BrickaBrack supports the Black Lives Matter movement, the defunding of police departments, and the dismantling of systemic racism.
 
We add our voice to the chorus of people and organizations who seek to change the status quo, to re-examine our assumptions, and to make the world - and the space that we gather to engage with artists and audiences - a safer, more inclusive place.
 
We’ve been struck by the words and actions of artists and companies across the country in response to this moment - and are grateful to theatres who are opening their lobbies to people in need. The vital protests in NY have been a privilege to be part of, and they are ongoing. It’s incredibly moving to witness people around the world marching, inspired by the BLM movement, demanding change and accountability from their governments as well. And change is already happening… hopefully, it’s just the beginning.
 
See you on the streets.
 
In solidarity,
 
BrickaBrack

Notes from Seoul, S. Korea by BrickaBrack AD Gabriel Grilli

​I had the opportunity to go to Seoul, South Korea to work with Concrete Temple Theatre on their co-production of The Waitress & The Robber with Playfactory Mabangzen and Yellowbomb. 

What a tremendous experience! It was a very intense two weeks developing this new musical inspired by Schiller's The Robbers. Performed in Korean and English, the piece was a great success! Here are some pics from the trip...

Excited to be headed to a retreat at the Tofte Lake Center with the Network of Ensemble Theatres next week! Should be a great chance to connect with other ensemble theatre leaders and discuss practices, challenges, and dreams for the future of BrickaBrack!

Only nine attendees, so it's a unique opportunity to work with a small group, form some wonderful new friendships, and deepen existing ones. I'm sure the other attendees will teach me so many new things... More info on the program here

~ GG

Images from our recent performance event with Undiscovered Works:

We are so excited about Sunday! Pic from rehearsal below... if you don't have a ticket yet, get one here.

Thank you to our producer and friend Leah Abrams, who says, "I've been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to present my friend Gabriel Grilli's (Campbell in "Mother Night" this past fall at 59E59) company BrickaBrack, a collaborative theatre ensemble creating stories that never fail to inspire my imagination with their multidisciplinary, interactive approach. I first met Gabriel as an actor in San Francisco when I believe my words to the director were, "either that new guy accepts the role or we don't do this play." He remains one of my very favorite actors to produce and act with because he is so completely present and team-oriented. He and his BrickaBrack partner Amy Nielson are the epitome of what it means to create theatre that is rooted in community-building - they tell stories about us and our neighbors, finding extraordinary beauty and humor in what may otherwise be deemed mundane."

We've had some great rehearsals for the project on memory that we're presenting next month at Undiscovered Works. it's going to be a combination of a few pieces from On the Flip Side, but probably 85% all new work - movement, text, interactive pieces - should be a blast! Here's all the relevant info:

The Memory Project
​
A Benefit Event for Alzheimer's Prevention
presented at
Undiscovered Works' Sunday Series

ONE NIGHT ONLY
~ Sunday, April 14th, 5PM ~
Ryan's Daughter Upstairs
350 East 85th Street, New York NY

PURCHASE TICKETS
~ facebook event ~

We've got several new artists joining us for this event: Monica Furman (her first appearance with us although we've counted her as a collaborator for about a year), Rachel Yong (a friend from our SF days!), and Ronald Hinton. More info on them if you click their images below. April 14th is going to be a very cool and unique event and we really hope you can make it!

Happy New Year, Friends!

I can't believe it, but BrickaBrack turns seven this year... SEVEN! Seven years feels strangely epic in the life of a small theatre company like ours... so much has happened, so many projects, moving from Oakland to NY, huge changes in our social and political landscape -- but here we are seven years later, continuing to make work and pursue the dream!

Speaking of dreams, Amy and I had a great meeting today laying out our goals for the year ahead. We're excited to develop new artistic projects, training opportunities, partnerships, and avenues towards our financial goals. One thing we're both determined to do in 2019 is to make genuine efforts to foster community. In an era where we can easily feel disconnected or isolated despite all our means of technological interaction, we were discussing the value of showing up -- actually being in a space and engaging with people face to face. Any hey - guess what? - that's exactly what our work with BrickaBrack is about. Isn't it funny? The things that resonate with us as people often bring us back to the reasons we make theatre -- and specifically, theatre that seeks to engage in a direct, engaging, personal way.

So we look forward to connecting with you - IN PERSON - in the year ahead, and to welcoming you or re-connecting with you if you're already a part of our community.

Wishing you all a very joyous and prosperous 2019 full of true connection!

Yours,
Gabriel
​Founding Artistic Director

When Amy and I performed in China at Shenzhen Design Week a few months ago, there were a million cameras around (so many that we had to dodge them/integrate them into our performance) -- But we weren't sure we'd get any of the footage, because we didn't have our own videographer or crew with us.

Well, much to our delight (and thanks to our friends at Double Vision!), we recently received video of our work through one of the conference organizers, Di Hu, and it's great! We've been able to extract some images, below. They really give a sense of what the performance was like, the level of interactivity, and how we were completely surrounded by cameras and people on their phones! For a project that was about the intersection of technology and our everyday practices, these production photos speak to our topic perfectly :) ~ GG

Amy & I are super excited to be making our international BrickaBrack debut tomorrow in Shenzhen, China! We'll be performing as part of Shenzhen Design Week in a collaboration with our friends, Double Vision. We've created an audience-interactive movement duet with live video feed interplay. Can't wait to share the pics with you - check out this link for a preview :) ~ GG