheim NYC‟s Works and Process Festival curated by Robert Wilson.
When performance artist Marina Abramovic was asked by Harper‟s Bazaar to select ten young provocateurs to watch, Mitchell was placed high on her list. Straddling the border between theatre and performance art, Mitchell’s bold work is also inspired by Chris Burden, whose1971 performance Shoot, where he was shot in the arm with a .22 rifle, Mitchell recreated.
Each performance of PARADISIACAL RITES will be preceded by an exhausting procession that begins at dawn, with Mitchell evoking images of transgression, starting at a secret location and ending in the theatre. Visit luminatofestival.com daily for details on how to join the walk.
Luminato Festival
In partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art presents PARADISIACAL RITES
By Saint Genet
Conceived, Written and Directed by Derrick Ryan Claude Mitchell
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), 952 Queen Street West Tuesday, June 10 – Saturday, June 14 @ 7:30PM
House opens at 6:25PM
This production includes nudity, strobe lights, smoke and fog. Suitable for audiences 18+ Tickets $35
Front Of The Line®:
Tuesday April 8, 2014, 12noon – Wednesday April 9, 2014, 11:59PM American Express® cardmembers:
online at luminatofestival.com or by calling 416-368-4TIX (4849)
Luminato Festival e-Newsletter Subscribers Advance Sale:
Thursday April 10, 2014, 12noon – Friday April 11, 2014, 11:59PM Online at luminatofestival.com or by calling 416-368-4TIX (4849)
Official Public Sale:
Saturday April 12, 2014, 12noon
Online at luminatofestival.com or by calling 416-368-4TIX (4849)
Pre-performance Programming
Each performance of Paradisiacal Rites will be preceded by an exhausting procession with director Derrick Ryan Claude Mitchell that begins at dawn, starting at a secret location and ending in the theatre. See the website for details to join the walk.
PARADISIACAL RITES is a co-commission of Donau Festival (Austria) and the Luminato Festival.
For more information visit luminatofestival.com
Twitter: @Luminato
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Instagram: @LuminatoFestival
Scene from Paradisiacal Rites. ©2013 Dan Hawkins.
2014-04-08
Toronto: Luminato 214 presents "Paradisiacal Rites" by Saint Genet June 10-14