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.

"Walking In Two" Opens on Thursday

Tom Pearson Third Rail Projects

Donna Ahmadi Mantis Dance Theater

"People tend to think traditional when it comes to American Indian art. In “Heritage Series: Contemporary First Nation,” Dance New Amsterdam shakes up this assumption, presenting new work by two choreographers who very much belong to the 21st century. " – Claudia La Rocco, The New York Times

DNA PRESENTS: Heritage Series Contemporary First Nation Walking In Two
From The New Yorker:
"Two choreographers of Cherokee descent team up for an investigation of ethnic identity. Pearson’s “Walking in Two” restages and deconstructs a Wild West show, while his “Ceremony” casts a Japanese-American dancer in a solo that Pearson originally made for himself. Ahmadi’s “Scalp Lock” uses masks and puppetry to untie the metaphor of a warrior hair style. A gallery installation tracks the history of Native American performers and the story of a man who, in 1942, tried to make Columbus’s journey in reverse."

November 11 - 14
Performance Times: Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00pm,

Sunday at 3:00pm

Ticket Prices: $17 general,

$12 DNA members, $14 students/seniors

For tickets CLICK HERE

Plus Kissing the Gunner's Daughter in the DNA Gallery

DNA’s Gallery Hours are 9:00am – 10:00pm

Monday – Sunday

Closes November 15

There is no charge for admission to the exhibit.

Dance New Amsterdam

280 Broadway

New York, NY 10007

Entrance at 53 Chambers Street

212.227.9856

For more information, visit dnadance.org.

DNA’s Heritage Series Contemporary First Nation was made possible with support from American Express.

Walking in Two is presented by Dance New Amsterdam. Additional support for the work came from Materials for the Arts/New York City Department of Cultural Affairs/Department of Sanitation, Chashama (Scalp Lock), and by Third Rail Projects with support from The Lucky Star Foundation and individual and institutional donors.

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.

My Experience at the Steampunk Haunted House

Photo by Chad Heird, 2010.

It began with a horrified scream.

In front of us, a woman thrashed furiously in a bed, trying to wake up from a nightmare. But instead of opening her eyes, she sank into—and literally through—the middle of the bed. As soon as she disappeared, the bed flipped up vertically and the dreamer walked out of it. And we had to follow her.

Suddenly, I found myself alone, in a different room. Silvery music-box chimes were playing “Beautiful Dreamer” in the darkness around me. There was a small lantern in my hand. I was in a room with a display of dolls’ heads and carnations in a case. As I passed my lantern’s light across the floor, I saw that it was littered with fabric and paper. I felt lost, disoriented. Then people began to float past me—anachronistic ghosts in a trance, whispering, humming, dancing, and struggling with each other. They sped past me as if I weren’t there, but I instinctively backed away, until I heard a close voice in my ear. “Be careful what you covet.” I gasped and turned to see a young Victorian man, who began to hum and lilt away.

I then saw a few others with lanterns like mine and remembered that we could roam freely around the house. I stumbled into the theatre, where zombie-like creatures were crawling over the seats. In the stage was a hole, out of which a bluish-white light pierced upward into the haze of the room. Someone sat above it, slowly operating a pulley that fed a rope into the hole. I crept closer toward it, avoiding the man with a gas mask and bobby’s stick. Looking down inside, I saw the rope disappear into a bright light. Only later, at the end, would I see what was really there. It was the engine of the dream: the three Furies themselves, weaving the dream like the Fates with their thread.

After we emerged from this dream world, I spoke with some fellow audience members. They mentioned the great attention to detail: “I loved the little secrets, like when you go up the stairs and see a little display, when you thought nothing was there.” Another said he liked the fact that the haunt “wasn’t linear; you could just explore it on your own.” And another person said she loved the Steampunk elements: “Artistically it was fabulous!”

What is truly scary? There are unconscious, deep fears we all share, like darkness, being alone, irrationality, and incongruity. These are the things that haunt us in our dreams. The Steampunk Haunted House harnesses the power of these primal elements. It doesn’t just cause fear; it creates it.

Check Out Our Press

Last weekend's opening of 2010's Steampunk Haunted House generated a great response from audience members and the press.

The Jaded Viewer describes the haunt as a "noir painting come to life" that leaves you with an "odd feeling that you're walking through a nightmare that isn't your own."

NBC New York's video offers a quick peek of some of the "uncomfortable moments and suspense" lurking inside the haunted house, and an interview with co-director Tom Pearson.

The Village Voice says, "This year's Steampunk Haunted House brings together [Victorian] elegance and the chills of a traditional scare house (sans the cop-outs of blood and gore used by most)."

NYC GO! characterizes the event as "the grinding horror of man-made machines meets Victorian science fiction (pre-industrial robots!) in the subterranean catacombs of this early 20th-century building."

Time Out New York says, "What's scarier than a regular haunted house? A mazelike haunted house that's been taken over by demented robots and spiders made of clockworks."

This is the final week of the Steampunk Haunted House, so make sure you don't miss it!