Dixon Place presents Unicorn Afterlife by Justin Perkins, In-Person and Online

Dixon Place presents Unicorn Afterlife by Justin Perkins as part of its Spring 2021 Production Season of puppetry commissions, performed for in-person and virtual audiences May 5-8, 2021 at 7:30pm EDT with video on demand (VOD) streaming available following the live premiere through May 18, 2021. In-person performances will take place at 161A Chrystie Street, New York, NY. Tickets are $10.50-$35 and can be purchased online at dixonplace.org/productions-2021/. 

Unicorn Afterlife by Justin Perkins
May 5, 6, 7, 8, 2021 at 7:30pm EST (Live performances with limited in-person audiences)
Available to stream through May 18, 2021
A Unicorn, a beast of pure goodness and light, wakes in a black void and discovers, horrified, that it’s dead; but in the hands of a team of puppeteers, it lives again and looks for a way to escape its past, and maybe escape its future too. Unicorn Afterlife is a grimy, synthesizer dream ballet about fantasy, greed, gender, glitter and the power of belief, designed and directed by Justin Perkins. Approx. run time: 60 minutes. Rated E for Everyone.

Puppeteers: Kate Brehm, Jenny Hann, Dorothy James, Monica Lerch, Rachael Shane
Stage Manager: Rachel Funderburk
Projection Design: Gabriel Aronson
Lighting Design: Rob Lariviere
Sound Design: Ien Denio
Production Assistant: Camille Cooper
Director/Puppets/Music: Justin Perkins

Justin Perkins has appeared in works by Ping Chong + Company, Basil Twist, Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Tom Lee, Lake Simons, Patti Bradshaw, Puppet Cinema, Unitards, imnotlost, and more. Justin’s works have been presented at NYC venues including Dixon Place, 14th St Y, Center at West Park, Carriage House, and FlameCon. Justin is a curator at Object Movement Puppetry Festival, a residency program for puppet artists, and the Director of Programs at New Country Day Camp. For more on Justin and Unicorn Afterlife, follow them on Instagram @itsjustmejustinp and @unicorn_afterlife.

Gabriel Aronson, originally from Vienna, Austria, is a Brooklyn-based designer and animator primarily active in the performing arts industry. He works with industry-leading video and projection designers to bring their visions to life on stage. His work has appeared on Broadway, at theaters around the world, at sea and on TV. Selected credits — Broadway: Tina, the Tina Turner Musical, Anastasia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,Aladdin, Motown the Musical, Macbeth. Jekyll & Hyde, Bring It On; Opera and Ballet: Cinderella (Royal Albert Hall, London and Dutch National Ballet, Amsterdam), The Thirteenth Child (Santa Fe Opera), Winter’s Tale (Royal Ballet, London). Outside of the performing arts Gabriel works as a motion graphics designer for both large and boutique production houses in New York and London.

Kate Brehm is a puppeteer and movement director. She works as a close associate of Basil Twist, is certified in the Margolis Method of Physical Theater, and teaches her signature class: ‘movement for puppeteers’ as well as ‘performing design.’ Select Credits: Things Fall Apart, Dark Space (imnotlost); Dogugaeshi, Symphonie Fantastique, Rite of Spring, Petrushka (Basil Twist); Dorothy and the Prince of Oz (Edwaard Liang); Paper Hat Game (Torry Bend); La Divina Caricatura (Mabou Mines). I’m thrilled to be a part of this journey with Justin.

Dorothy James is a Brooklyn-based puppeteer, educator, and maker of tiny things.   She has performed with Basil Twist (Hansel & Gretel, Michigan Opera Theatre), Wakka Wakka (Made In China, The Immortal Jellyfish Girl), the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (Petrushka, Giants Are Small), the Rockettes (The New York Spectacular, Radio City), Derek Fordjour & Nick Lehane (Fly Away), and is a puppeteer for the children’s series Moon and Me (BBC, Andrew Davenport). She has puppeteered at the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, the Jim Henson Carriage House, St. Ann’s Warehouse, 59E59, Dixon Place, La MaMa and overseas in Norway and the Czech Republic.  Dorothy is a co-creator of Bill’s 44th, which received a Production Grant from the Jim Henson Foundation as well as support from the NY State Puppet Festival, St. Ann’s Puppet Lab, and Dixon Place, and will premiere the first week of June!  Dorothy is also a co-creator/intern of the Late Night Puppet Talk Show With Special Guest, a 100% live, 100% improvised puppet catastrophe performed Saturday nights at 10pm on twitch.tv/talkpuppet2me. More at dorothy-james.com

Jenny Hann (she/they) is a puppeteer, fiber artist, and visual storyteller based in New York City. 
As a puppeteer, they have worked onstage, and in tv and film, in a variety of different puppetry forms. Jenny has appeared in works by WonderSpark Puppets, Doppelskope, Unitards, Jim Kroupa, and Concrete Temple Theatre. Their original work has been seen at The Tank, La MaMa, The Center at West Park, The Metropolitan Room, Coney Island Sideshows, Flint Repertory Theatre, The Nasty Women Unite Festival, and Inwood Art Works. Jenny had the immense pleasure of being one of eight resident artists for the 2018-2019 Object Movement Festival, and is a current artist for their 2021 spring festival. She is a three time participant of The Eugene O’Neill Puppetry Conference and was a Catapult Artist at the 2017 Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. www.jennyhann.com / @thepuppetprincess on IG

Monica Lerch is a puppet artist, director, performer, and model from Chicago now based in Brooklyn. Her work has been seen at the Lincoln Center, La MaMa ETC, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Dixon Place, The Tank, Here Arts, and The Center at West Park. Monica was awarded a 2020 Jim Henson Foundation Grant for the continued development of her project Otherworlds, and has been spending the pandemic improving her puppet fabrication skills.  More of her work can be found at monicalerch.me or on instagram where she models @death.by.monica and hugs her friends @monica.lerch. 

Rachael Shane is a Troy, NY based puppeteer. Performances include: Basil Twist’s Rite of Spring, ’13, Sister’s Follies, ’15, Symphonie Fantastique, ’18, Julie Atlas Muz and Matt Fraser’s, Jack and The Beanstalk, ’17, Chris Green’s Firebird, ’13,’15, ’18, Lake Simons’ Carnival of the Animals ’15-19, Roman Paska’s Fall of the House of Usher, MassMoca ’19, as well as multiple projects with Puppet Kitchen.

The Dixon Place Spring 2021 Production Season will continue through May and June, with premieres of two additional commissioned productions: NEW MONY! By Maria Camia and Bill’s 44th by Andy Manjuck & Dorothy James. 

About Dixon Place
An artistic incubator since 1986, Dixon Place (DP) is non-profit institution committed to supporting the creative process by presenting original works of theater, dance, music, puppetry, circus arts, literature and visual art. Presenting over 1000 creators a year, this local haven inspires and encourages diverse artists of all stripes and callings to take risks, generate new ideas, and consummate new practices. The artist’s experience is given top priority through our professional atmosphere and remuneration, and their process is enhanced by our adventurous audiences. With a renewed commitment to racial equity and justice, Dixon Place is a local haven for creativity as well as an international model for the open exploration of the creative process. After spawning DP in 1985 as a salon in Paris, Ellie Covan pioneered the organization in her NYC living room for 23 years. Organic development and expansion, DP is now a leading professional, state-of-the-art facility that remains at the heart of the NYC experimental performance scene. In compliance with Covid19 restrictions, DP’s live programs were suspended March 13, 2020. Deeply committed to artists and patrons, DP began presenting virtual literary, dance, & theater programs on DP TV in April ’20. The theater is reopening in May 2021 for in-person performances. For service to the community, DP has received a NY Dance & Performance Award (a Bessie), two Obies, a BAXten Award, the NY Innovation Theater Foundation’s Stewardship Award, CUNY’s Edwin Booth Award, and the Alliance of NY State Arts Organization’s Celebrate the Arts Award for outstanding contributions to NYC. Many artists, such as Deb Margolin, Blue Man Group, John Leguizamo, Lisa Kron, David Cale, Penny Arcade, and Reno began their careers at Dixon Place. Over the years, DP has also been privileged to present performances by established artists, such as: Justin Vivian Bond, Taylor Mac, Lily Tomlin, Wallace Shawn, Craig Lucas, BD Wong, James Lecesne, John Fleck, Kate Bornstein, Ethyl Eichelberger, Holly Hughes, Karen Finley, Kate Clinton, Peggy Shaw, Mac Wellman, Big Art Group; A.M. Homes, Rick Moody, and Oscar Huelos; Mark Dendy, Jane Comfort, Sarah Michelson, Douglas Dunn, Paul Taylor 2, and Yoshiko Chuma; Vernon Reid, Diamanda Galas, Martha Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Suzy Roche, Maggie Roche, and They Might Be Giants. 
For more information, visit dixonplace.org.