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WORLD PREMIERE
“The dazzling shows of The Builders Association make just about every other theater company look as if it’s from the stone age.” – The New York Times
The benzedrine rants of Ayn Rand meet Artificial Intelligence meet electoral politics in ATLAS DRUGGED (Tools for Tomorrow), The Builders Association’s newest, technologically dazzling work.
ABOUT THE WORK
Just in time for the election, ATLAS DRUGGED (Tools for Tomorrow) is a playful analysis of both the current moment, in which AI-generated “evidence” influences much of what we think and feel, and also a speculation about a near future where candidates themselves are as engineered as their messages. We witness Silicon Valley’s creation of an AI-inflected candidate based on the free-market, alt-right teachings of Ayn Rand and we tune our candidate to our audience, engineering and testing new campaigning strategies and multiple strains of political “messaging.”
In this latest mind-bender from The Builders Association the audience uses their smart devices to help “tune” the candidate, navigate political messaging, and compete for clout in a game that determines the end of the show.
PRODUCTION WARNINGS
This performance engages the audience in using their phones; please arrive with your phone fully charged.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
The Builders Association is an NYC-based, OBIE-winning crossmedia performance company in its 30th year. Founded by artistic director Marianne Weems, the company creates original productions that examine the impact of media on various cultures and communities. The Builders’ work has appeared at over 80 venues across the globe. In New York, they have been presented at BAM, Lincoln Center, St. Ann’s Warehouse, The Kitchen, New York Theater Workshop, the Whitney Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, NYU Skirball, and more.
From large-scale installations to intimate character-driven performances, the company’s work has addressed issues such as outsourcing and corporate colonialism in Bangalore, India (ALLADEEN), dataveillance (SUPER VISION), and the global financial crisis developed with victims of home foreclosure (HOUSE/DIVIDED). Their hit ELEMENTS OF OZ (2016-2019) is a celebration of queer culture and American escapism using a custom-made AR app; their most recent work, I AGREE TO THE TERMS (2022) sheds light on the ‘microworkers’ who shape our online experiences and make pennies-per-click in a vast, unregulated industry.
ATLAS DRUGGED (Tools for Tomorrow) is supported in part by Mitu’s Artists-At-Home program.
CREATIVE CREDITS
Director Marianne Weems
Writer/Dramaturg James Gibbs
Video Design Austin Switser
Sound Design Dan Dobson
Lighting by Jennifer Tipton and Allen Hahn
Data Analytics and Interaction Design Lawrence Shea
Set and Costume Design Andreea Mincic
Technical Director and Production Manager Jack Daniel Woods
Assistant Director Kate Purdum
Media Associate David Pym
Creative Developer Will Rinkoff
Stage Manager and Sound Associate Erin Gray
Assistant Scenic Design Andrew Machovec
Production Assistant Jasmine Richards
Performed by Moe Angelos (The Candidate) and Tanya Selvaratnam (Emcee, Engineer)
RUN TIME
75 minutes
SUPPORT
NYU Skirball’s programs are made possible in part with support from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and the Howard Gilman Foundation; Van Cleef and Arpels; Collins Building Services; General Delegation of the Government of Flanders to the USA; and Marta Heflin Foundation; as well as our valued donors through memberships, commissioning, and Allies for Arts Access Fund support.
