SEAGULLMACHINE
Created by The Assembly
Conceived by Nick Benacerraf
Co-directed by Jess Chayes & Nick Benacerraf
Text by Anton Chekhov, Heiner Müller, and The Assembly
In SEAGULLMACHINE, an ensemble takes refuge in an abandoned theater, caught in the struggle between action and distraction. Smashing together two iconic riffs on the Hamlet story – Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull and Heiner Muller’s Hamletmachine (translated by Carl Weber) – The Assembly excavates the legacy of twentieth-century drama to ask: What’s the good of making theater anyway?
Cover Photo by Marina McClure
Russia 1896. Germany 1977. USA 2018.
In a world gone mad, when do you take arms against the sea of troubles?
CAST
Emily Caffery, Rolls Andre, Edward Bauer, Ben Beckley, Nehassaiu deGannes, Anna Abhau Elliott,
Christopher Hurt, Jax Jackson, Layla Khosh, Elena McGhee, Marvin Bell, Gaby Resende and Daniel Maseda
CREATIVE TEAM
Co-Directed by Jess Chayes & Nick Benacerraf
Co-Scenic Designed by Nick Benacerraf & Emmie Finckel
Dramaturgy by Stephen Aubrey
Text by Anton Chekhov, Heiner Müller, & The Assembly
Assistant Directed by Miranda Haymon
Sound Design by Asa Wember
Lighting Design by Miriam Crowe
Costume Design by Kate Fry
Associate Costume Design by Karen Boyer
Assistant Costume Design by Emily Schumann
Video Design by Ray Sun
Scenic Assistant and Props Design by Jess Cummings
Production Stage Managed by Devin Fletcher
Assistant Stage Managed by Azure D. Osborne-Lee
Produced by Lucy Jackson
Associate Produced by Emily Caffery
Casting Consultant: Ari Rudess
Production Manager: Emma Johnson
Technical Director: Carl Whipple
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
The Assembly is a collective of multi-disciplinary performance artists committed to realizing a visceral and intelligent theater for a new generation. The company has created nine original works including HOME/SICK (NY Times Critics’ Pick), I WILL LOOK FORWARD TO THIS LATER and THAT POOR DREAM, performed at venues across New York, and toured to Los Angeles, Wesleyan University, the Edinburgh Fringe (Fringe First nomination), and the Philly Fringe.
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SEAGULLMACHINE was developed as part of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Process Space program. LMCC.net, at The Williams College Summer Theater Lab, as part of the undergroundzero festival.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
SEAGULLMACHINE is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. LMCC.net
Additonal funding also provided by The Yip Harburg Foundation
THE DEFIANT POLITICS OF COLLECTIVITY: The Assembly’s SEAGULLMACHINE
“check out this mash-up of Chekhov, Heiner Müller and The Assembly’s own grand finale, then come back here and tell us it was toooootally worth it” – Opplaud
“a thrill to encounter from start to finish” – Jamie Rosler, The Reviews Hub
Nick Benacerraf on SEAGULLMACHINE
“a multi-faceted, immersive escapade that breaks the rules of theater altogether.” – Jed Ryan, Lavender After Dark
“intelligent and creative work from an energetic and innovative company” – Alison Walls, Exeunt NYC
“A cutting-edge young theater collective.”
–The New York Times
“With their first major work, 2011’s ‘HOME/SICK,’ about the Weather Underground, the Assembly broke onto the experimental theater scene establishing themselves as passionate, formally inventive theater makers who make much of delving into historical texts.”
–Wall Street Journal
“I felt as though I was witnessing a revolution and the evolution of theatre all at once.”
–Theatre Is Easy
“the Assembly[…]has its own particular flavor, an unabashed and boldly unhip sincerity”
–The New York Times