Stills from Giving In To the Bit by Khalif J. Gillett, The Rave by Juan Cortes, Hail Elisha by Jake Brasch, The Basement by Yha Mourhia Wright, Lies We Tell Ourselves in the Dark by Isabella Gonzalez, and Zookeepers by Julia Rae Maldonado
Check out this New York Theater review of LAB’s Intensive Ensemble Night of the Barn Series which reflects on how Zoom theatre from the emerging artists of the moment may influence art and theatre in the future.
I enjoyed watching “The Zookeepers,” written by Julia Rae Maldonado and directed by Yair Kaos, a Zoom call late at night among employees of the Bronx Zoo, because one of them, Oscar, is concerned about Eddie’s behavior during the pandemic. “ Eddie’s a very sensitive elephant,” Oscar says. “I think he misses all the people.”
“I don’t miss all the people,” one of Oscar’s colleagues retorts. “This is like a dream come true for me. All animals and no people.”
The group suggests ways to make Eddie feel better – get him a mate, give him a hot dust bath, have him take up painting, even trade him for an elephant at a California zoo for a change of scenery (“Hard no on trading Eddie, bro,” Oscar says.)
IE Night included new work developed over the summer by the 2020 Intensive Ensemble. The plays capture a fraught moment in history in the midst of a pandemic and a national racial reckoning, all while exploring a totally new medium of storytelling.