SPONSORED BY NOBODY is a Brooklyn theatre company dedicated to developing and presenting work that is relevant to contemporary American culture. Founded in 2005, SPONSORED BY NOBODY has quickly established a reputation for developing cutting edge work while maintaining a determined work ethic. Our inaugural work -- THE POSITION -- received three separate productions in New York and Massachusetts during 2005. The complete text of THE POSITION was published in the annual New York anthology PLAYS & PLAYWRIGHTS 2006 and an excerpt was published in THE BEST MEN'S STAGE MONOLOGUES 2006.
/ SPONSORED BY NOBODY has participated in the 2005 Ice Factory Festival (Soho Think Tank), 2006 The American Living Room (HERE), 2005 Berkshire Fringe Festival (Bazaar Productions) and has presented work at the Ohio Theatre, 3LD Technology Center, Collective Unconscious, BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, The Field, 20 Greene, the Daniel Arts Center (MA), the 2007 Pretentious Festival at The Brick Theater, the Trifecta Festival at the Chashama Theater, the Samuel French Off Off Festival of Short Plays and the New York International Fringe Festival.
/ SPONSORED BY NOBODY was a co-recipient of the 2007 chashama/NEA Performance Development Award for our current work-in-progress -- "W.M.D. (just the low points)" -- a large-scale deconstruction of America's relationship with its media during wartime. Workshop performances are scheduled at THE PUFFIN ROOM in Soho (NYC) from May 22-31, 2008 with support from the Flemish Minister of Culture, the Flemish Community of Belgium and The Puffin Foundation. Previously, W.M.D. had been the recipient of a 2005 Space Grant from BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange and received development support from the Ontological-Hysteric Incubator.
/ As a company, SPONSORED BY NOBODY has thus far created five original works for the American theatre -- each one immediately relevant to our contemporary culture -- each one taking no prisoners -- each one in front of repeated sold out audiences at multiple venues throughout New York City.
These works are:
THE POSITION / COMPRESSION OF A CASUALTY / FOX(y) FRIENDS / NOT FROM CANADA / W.M.D. (just the low points)
/ Our current active roster includes the founding company members: Kevin Doyle, Peter Hoerburger, Paul Newport, Sean O'Hagan, Scott Miller and Laura Adams. Active associates include: Jessa Wildemeersch (Belgium), McKenna Kerrigan, Elizabeth Woodard, Kate Moran, Michael Crisuolo, Sam Ghosh, Macha Ross, Mare Hieronimus, Shelly Bhalla, Sarah Flanagan, Brian Distance, Brendan Regimbal, Josh Edelmann and Captain Tom.
/ /
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH YOUR NAME?
In 1987, the recording artist Neil Young released a single -- “This Note’s For You” -- a satirical attack on the intertwining of popular music with corporate sponsorship and the inherent pretensions of advertising. The video for the single was a vivid parody of the rock-themed beer and soda commercials of the decade. The video was promptly banned by MTV Networks and the song was conveniently excluded from radio playlists throughout the country. Later that year, Neil Young went on tour in support of his banned album. The tour was entitled -- Sponsored By Nobody. We feel the name is relevant not only to the American theatre industry -- but to the lack of a real national discussion on the role of the arts in America. It is a discussion that has been on hold since the 1930s -- and is connected to other national discussions we prefer to postpone on health care and education. Its time to have them.
W.M.D. ( just the low points )
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W.M.D. ( just the low points ) - Podcast Interview .. Add to My Profile | More Videos
If you wish to support the work of SPONSORED BY NOBODY, we have non-profit status as a Sponsored Artist with The Field. Donations made to SPONSORED BY NOBODY are tax-deductible under The Field's Sponsored Artist program. The Field is a non-profit, tax-excempt, 501(c)(3) organization serving the New York City performing arts community. Contributions made to The Field and earmarked for SPONSORED BY NOBODY are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. For more information about The Field contact: The Field, 161 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10013. (212) 691-6969, fax: (212) 255-2053, www.thefield.org. e-mail: info@thefield.org. A copy of The Field's latest annual report may be obtained, upon request, from The Field or from the Office of the Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
Music
Movies
Songs From The Second Floor. The Thin Red Line. Elephant. Volver. The Banishment.
Television
PBS Frontline.
Ken Burns' THE CIVIL WAR.
MAD MEN.
Books
Cormac McCarthy. George Saunders. Don DeLillo. Thomas Frank. David Berman. Nathalie Sarraute. James Kunstler. THE BAFFLER - "the best magazine in America"
Heroes
Neil Young. Roger Waters. Le Tigre. ELEVATOR REPAIR SERVICE's mounting of GATZ in '05 at The Performing Garage and at The Walker in '06. Richard Maxwell's HENRY IV, Part I at BAM and Oliver Py's REQUIEM FOR SEBRENICA at BAM. Robert Cantarella's production of Michel Vinaver's 11 SEPTEMBER 2001 at CalArts in '05 and in Paris in '06. Pascal Rambert's PARADIS at DTW in Dec '05. NeedCompany's ISABELLA'S ROOM at BAM in late '04 (??) -- we can't remember because the afterparty at Doyle's was too much. The work of SUPERAMAS -- especially Big Episode #2 & Big Episode #3 -- we can't wait to see EMPIRE in the future. And most recently the work of the Flemish theatre company Abattoir Fermé, specifically the piece entitled "Mythobarbital" -- it is a masterpiece of suburban iconography that needs to be seen in America.
A production of "Snufflouse Dustlouse" by the Irish puppet troupe FAULTY OPTIC that was presented at P.S. 122 back in either 2000 or 2002 as part of the Jim Henson International Puppet Festival. It remains one of the most incredible works of theatre ever in recorded history.
Michel Vinaver. Vaclav Havel. Samuel Beckett. Friedrich Durrenmatt. Slawomir Mrozek. Anna Schuleit. George Saunders. David Wojnarowicz.
Giacometti. Klee. Rothko (not the the band & not the bar).
Who I'd like to meet: We would love to meet the following people:
1. An innovative Set Designer -- with an interest/focus more in Installation Art than your usual fourth wall hotel room design.
2. A good sound artist from the John Collins School of Sound Design -- possibly a talented gent like Ken Urban when he's not sequestered away during a semester.
3. A costume designer who knows how to keep it real.
4. Any leads on a Medieval Knight costume. The real deal, not the tacky plastic.
5. Any leads on a deserted warehouse on the Brooklyn waterfront that would prove an ideal live/work location for a blossoming theatre/production company.
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The single women in the company are always interested in meeting men who are either sculptors or welders with disposable income reserved for French restaurants -- brave, husky, fearless men who are not fazed by the super-duper high-priced handling surcharge at the St. Ann's Warehouse Box Office.
The single men in the company are always interested in beautiful redheaded real estate agents and professional dancers who looking for a way out of the self-referential dance scene.
