Kickstarter

2 Stories That End in Suicide is the latest work-in-progress by Piehole, Brooklyn’s scrappy experimental theater collective. We have already begun working to find the shape of this piece (which explores cultural subversion among contemporary Iranian youth), and WE NEED YOUR HELP to give the project the time and attention it needs to grow!

THE PROJECT:

2 Stories uses puppetry, animation, and live actors to investigate private and public suffering, and the impossibility of identity in a climate of repression. When a young Iranian woman discovers eerie physical and biographical similarities between two authors (Sadegh Hedayat and Cesare Pavese), she transforms into a hybrid of the two men (dubbed HP) in order to write her blog.

The show inhabits a strange, unique world of mustaches, two-dimensional puppets that get de-limbed and shoved into suitcases, and a complex, yet non-sensical "blog machine." The theme of censorship comes alive through our performance and visual materials, which emphasize flatness, masks, and ultimately, the ways in which emotion and identity become obscured in the public sphere.

THE PROCESS:

Our process began with research on Iranian blogs, as well as Iranian censorship laws and their effect on cultural output. Our performer-creators have developed several scenes for the project (including preliminary visual material), which we performed in a workshop setting in November 2010. We will conduct additional workshops, one slated for Spring 2011 at The Brick Theater, culminating with a full-fledged production within a year’s time.

WITH YOUR HELP, WE CAN:

1. Rent the 50 hours of rehearsal space we need to finish shaping this piece through group-writing and improvisation
2. Revise the set and video, and finish making our cast of puppets
3. Acquire the sound and lighting equipment that will enable us to perform the show in alternative venues to reach broader audiences
4. Pay for storage and transporation of our set pieces
5. Give honorariums to our collaborators to honor their hours of toil
6. Create marketing materials and spread the word about our unique work

If you know Piehole, then you know how important our physical materials are to our work! If you don't know us, check out our website at www.pieholed.com to learn more.

2 Stories that End in Suicide is sponsored by ArtSpire, a project of New York Foundation of the Arts.