WHERE AND WHEN:
October 3 through October 19, 2008
La MaMa E.T.C. (The Annex Theatre), 74A East Fourth Street, Manhattan
(Presented by La MaMa E.T.C.)
Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 2:30 pm
$25; $20 students and seniors
Box office (212) 475-7710; online ticketing www.lamama.org
List: Off-Broadway
Preview October 3, Opens October 4. CRITICS ARE INVITED on or after October 3. Runs 1 hour.

NEW YORK, August 31 -- "Room to Panic" is a new work by LOCO7 (www.loco7.org) depicting, in movement and visual theater, the struggles of the immigrant's mind on the path toward assimilation. The piece is conceived and created by Federico Restrepo and Denise Greber with music composed by Elizabeth Swados. It brings together magical puppets, choreography, three-dimensional scenery and video. Typical of Federico Restrepo's style, the puppets will include huge winged creatures, fifteen foot high politicians and mothers, a dancing puppet house and body-puppets of Restrepo himself. There is a cast of ten.

Federico Restrepo is a Colombian-born master of puppet theater and physical theater who stages epic thoughts using giant puppetry, acrobatic choreography and tempestuous music. In recent years, he has conceived his shows primarily with two collaborators: Denise Greber (concepts, costumes) and Elizabeth Swados (musical score).

"Room to Panic" is the culminating production of a trilogy that Restrepo began in 2002, exploring the phenomenon of being a stranger in a strange land. Compared to the preceding two shows, it is more autobiographical and psychological. There is a living collage of images on the experience of living in a new culture. Since immigrants in a new country feel like fluttering birds without a home, the show opens with a flock of giant puppet birds plunging through the oceans on a huge boat. A "Memory Box" with a huge ear glides through the space, representing what's nagging at them that they can't forget. Large "Mother" puppets suggest memories of home; cooking videos suggest the foods that are left behind. A "Panic Room Dance" illustrates the feeling of being trapped in a new place. Its movement includes pantomime of straining against encircling walls. One performer repositions the "tent" of his life at varying places around the space: the image is of a "house" where you set down roots and stabilize yourself. Eventually, he "outgrows" the tent, bursting through it with his head and arms.

Restrepo dons body puppets to indicate how we assume new identities; he removes them to indicate breaking free of memories. Throughout, there is the feeling that all the characters are going through the same process--they are all immigrants at various parts of their journey. Masks descend around the space, representing their forefathers whose memories haunt them. Massive "Politician Puppets" pass a giant globe from hand to hand, indicating the authority of the powerful. Ultimately, the cast erects a floor-to-ceiling puppet house from large panels, symbolizing that they will finally be at home.

The visual feast is played to a continuous score by Elizabeth Swados that is sung by the ensemble and played live with percussion, violin, Shakuhachi and keyboard. The piece will also incorporate text from "Gate of the Sun" by Lebanese novelist and playwright Elias Khoury, which will be used as spoken text and sung in the score.

Restrepo's "immigration trilogy" began in 2002 with "9 Windows," in which nine episodic vignettes revealed a series of multi-media, live art paintings depicting the experience of being displaced. "Open Door," the second episode, had a score by Elizabeth Swados and premiered in 2006. It directly addressed the impact of the many new immigrants of New York City, who were shown living together in the a huge puppet apartment building, exchanging stories and revealing their states of mind.

"Room to Panic" is part of The La MaMa Puppet Series Festival Part 2, which features multicultural works from Hawaii, Colombia and Japan. All the productions are brimming with international art forms. The series also contains "Ko'olau" by Tom Lee, a puppet epic based on a now-legendary story of Hawai'i in the 1890s (September 18 to October 5) and "The Doll Sisters" (Ningyo Shimai), directed by Setsu Asakura, the most noted stage designer of contemporary Japan (October 23 to November 2). Patrons pre-purchasing two shows in the festival will be entitled to $3 off each ticket; patrons pre-purchasing all three shows will receive $5 off each ticket. The discounts are available at the box office and through La MaMa's website, www.lamama.org.

"Room to Panic" is conceived and created by Federico Restrepo and Denise Greber, directed and choreographed by Federico Restrepo with puppet, set, video and light design by Federico Restrepo. Costume Design is by Denise Greber. Music is composed by Elizabeth Swados. Text is taken from "Gate of the Sun" by Elias Khoury (with permission from the author). The performing ensemble includes Federico Restrepo, Denise Greber, Cary Gant, Allison Hiroto, Sara Galassini, Emily Vick, Linwood Young, Joah Gonzales, Kat Yew and Dmitry Chepovetsky (all of whom dance, sing and manipulate puppets). Musical director is Kris Kukul. The musicians are Yukio Tsuji (percussion and shakuhachi), Heather Paauwe (violin) and Jon Sapino (keyboard). The Tent Puppet is designed by visual artist Catarina Leitão (www.catarinaleitao.net). Additional video design by Angela "Nena" Sierra (www.nenasierra.com).

Federico Restrepo (concept, production design, director) was born in Bogota, Colombia and founded his company, LOCO7 (www.loco7.org), at La MaMa in 1986 to expand the use of puppetry in dance theater. LOCO7 productions utilize original rhythmic music, live musicians, dancers, body puppets and larger than life marionettes. Restrepo's intense love and passion for the history of the Americas and his journeys in New York have been a constant source for all his work.

Restrepo has created nine original pieces at La MaMa, most of which have had subsequent tours throughout the world. "Open Door" (2006), with score by Elizabeth Swados, explored the "paranoia versus hope" mindset of recent immigrants. "Bokan The Bad Hearted" (2004), also with score by Elizabeth Swados, was a puppet dance drama that staged Amazonian legends. That production was also part of the 2006 X Iberoamericano Theatre Festival, Bogotá, Colombia. "9 Windows" (2002) portrayed the City through an immigrant's eyes, with wild rhythm and frantic energy. "Colores" (1998) created exciting conceptual images of the evolution of the Mestizo people of Colombia, whom he lovingly refers to as the children of the Spanish Conquest. That production was part of the Jim Henson Foundation's International Festival of Puppet Theater. "Aguirre, the Spiral of the Warrior" (1996) was based on the legend of the Spanish conquistador who rebelled against Spain to create his own empire. "Cosecha" (1990) was a work on the lives of Colombian refugee farmers. "Loco 7" (1989) was a multi-media odyssey through the subways of NY with giant puppet subways and was the origin of his company's name. It followed two other Gotham fantasies, "Locombia" (1986) and "Carrera" (1988). Mr. Restrepo is also an independent choreographer, lighting designer, teaching artist and member of La MaMa's Great Jones Rep.

Elizabeth Swados (composer) has been nominated for five Tony awards, numerous Drama Desk, Ace and Emmy Awards and has won several Obies, Outer Critics Circle Awards, a PEN Citation, and an Anne Frank National Foundation for Jewish Culture award. She began her professional career as a composer at La MaMa, working with Peter Brook and Andrei Serban and winning her first Obie at age 21 for setting "Medea" to ethnic music. Her memorable La MaMa productions include "Fragments of a Greek Trilogy" with Serban, "Crow" with Robbie Anton and the opera-oratorio "Jerusalem." In 1996, she directed a pair of her own musicals, "Doonesbury Flashbacks," based on Garry Trudeau's comic strip, and "The Emperor's New Clothes" based loosely on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, both at La MaMa. During the last few seasons, she has scored several more epic plays for the Great Jones Repertory, all directed by Ellen Stewart, and directed two other original musicals for teenagers. Her Broadway credits also include "Doonesbury." Her Off-Broadway credits also include "Alice in Wonderland" (with Meryl Streep), "Dispatches," "The Haggadah", "Jerusalem," "Rap Music Ronnie" (with Gary Trudeau), and "Missionaries." Her writing collaborations with Federico Restrepo include the aforementioned "Open Door" and "Bokan the Broken Hearted." Mr. Restrepo choreographed her "Everything Is Different," a musical dance puppet piece dealing with physically challenged children and the world's perceptions of "normality." (www.lizswados.com)

Denise Greber (Managing Director of LOCO7, concept/designer/performer) is an artist in resident at La MaMa. Her most recent works there include "Diana di Cantelmo," "Herakles via Phaedra," "Perseus," and "Seven," a seven-show repertory of Greek Plays performed by the Great Jones Repertory. Since 2001, she has been a member and managing director of LOCO7. She was a performer and costume designer for LOCO7's "Open Door", "9 Windows" and "Bokan the Bad Hearted" and coordinated four international tours of various LOCO7 productions. She has appeared in numerous other stage productions at La MaMa and other venues, including the Ontological, Ohio Theater, and HERE. She also has a prolific career as an actress in independent films and is an active costume designer around NYC. Her costumes for "Bokan The Bad Hearted" were nominated for a 2005 New York Innovative Theatre Award. She is a member of La MaMa's Great Jones Rep. ( www.denisegreber.com)

Elias Khoury (author of text and lyrics used in the show) was born in Beirut in 1948 and is a Lebanese novelist, playwright and critic. He has published ten novels, which have been translated into several foreign languages, as well as several works of literary criticism. He has also written three plays. He currently serves as editor of Al-Mulhaq, the weekly cultural supplement of the Lebanese daily newspaper Al-Nahar, and is a prominent public intellectual. He has taught in Columbia University, in the American University of Beirut, the Lebanese University, the Lebanese American University and NYU. His works have been translated into English, French, German, Hebrew, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish and Spanish.

Mr. Restrepo and LOCO7 have received support from the New York State Council of the Arts, The Ford Foundation, The Jim Henson Foundation, American Music Center 2006, The Puffin Foundation, Ministerio De Cultura Colombia, Minister of Exterior Relations of Colombia, Instituto Distrital De Cultura Y Turismo Bogota Colombia and TeatroStageFest as well as individual donors.

This show is supported in part by New York State Council for the Arts, Jim Henson Foundation, American Music Center-Live Music for Dance 2008 and Ellen Stewart and La MaMa ETC.

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CRITICS ARE INVITED on or after October 3.