Nile Harris
this house is not a home
January 6–14, 2024
7:30pm and 5pm
A frenzied rant of online logic delivered outside an inflatable mausoleum, Nile Harris' this house is not a home surrounds a bounce castle purchased by Harris' friend, interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker Trevor Bazile (born Miami, FL, 1996-2021). Over the course of the performance, the castle comes to represent an ephemeral monument, a besieged U.S. capitol, and a simulacrum of hollow liberal care.
this house is not a home extends from Harris and Bazile’s collaboratively created, live-Google-document-based ‘you niggas in trouble’ manifesto (2020), a metaphorical board meeting that asked: will the revolution have 501(c)(3) status? In and around the sound-responsive plastic shrine, this house is not a home situates this question within the detritus of the past two years—in bitter inheritance, fugitive avatars, political theater, Tucker Carlson redacted texts, and the cleansing of money through arts philanthropy.
Figures—a gingerbread minstrel, Dimes Square vape addicts, a beloved children’s movie cowboy—appear, haunted by the fraught question: what does it mean to be an American? Enlivened by collaborators Crackhead Barney and Malcolm-x Betts, and featuring sonic composition by slowdanger and GENG PTP, this house is not a home uses clowning and live-mixed sound scoring to enact a memorial in an “incellectual” spew of discourse.
Interested in joining the waitlist for a sold-out show? To join, please check in with box office in-person 1 hour prior to showtime. Patrons who secure a ticket will be seated at the time designed for late seating.
*Mask required performances: January 7, 13
Co-commissioned and co-produced with Ping Chong and Company.
Presented in partnership with Under the Radar
Image by Alex Munro
About Nile Harris
Nile Harris is a performer and director of live works of art. His work has been presented at the Palais de Tokyo, Under the Radar Festival (Public Theater), The Watermill Center, Volksbühne Berlin, Prelude Festival, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, La MaMa, Poetry Project and Movement Research at Judson Memorial Church. His work has been supported by New York State Council for the Arts, MAP Fund, Franklin Furnace Foundation, Pepatián, Foundation for Contemporary Art, YoungArts, and Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Nile is a member of the Artistic Leadership Team at Ping Chong and Company and is a recipient of the 2023 Open Call commission at The Shed, the premiere of his next evening length work 'minor b' in Aug 2024.
He has worked extensively as a performer in works by artists including Jaamil Olawale Kosoko, 600 HIGHWAYMEN, Tina Satter, Robert Wilson, Malcolm-x Betts, Anh Vo, and Crackhead Barney in venues including Playwrights Horizon, New York Live Arts, The Walker Art Center, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, EMPAC, Danspace Project, PSuperblue, Stanford Live, Dublin Theatre Festival, and MESS Festival.
About Under the Radar
UNDER THE RADAR has found a new home… everywhere! The 19th edition of NYC's world famous and cutting-edge theater festival, still directed by its founder Mark Russell and now produced by ArKtype, takes place January 5 to January 21 with more than a dozen productions at partner institutions across the city, including Abrons Arts Center, BAM, Chelsea Factory, Invisible Dog Art Center, Japan Society, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Mabou Mines, New York Live Arts | Live Artery, NYU Skirball Center, Performance Space New York, St. Ann's Warehouse, and Theatre for a New Audience. In addition to a selection of New York, US, and North American premiere performance runs, the 2024 edition of Under the Radar will also include a Symposium/Gathering on January 12 in collaboration with IPC (International Presenting Commons), CIPA (Creative & Independent Producer Alliance), and HowlRound discussing the obstacles facing American artists and the presentation of international work; Coming Attractions at Chelsea Factory on January 13, connecting brave new works with essential support, a series of encounters with new works-in-progress; and the 7-day Atelier for Young Festival Managers New York.
About Ping Chong and Company
Ping Chong and Company creates works of theater and art that reveal beauty, invention, precision, and a commitment to social justice. Founded by Ping Chong, the company is a welcoming home and site of experimentation for multigenerational artists. The company creates original interdisciplinary, community-specific work; and cultivates artistry through training and education programs.
Funding
this house is not a home is co-commissioned and co-produced by Abrons Arts Center and Ping Chong and Company and presented in partnership with Under the Radar, with funding from Abrons Arts Center’s Performance AIRspace Residency which is supported by the Jerome Foundation.
Additional support for the July 2023 premiere was provided by the MAP Fund, the Franklin Furnace Fund 2022-23, the friends and members of Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc., Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, the Movement Research Artist-In-Residence Program with support of the Jerome Foundation, and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant. this house is not a home is made possible by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
this house is not a home was created in part at The Watermill Center– a laboratory for performance through the Baroness Nina Von Maltzen Fellowship for Performing Artists.