Experiments: Poisoning the Prophets
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created & written by Tony Bordonaro & Jenna Sofia
Poisoning the Prophets
a whimsical Sci-Fi Noir series inspired by the disappearing honey bees
In Melville, a town full of people like us, in a world not unlike our own, honey bees are revered as prophets known as the Apiarchy. When the Apiarchy is removed from the wild and confined to a glass hive, “for their protection,” by the Ministry, Melville begins crumbling slowly… and literally. Amidst the crumbling and a Ministry official’s baffling death, two strangers—an offbeat teenage recluse and a mysterious woman of the Resistance—team up searching for answers; they soon find themselves led by the bee-loved Apiarchy, smack-dab into the middle of a mystery that’s none of their beeswax.
Tony Bordonaro is a writer, director, choreographer, and theater-maker based in New York City. He is best known for his work as a performer with the theater company Punchdrunk and as an original cast member in their hit Off-Broadway show Sleep No More. His first short film, The Pigeon & The Mouse (2021) was an official select in the NewFilmmakers NY Film Festival and Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival and a top five finalist in the Broadway on Demand Short Film Festival; as result it’s currently streaming on the Emmys ® OTT platform. Tony’s second short, Subject (2022), follows two test subjects for a new memory-erase medication as they find themselves swept into an intimate, psychological reckoning with memory and loss. The film, an adaptation of the live production recommended by TimeOut as one of the best immersive theater experiences in NYC (2021), was a finalist in the NewFilmmakers NY Film Festival and is now streaming to a global audience on Broadway On Demand.
His choreographies for video include the short “Rat” directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, the Oscars® winning student film “Opera of Cruelty”, music videos, and commercials for companies OPPO (documentary Ad “Bring Creativity to Reality”) and WOM. Check out welcometocampfire.com to learn about his dance-theater company and upcoming performances!
Jenna Sofia is a performer, writer, and producer with insatiable appetite for collecting folk stories and songs from around the world, and cooking up new ones. She wrote, produced, and performed in the forthcoming Rhythm of Six, filmed while she was 8-months-pregnant. Her debut film Break the Camera (Winner, Best Experimental Short, Amazing Shorts! Film Festival, Madrid) played festivals worldwide, including Mill Valley Film Festival and the Oscar-qualifying AIFVF. She has played stages from London’s Southwark Playhouse (Summer and Smoke, dir. Rebecca Frecknall) to NYC’s La MaMa ETC (GirlGroup - now a feature film she’s co-producing, to be directed by Jodie Markell). The founder of Second Seed Productions and co-founder of Lovebranch Films, Jenna has also produced for Veuve Clicquot, Female Founder Collective, Starry Eyed Productions, and on Five Years’ Time (short, dir. Grace Sun). She studied at LAMDA & the New School for Public Engagement. JennaSofia.com; SecondSeedProductions.com.
Experiments Play Reading Series
For the 23rd season of La MaMa Experiments we will focus on theatrical works in progress addressing mental health issues. No one is more familiar with the need to create greater access to mental healthcare than our New York audience, who come face to face with this crisis on a daily basis. After 3 years of a global pandemic, all of us are feeling the upsurge of anxiety and depression, but these trends have been on the rise long before Covid-19. The works this season shed light on important, personal stories and deal with this subject matter in many different and unique ways. From tongue in cheek comedies to absurdist tragedies, Experiments hopes to create a season that will destigmaify, enlighten and, yes, even entertain.