now my hand is ready for my heart: intimate histories Livestream w/ Talkback
Conceived, written and performed by Nicky Paraiso
Direction and Visual Design by John Jesurun
In Association with Mount Tremper Arts
LIVESTREAM WITH POST-STREAM TALKBACK
now my hand is ready for my heart: intimate histories is the 2019 work from Nicky Paraiso, an award-winning 40-year veteran of the New York City performance community. In a deep exploration of an artist’s life, Paraiso investigates aging, identity, sexuality, class and race. Directed by MacArthur Fellow John Jesurun, this world premiere is a multi-disciplinary celebration of an artistic community as it grows older and continues to make work, both individually and with each other. Paraiso is joined by choreographer / dancers Irene Hultman, Jon Kinzel, Vicky Shick, and Paz Tanjuaquio in performance and as collaborators.
For 40 years, Paraiso has been a fixture in New York City as an actor, musician, writer, performance artist and curator. His career includes formative years with Jeff Weiss, Meredith Monk, and Yoshiko Chuma; celebrated performances with Anne Bogart, Jessica Hagedorn, Dan Hurlin, Robbie McCauley, and Ralph Peña, to name a few; and a trilogy of autobiographical solos (Asian Boys, 1994, Houses and Jewels, 1994, House/Boy, 2004) that explore his Filipino-American identity, sexuality, and the enduing theme of “home” within immigrant communities. As an artist, now my hand is ready for my heart: intimate histories marks Paraiso’s most ambitious work to date. While rooted in Paraiso’s own journey from Queens to the world stages, the intimate, visceral work creates parallels across race and gender while bridging the generational gap that exists between dance and theater communities in New York.
Nicky Paraiso and La MaMa are participants in the Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowships, funded by the William & Eva Fox Foundation and administrated by Theatre Communications Group and additional support from Mount Tremper Arts, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, 2wice Arts Foundation, Wendy vanden Heuvel and Gerald Herman
SPECIAL THANKS TO INDIVIDUAL SUPPORTERS OF THIS PROJECT
Arthur & Liz Adair, Brooke Adams, Rafael Albarran, Penny Arcade, Christine Bacareza Balance & Gary Gacula Gabisan, Nolini Barretto Barretto, Caterina Bartha, Becca Blackwell, Bowery Bob, Anne Bogart, Thomas Bogdan, Rocky Bornstein, Peter Brosius and Rosanna Staffa, Abby Browde & Michael Silverstone, Jacob Burckhardt, Marylouise Burke, Emilya Cachapero, David Cale, Yanira Castro, Travis Chamberlain, Ashley Chen, Peggy Cheng, Cindy Cheung, Hye Young Chyun, Jane Comfort, Nancy Comfort, Ellie Covan, Rachel Mary Cox, Nicholas Croft, Fulana de Tal, Maud Dinand, Zvonimir Dobrovic, Barbara Dufty, Stephen Facey, Eric Farber, Molissa Fenley, Joel G. Fink, Joan Finkelstein, Karen Finley, Lauren Flanigan, Robert Flynt and Jeff McMahon, Sharon Ann Fogarty, Benjamin Forster, Dan Froot, Vallejo Gantner, Sandra Garner, Jean Gennis, Mel Gionson, Neil Greenberg, Michael Greif, John Hagan, Linda Faigao Hall, Shawn Hamilton, Sharon Hayes, Karen S. Henry, Gerry Herman, Philip Himberg, Catherine Hyland, Kim Ima, Morgan Jenness, Daniel Alexander Jones, Russell G. Jones, Barry, Jay Kaplan, Judy Karasik, Thomas Keith, Peter Kim, Leviathan Lab, Cosmo Lee, Anabella Lenzu, Gideon Lester, Deb Levine, Frank Lord, Maria Makis, Jessica Massart, Rachel Mattson, Wayne Maugans, Salley May, Cynthia Mayeda, Brendan McCall, Robbie McCauley, Maureen McSherry, Greg Mehrten, Uwe Mengel, Mary-Ann Monforton, Susan Murphy & Janice Shapiro, Jon Nakagawa, Kestutis Nakas, Jeremy Nelson, William Niederkorn, Rico Noguchi, Helen Oji, Edgar Oliver, Karen Oughtred, Orlando Pabotoy, Debra Paraiso, Marie, Fidela Paraiso, Ralph Pena, Mathew Pokoik, Michael Preston, Jane-Cole Raftery, Matt Ray, Remote Theater Project, Ellen Robbins, Mark Russell, Larilyn Sanchez, Dudley Saunders, Justin Sayre, Kaneza Schaal, Andrew Schneider, Sarah Schulman, Amy Schwartzman, John Scott, Buffy and Joe Sedlachek, Tom Sellar, Tanya Selvaratnam, Martha Sherman, Don Shewey, Mary Shultz and Carl Goldhagen, Joe Stackell, Catherine Tambini, Dane Terry, Shanta Thake, Colleen Thomas, Howard Thoresen, Muna Tseng, Basil Twist, Laurie Uprichard, Aynsley Vandenbroucke, Cliff Vick, Jay Wegman, Crystal Wei, Cathy Weis, Mitch Weiss, Gwen Welliver, Carleigh Welsh, David R White, Tony Whitfield, Guy Yedwab, Lucien Zayan, Pavel Zustiak
A La MaMa Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Event
Original Music Composition for Piano by Nicky Paraiso
Set Design: John Jesurun
Lighting Design: Joe Levasseur
Costume Design: Gabriel Berry
Sound Design: John Gasper
Video Programming and Tech: CultureHub (Billy Clark, DeAndra Anthony, Sangmin Chae)
Theo Cote: Photography and additional video
Nicky Paraiso: Additional #7 train video
Script Development: Irene Hultman, John Jesurun, George Emilio Sanchez
Assistant Director: Samuel Im
Production Manager: Caleb Hammond
Production Stage Manager: Erika Foley
Stage Manager (April 4-7): Ilana Khanin
Press Rep: John Wyszniewski, Everyman’s Agency
Created by Nicky Paraiso in collaboration with Irene Hultman, Jon Kinzel, Vicky Shick, Paz Tanjuaquio
Performed by Nicky Paraiso, Irene Hultman, Jon Kinzel, Vicky Shick, Paz Tanjuaquio
On Video: Ching Valdes-Aran, Jessica Hagedorn
About the Artist
Nicky Paraiso is Programming Director for the Club and Chief Curator for the La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival. He has been an actor, performer, musician, singer for the last four decades in New York City. He has written and performed as a solo performance artists, most notably in Asian Boys, Houses and Jewels, and House/Boy, the latter created for and performed at La MaMa’s The Club.
Online Happenings
Presented by La MaMa and CultureHub, La MaMa is exploring ways to respond creatively to a situation that is potentially changing how we gather as a community in our theatres. La MaMa is working with CultureHub to provide online streaming of select productions and events on Howlround Theatre Commons.
