New Original Works Festival

The Roy and Edna Disney CalARTS Theater (REDCAT) presents the 21st annual New Original Works (NOW) Festival, a celebration of new and innovative dance, theater, music, and performance by Los Angeles artists presented over three weekends this fall.

Committed to an investigation of history and contemporary norms, these nine works use humor, improvisation, and multidisciplinary collaboration to disrupt power dynamics, craft collective rituals of care, and build new modes of community abundance.

Each of the three festival weekends features a triple bill of performances in a shared evening. Each program will premiere on Thursday and repeat Friday and Saturday at 8:30 PM. Performances will also be livestreamed each Saturday during the festival's run.

In the spirit of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), REDCAT's parent institution, the NOW Festival has served as a catalyst for creativity and new ideas for more than two decades.

Each year, NOW Festival premieres new and innovative work in contemporary dance, theater, music, and multimedia performance by Los Angeles-based artists. All artistic teams receive rehearsal space, production and technical support, artist fees, and participate in development workshops. Since the first edition in 2004, NOW Festival has presented the work of over 200 artists who continue to be seen on stages throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Schedule of Events

Bret Easterling, Mallory Fabian, Kensaku Shinohara

The 21st Annual New Original Works concludes with a program of works by Bret Easterling, Mallory Fabian, and Kensaku Shinohara. Committed to an investigation of history and contemporary norms, these works use humor, improvisation, and multidisciplinary collaboration to disrupt power dynamics, craft collective rituals of care, and build new modes of community abundance.

Bret Easterling
On Second Thought

In this new dance, choreographer Bret Easterling asks: What might we create if we went with our second thought? Refuting the logic of "first thought, best thought", On Second Thought draws attention to bias and patterns as improvisational structures and set choreography combine to break habits and inhabit new terrain. In a world trapped in trends and stuck in systems of harm, Easterling devises a new mode of decision-making and artistic exploration to craft different potentials and imagine liberatory futures.

Mallory Fabian
I Hate Women

I Hate Women is an energetic multidisciplinary performance that uses dance, theater, text, boxing, and murder ballads to study the complexities of platonic relationships between women—relationships that often go deeper than romantic connections. Created by Mallory Fabian, this quartet explores these intimate friendships by examining internalized personal and collective misogyny, patriarchy, and homophobia. Embracing sisterhood and rehabilitating competition, this work seeks to dismantle stereotypes that shape interactions amongst women.

Kensaku Shinohara
sorry I did not prepare anything today: I will give up my art because I cannot make money and feel embarrassed and also I am trying to be a good father ALTERNATE TITLE: tired music concert

In tired music concert, Kensaku Shinohara incorporates dance and music to explore his firsthand experience as a father, interdisciplinary artist, and immigrant in the United States. Accompanied by a sound score created by the manipulation of ordinary objects, Kensaku's experiences are shared and embodied by performers in a series of athletic movement scores. Examining stereotypes around masculinity and Asian men, this performance invites audience engagement in a reminder that community is built collectively.

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