ERIK

ERIK, a dark satire of Phantom of the Opera complete with puppets and carnival freaks, premiered at FRIGID New York in February 2015. It was our first collaboration with Rising Sun Performance Company.

Yes, FRIGID definitely described New York at that time. We found ourselves trudging through snow and ice in Central Park near West 77th , down one dark path, up another, loaded down with cameras and lights, searching for the Swedish Cottage. We are native New Yorkers, but neither Nat nor I had never even heard of the Swedish Cottage. And not one of the dog walkers or joggers we asked did either. The iPhone Google Maps was directing us into the park on what appeared to be the car underpass. There was nothing looking remotely like a cottage in sight.

Finally, hidden among trees just past the biking lanes, we found our destination. This is where Rising Sun was staging its final dress rehearsal for ERIK. We melded video of the rehearsal with interviews to produce the two promos below. ERIK played to a sold-out theater for every performance, and their festival run was extended. (Click below to watch the video.)