Join the Tenth Anniversary Season Campaign for Third Rail Projects and Help us Meet the Challenge!

A Special Message from Third Rail Advisory Board Members and Campaign Co-Chairs, Christy Burke & Judy Gluckstern...

Join the Tenth Anniversary Season Campaign

for Third Rail Projects and Help us Meet the Challenge!

Now through December 31, 2011:

CLICK HERE

to make an instant online tax-deductible

donation through our fiscal sponsor (Fractured Atlas)

and have it matched dollar-for-dollar!

November 29, 2011

Dear Third Rail Projects Friends & Family,

As Advisory Board members and long-time supporters of Third Rail Projects, it’s hard to believe that we have now reached a ten-year milestone…

From its beginnings as a scrappy self-produced dance company to its evolution

into an established collective of Bessie award-winning artists, Third Rail has grown exponentially this past decade. Their diverse work in an array of media has garnered a vast community of local, national and international audiences and collaborators. This year alone, Third Rail has supported more than 50 professional artists, worked with over 100 students, and presented five major works experienced by more than 100,000 audience members. This summer the Los Angeles Downtown News summed it up beautifully, calling Third Rail a “Terpsichorean perfect storm.”

In celebration of the Tenth Anniversary Season, to honor Third Rail's ongoing

commitment to bringing sophisticated art into the public sphere, and to lay the first cornerstone in the foundation for the next decade, we are proud to match any gift amount donated to Third Rail by December 31st, dollar-for-dollar, up to $20,000.

We want to ensure that Third Rail Projects will continue to bring us beautiful and inspiring works for another ten years and beyond, and we challenge you to help us meet this fundraising goal by making your tax-deductible contribution in conjunction with this special opportunity. Now is an important moment to show our steadfast support to help launch Third Rail Projects forward. Our donations at this time will help strengthen Third Rail’s foundation, fortify organizational infrastructure, supplement production budgets, and pay the artists, performers, designers, collaborators, and staff.

CLICK HERE to make your instant online tax-deductible donation through Third Rail's fiscal sponsor (Fractured Atlas).

We hope that you will join us in the Tenth Anniversary Season Campaign to lay the foundation for future works and fan the creative fires of the incomparable artists of Third Rail Projects.

Our Warmest Regards,

Co-chairs for the Tenth Anniversary Campaign for Third Rail Projects

---

Remember, if your company has a matching gift program, you may be able to increase the value of your donation on your end by doubling the impact. Ask your employer about matching gifts.

To donate online Click Here. To send a check by mail, please make check payable to our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas [not toThird Rail Projects]; please note in the memo line "for Third Rail Projects."

__________Mail Checks to:
__________Attn: Tom Pearson
__________Third Rail Projects
__________48-45 46th Street #4F
__________Woodside, NY 11377

Third Rail Projects is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of Third Rail Projects must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

In Just Ten Days...

If you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison' it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later...

Steampunk Haunted House Official Website

Tickets

Third Rail Projects Launches Tenth Anniversary Season

THIRD RAIL PROJECTS is thrilled to announce that it has been given a tremendous gift to launch its 10th Anniversary Season.

Through generous donations from CHRISTY BURKE, Founder & President of Burke & Company LLC and from JUDY & STEVEN GLUCKSTERN and The Lucky Star Foundation, THIRD RAIL has been challenged to raise $20,000 towards its $80,000 campaign goal by year end.

Every dollar donated by December 31, 2011 will be matched up to $20,000.To be a part of this remarkable opportunity, please visit thirdrailprojects.com to donate securely online and to find out more about what your support can do and the many ways in which you can be involved.

Thank you for making the past ten years so successful and for joining us as we embarkon the next decade of exciting work.

Special Ticket Offer to BLOG Followers

As a thank you to all of our TRP BLOG followers, please use the discount codes below for online ticket purchases to this year's Steampunk Haunted House:

Opening night 10/22: "REDQUEEN" = $20 tickets

10/23, 10/26 (except for special Halloween party tickets), and 10/27: "JABBERWOCK" = $15 tickets.

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS.

Offer ends October 10th, so get them fast.

More information on SPHH at steampunkhauntedhouse.com

Tickets are on Sale Now!!!

Tickets for Steampunk Haunted House 2011 are available for online purchase via steampunkhauntedhouse.com, and this year's theme is announced.

Coming Soon

"Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her, and to wonder

what was going to happen next."

--Lewis Carroll

LA "Looking Glass" Trailer

Marissa Nielsen-Pincus and Tara O'Con as Alice

photo by Wendy Le

The new trailer for our Los Angeles premier is now available on vimeo. Click link below.

"Looking Glass" at Bank of America Plaza - Downtown L.A. from Third Rail Projects on Vimeo.

First Day On Site in Los Angeles with Looking Glass

Tori Sparks as the Red Queen and Tara O'Con as Alice

On Saturday, ten-foot tall signage went up on the side of the Bank of America building, an incongruous art installation of antique ephemera appeared in the West Lobby, and Zach and my first week in LA came to a close.

Yesterday afternoon, Tara O'Con, Tori Sparks, Marissa Nielsen-Pincus, and Elizabeth Carena arrived in LA (Jennine Willett will join the company next Monday). We did massive grocery shopping, started to figure out this whole driving-in-LA-thing, and settled into our house in Silver Lake. Later, we travelled to the Bank of America Plaza for a site observation, unpacked the costumes and trunk, and then we celebrated our arrival with cocktails on a downtown rooftop.

But today was what it's all about. Really hitting the pavement or, rather rolling on the brick wall as the case may be. The first day is always pivotal. It's a kind of ice-breaking moment all around. It's the first time we get to physically interact with the site full-force, and it's the first time that the denizens of the site see us here. We are coming in as the foreign element again, but after years of working in this way, we've started to know how it goes. We get to know everyone as they get to know us, and by the time we leave, we seem as natural to the site as the waterfalls and Tasmanian tree ferns.

We are excited to have our rehearsal time on site open for audiences to watch as we build the work. Over the course of these two weeks, they will have the opportunity to see the creative process from start to finish, and along the way, we get the opportunity to try out material in front of them. It will certainly tell us quickly what works best and what doesn't. We know when we have their attention and where we lose them, and this kind of on-site process affords a much quicker development period and a chance to gather interest and momentum along the way.

But getting back to today... today was also a photo shoot! So, enjoy a sneak peak with some of shots from Wendy Le.

– Tom

Marissa Nielsen-Pincus and Tara O'Con as Alice

Elizabeth Carena as the Mad Hatter

TRP Premieres New Work in Los Angeles & New York

Third Rail Projects Premieres

LOOKING GLASS
presented by Arts Brookfield,
this summer in LA and NY
Save the Dates!

Click through to each individual event below for more information.

photo courtesy of Starboard photos

LOOKING GLASS by Third Rail Projects

Zach Morris, Tom Pearson, Jennine Willett, Co-Directors

Featuring Collaborators:
Elizabeth Carena, Marissa Nielsen-Pincus, Tara O'Con, Tori Sparks

Costumes:
Karen Young

Looking Glass is a site-adaptive, immersive performance experience utilizing and highlighting pre-existing architecture at four sites this summer in LA and NY. The work invites audiences to see their surroundings anew and encourages them to explore the environment, choose and follow a performer, discover hidden scenes, and chart their own path through a cutting edge, fierce, and sophisticated re-imagining of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through The Looking Glass. The work is a durational performance, presented on a loop for roughly two hours (LA site) and one hour (NY sites), affording the public an opportunity to move throughout the space and providing multiple vantage points from which to engage with the work. All performances are FREE. No tickets required.

SUMMER PERFORMANCES:

Looking Glass – Los Angeles, CA

"... an immersive experience that thrives on audience engagement...major points for visuals, as well as for some very enthusiastic players."
– Perrin Drumm, SUNDANCE CHANNEL | SUNfiltered

Presented by Arts Brookfield at
Bank of America Plaza
Performance Dates:
June 23– 25, 2011
Thursday– Friday, 12:00PM–2:00PM
Saturday, 2:00PM– 4:00PM

CLICK HERE for more information about this event.

Whether or not you are in LA, you can follow our open rehearsals and creative process on TRP's BLOG. We will begin posts on June 14th. View online or on your hand held device with our new mobile version.

Looking Glass – New York, NY
"..a lavish delight for the senses." – Caroline Ballard, THE VILLAGE VOICE

New York performances presented by Arts Brookfield
as part of Extraordinary Moves and the River to River Festival

One New York Plaza

Performance Date:
Tuesday, July 12, 2011, 12:30PM
CLICK HERE for more information about this event.

Zuccotti Park

Performance Date:

Wednesday, July 13, 2011, 12:30PM

CLICK HERE for more information about this event.

World Financial Center Plaza

Performance Date:

Thursday, July 14, 2011, 12:30PM

CLICK HERE for more information about this event.

Looking Glass is presented by Arts Brookfield as part of its 2011 summer program, premiering in Los Angeles at Bank of America Plaza, and in New York City at One New York Plaza, Zuccotti Park and World Financial Center as part of Arts Brookfield's Extraordinary Moves dance festival produced for the 2011 River To River Festival.

Brookfield Office Properties enlivens its public spaces through an acclaimed visual and performing arts program. Arts Brookfield is committed to working with regional artists and commissioning original works of art in all disciplines including visual art, dance. theater and music. These events offer artists unique opportunities to work in new and unusual spaces while providing provocative cultural experiences for tenants and visitors alike.

Third Rail Projects' performances of Looking Glass are also made possible, in part, by Materials for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Department of Sanitation, The Lucky Star Foundation and with support from Third Rail Projects' individual and institutional donors. New York Costumes and Gothic Renaissance proudly sponsor Third Rail Projects' ten-year anniversary season and offer audience members a 10% in-store discount. Simply mention Third Rail Projects at the time of purchase.

A Series of Reveals: Final Week and Open Studio

Arts Brookfield presents
Zach Morris Third Rail Projects
A Series of Revealsan evolving art installation inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass

One New York Plaza Art Space, Concourse Level

Project Webpage

Open Studio: March 14 - 18: 12pm - 6pm Daily
This Event is FREE and open to the public

For the last ten weeks, a tiny window display in an empty storefront in the Financial District has been slowly expanding into a lush dream world, evolving before visitors' eyes.

This week, A Series of Reveals culminates when the art space is fully opened to the public. Visitors will be able to explore the space's interior, see a cross-section of the completed installation, and meet the artist from 12-6pm each day.

Created by site-specific artist Zach Morris of Third Rail Projects, the evolving piece evokes the dense, mysterious Victorian dreamscapes that are a hallmark of his artwork.

Sponsored by Brookfield Office Properties

Brookfield Office Properties enlivens its public spaces through an acclaimed visual and performing arts program. Arts Brookfield is committed to working with regional artists and commissioning original works of art in all disciplines including visual art, dance. theater and music. These events offer artists unique opportunities to work in new and unusual spaces while providing provocative cultural experiences for tenants and visitors alike.

A Series of Reveals, Now Open, Unfolds Over 10 Weeks at One New York Plaza

photo by Starboard Photos

Arts Brookfield presents
Zach Morris Third Rail Projects
A Series of Reveals, an evolving art installation
inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass
One New York Plaza Art Space, Concourse Level
Project Webpage
Exhibit: January 10–March 18, 2011;
on view Mondays through Fridays 7am – 7pm

Open Studio: Through March 11: Fridays 12pm–6pm
March 14 – 18: 12pm – 6pm Daily

A tiny window display in an empty storefront in the Financial District is slowly expanding into a lush dream world that will continue to evolve before visitors’ eyes through the middle of March.

A Series of Reveals, an art installation from the arts collective behind last fall’s Halloween sensation Steampunk Haunted House, will animate the windows of the One New York Plaza Art Space through March 18th. Created by site-specific artist Zach Morris of Third Rail Projects, the evolving piece evokes the dense, mysterious Victorian dreamscapes that are a hallmark of Morris’s artwork.

Tucked in between fast food eateries Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway, the work will unfold before viewers’ eyes in weekly increments with each new layer drawing passersby deeper and deeper into an increasingly detailed world. Partly inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, A Series of Reveals began as a small, sparsely furnished “rabbit hole” and is slowly expanding to include plants, portraits, strange Victorian machines, mannequins, and other intriguing oddities.

A new stage of the piece will be unveiled each Monday and remain in place throughout the week. Each Friday, Morris will begin work on the next stage in full view of the public, who is invited to come into the art space to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process and learn more about the project.

The project will culminate with its final reveal during the week of March 14th when the art space will be fully opened to the public. Visitors will be able to explore the space’s interior, see a cross-section of the completed installation, and meet Morris who will be present from 12-6pm each day.

Third Rail Projects is dedicated to creating work in the public sphere that engages local communities. Known for its immersive, site-specific art and performance projects, the group has received popular and critical acclaim for its Steampunk Haunted House, “a lavish delight for the senses,” as described by The Village Voice. A Series of Reveals marks the company’s third partnership with Arts Brookfield.

“Zach Morris and Third Rail Projects have an unparalleled talent for drawing audiences into their distinctive world, one enthralling step at a time,” said Debra Simon, Artistic Director of Arts Brookfield. “We’re thrilled to partner with them once again on a journey that will bring whimsy and surprise to the daily lives of everyone passing through the concourse at One New York Plaza.”

Zach Morris and Third Rail Projects acknowledge Caroline Williams and The Fund for The Drifting Encyclopedia for making this project possible. “A Series of Reveals” is also made possible in part by Materials for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Department of Sanitation, The Lucky Star Foundation, and support from individual and institutional donors.
About Third Rail ProjectsThird Rail Projects, led by Zach Morris, Tom Pearson, and Jennine Willett, is dedicated to reframing dance and performance and bringing art to the public through an array of media and within a variety of contexts including site-specific performances, dance theater, installation art, video and multi-media projects, and immersive performance environments. Collectively, Third Rail artists have been granted commissions, support, and residencies from presenters, organizations, and foundations including: Arts Brookfield, Danspace Project, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, Abrons Arts Center, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Dance New Amsterdam, Dance Theater Workshop, Topaz Arts, La Mama ETC, 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center, The American Music Center, The Lucky Star Foundation, and Materials for the Arts, among many others. Third Rail artists have also received numerous awards including two 2008 New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Awards for Vanishing Point, a 2001 New York International Fringe Festival Award for Choreography from the Present Company, and others.

For more information please visit www.thirdrailprojects.com.

Sponsored by Brookfield Office Properties

Brookfield Office Properties enlivens its public spaces through an acclaimed visual and performing arts program. Arts Brookfield is committed to working with regional artists and commissioning original works of art in all disciplines including visual art, dance. theater and music. These events offer artists unique opportunities to work in new and unusual spaces while providing provocative cultural experiences for tenants and visitors alike.

Kissing the Gunner's Daughter

All photos by Tom Pearson

Below is a photo slideshow from the installation (Flickr), followed by an excerpt of the film component within the installation:

"If you want to get your weird installation on, time is ticking... we're calling this one out as can't miss." – New York Press

Full project page at: thirdrailprojects.com

Kissing the Gunner's Daughter (2010), by Tom Pearson, is an interactive art installation that features fragments from a ship's interior, a captain's log of its travels, and the true tale of a man from Michigan who traded his home for a replica of the Santa Maria. The work simultaneously conveys the story of "The Santa Marias," a traveling band of Cherokee vaudevillians who find themselves immersed in the burgeoning roadside attraction performance culture of Florida in the Forties.Kissing the Gunner's Daughter was originally presented as part of The Drifting Encyclopedia in the Courtyard Gallery at the World Financial Center by Arts World Financial Center, and then subsequently as a larger installation (or outpost of The Drifitng Encyclopedia) at Dance New Amsterdam (DNA). At DNA, the exhibition was presented in conjunction with performances of Walking In Two, by Tom Pearson and Donna Ahmadi and enjoyed a run from September 9 through November 15, 2010 as the inaugural presentation of DNA’s Heritage Series Contemporary First Nation.

The film above is culled from family reels, specifically located in and around St. Augustine, Florida in the late 1950's and early 1960's. The film was encased underneath sand and oyster shells inside a bench/trunk within the installation. The bench/trunk lid also featured a collage of images from Florida roadside attraction culture. The above excerpt is five minutes of a 20-minute reel.

DNA's presentation of Kissing the Gunner's Daughter was funded, in part, by a grant from New York State Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick through the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. The creation of Kissing the Gunner's Daughter, as part of The Drifting Encyclopedia, was originally presented by Arts World Financial Center and made possible, in part, by the River To River Festival. Additional support for the work came from Materials for the Arts/New York City Department of Cultural Affairs/Department of Sanitation, The Lucky Star Foundation, and by Third Rail Projects with support from individual and institutional donors.DNA’s Heritage Series Contemporary First Nation was made possible with support from American Express.

Beautiful Dreamer in Hudon, New York

Beautiful Dreamer is a durational site-specific performance installation that inhabits the Great Hall of the Hudson Opera House. Evoking a dreamlike reflection of turn-of-the-century elegance, referencing the region's ties to whaling and maritime industries, and recalling performances and events that happened in the site in bygone eras, Beautiful Dreamer is an immersive performance that happens all around the audience, and is performed on a fifteen minute loop, without pause, for three hours during Hudson's Winter Walk Festival December 4, 2010.

Directed by Zach Morris and Tom Pearson

Designed, Created, and Performed by:Christopher Cummings, Zach Morris, Marissa Nielsen-Pincus, Tara O'Con, and Tom Pearson

Beautiful Dreamer is made possible, in part, by Kuumba Dance & Drum, Operation Unite, NY, Materials for the Arts/DCA and Department of Sanitation; and was developed during the TOPAZ ARTS Choreography Residency Program made possible, in part, by NYS DanceForce with funding from the New York State Council on the Arts. Additional material was created with support from Abrons Arts Center; and by Third Rail Projects, with support from the Lucky Star Foundation and individual and institutional donors.

The One You Love is Sick

Trailer of the performance in Hong Kong, April 2010.

The One You Love Is Sick Documentary

Here's the edited documentary from our work in Hong Kong in April 2010.

A Series of Reveals

Zach Morris | Third Rail Projects

A Series of Reveals

an evolving art installation inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass

One New York Plaza Art Space, Concourse Level

Exhibit:

January 10–March 18, 2011

on view Mondays through Fridays: 7am – 7pm

Open Studio:

Through March 11: Fridays 12pm–6pm
March 14 – 18: 12pm – 6pm DailyDOWNTOWN STOREFRONT TO EVOLVE INTO LIFE-SIZE DIORAMA IN “A SERIES OF REVEALS,”
JANUARY 10–MARCH 18

New art installation from Third Rail Projects, creators of Steampunk Haunted House,
to unfold at One New York Plaza over 10 weekshttp://www.artsbrookfieldproperties.com/

New York, NY (January 24, 2011) – A tiny window display in an empty storefront in the Financial District is slowly expanding into a lush dream world that will continue to evolve before visitors’ eyes through the middle of March.

“A Series of Reveals,” an art installation from the arts collective behind last fall’s Halloween sensation Steampunk Haunted House, will animate the windows of the One New York Plaza Art Space through March 18th. Created by site-specific artist Zach Morris of Third Rail Projects, the evolving piece evokes the dense, mysterious Victorian dreamscapes that are a hallmark of Morris’s artwork.

Tucked in between fast food eateries Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway, the work will unfold before viewers’ eyes in weekly increments with each new layer drawing passersby deeper and deeper into an increasingly detailed world. Partly inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, “A Series of Reveals” began as a small, sparsely furnished “rabbit hole” and is slowly expanding to include plants, portraits, strange Victorian machines, mannequins, and other intriguing oddities.

A new stage of the piece will be unveiled each Monday and remain in place throughout the week. Each Friday, Morris will begin work on the next stage in full view of the public, who is invited to come into the art space to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process and learn more about the project.
The project will culminate with its final reveal during the week of March 14th when the art space will be fully opened to the public. Visitors will be able to explore the space’s interior, see a cross-section of the completed installation, and meet Morris who will be present from 12-6pm each day.

Third Rail Projects is dedicated to creating work in the public sphere that engages local communities. Known for its immersive, site-specific art and performance projects, the group has received popular and critical acclaim for its Steampunk Haunted House, “a lavish delight for the senses,” as described by The Village Voice. “A Series of Reveals” marks the company’s third partnership with Arts Brookfield.

“Zach Morris and Third Rail Projects have an unparalleled talent for drawing audiences into their distinctive world, one enthralling step at a time,” said Debra Simon, Artistic Director of Arts Brookfield. “We’re thrilled to partner with them once again on a journey that will bring whimsy and surprise to the daily lives of everyone passing through the concourse at One New York Plaza.”

Zach Morris and Third Rail Projects acknowledge Caroline Williams and The Fund for The Drifting Encyclopedia for making this project possible. “A Series of Reveals” is also made possible in part by Materials for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Department of Sanitation, The Lucky Star Foundation, and support from individual and institutional donors.

About Third Rail ProjectsThird Rail Projects, led by Zach Morris, Tom Pearson, and Jennine Willett, is dedicated to reframing dance and performance and bringing art to the public through an array of media and within a variety of contexts including site-specific performances, dance theater, installation art, video and multi-media projects, and immersive performance environments.

Collectively, Third Rail artists have been granted commissions, support, and residencies from presenters, organizations, and foundations including: Arts Brookfield, Danspace Project, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, Abrons Arts Center, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Dance New Amsterdam, Dance Theater Workshop, Topaz Arts, La Mama ETC, 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center, The American Music Center, The Lucky Star Foundation, and Materials for the Arts, among many others. Third Rail artists have also received numerous awards including two 2008 New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Awards for Vanishing Point, a 2001 New York International Fringe Festival Award for Choreography from the Present Company, and others.

For more information please visit

www.thirdrailprojects.com.

About Arts Brookfield

Brookfield Properties brings life to its public spaces through an internationally acclaimed visual and performing arts program. Brookfield Properties supports local, regional and international artists and organizations by commissioning original works and presenting art forms in new and unusual spaces.