Z Space is bringing together a chorus of diverse voices in a series of solo performances. Featuring six artists over the course of five weeks, these individual voices come together to reflect a common solidarity, telling their stories in spectacular, singular ways.
Sometimes serious, sometimes humorous; sometimes quiet, sometimes loud; sometimes profound, sometimes profane—these six different voices reflect how we see ourselves.
Starlings pay attention to a fixed number of their immediate neighbors in a flock—seven, to be exact. Despite this focus, a flock of thousands of birds moves together in a coordinated harmony. Though this may seem contradictory, when uncertainty in sensing is present, interacting with six or seven neighbors optimizes the balance between group cohesiveness and individual birds' ability to manage uncertainty, while also maintaining consensus. The unique and beautiful pattern that emerges from these interactions is called a murmuration.
THE SHOWS
Kevin Rolston in Deal with the Dragon
February 8th, 10th, 12th & March 5th, 11th
Developed with and Directed by M. Graham Smith
“A modern fable about the bargains we strike to survive”, Deal with the Dragon manages to be both a grown-up fairy tale laced with terror and a darkly camp comedy. Kevin Rolston's solo show is a big, grown-up, sophisticated piece of work…blending, rethinking and wittily subverting fairytale, coming-out story and sordid confessional.
Rotimi Agbabiaka in TYPE/CASTE
Directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe
February 9th, 11th, 12th, 28th & March 7th
A queer, black actor dreams of a dazzling career on the American stage but will first have to leap over obstacles placed by an industry that isn't always welcoming to applicants who are neither white nor straight.
In his hilarious new solo show, SF Mime Troupe and Beach Blanket Babylon veteran Rotimi Agbabiaka shape-shifts from character to character and uses monologue, song, dance, and drag to embody, explore, and expose the battles minority artists fight in the exclusive world of mainstream American theatre.
PRESS
“Rotimi Agbabiaka‘s fantastic autobiographical one-person show, “Type/Caste,” … Equal parts hilarious, scathing, and emotional” .... “a spectacular, neon-drenched coup-de-theatre”
- Marke Bieschke, 48Hills.org
“Each time I've seen Agbabiaka perform, I have been bowled over by his versatility, his fierce dramatic commitment, the complexity of his craft, and the white-hot fire he brings to any theatrical venture. This is a man who gives 150% of what he's got to an audience. It is breathtaking to watch him take a stage and own it.”
“Whether reliving the childhood thrill of trying on his mother's wedding gown or dressing down to nothing more than a tailored sport jacket, shiny high heels, and a bulging studded leather jockstrap, Agbabiaka proves once again to be a remarkable performer”
“His performance in Type/Caste demands to be seen.” - George Heymont, “My Cultural Landscape”
“Inventively staged by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe” - Richard Dodds, “Bay Area Reporter"
“On top of accents, his richly imagined writer’s life and those aforementioned acting chops, Rotimi Agbabiaka can also belt out a song”....“Agbabiaka leaves you wanting to hear more.” - Jeffrey Edalatpour, “SF Weekly”
Cara Rose DeFabio in Virtual Girlfriend Beta
February 15th, 17th, 19th & March 2nd, 9th
Come beta test Virtual Girlfriend, the new show where you—the audience—will find Cara Rose DeFabio a tinder date! We'll swipe our way to heart of that burning question of the digital era: can you find true intimacy online? Bring your phones and your feelz for an IRL evening peering into our cyborg feminist future.
Jason Bayani in Locus of Control
February 16th, 18th, 19th & March 3rd, 8th
Internationally touring author and spoken word artist, Jason Bayani, explores the narrative of the fourth-wave Filipino immigrant through poetry, storytelling, and performance. Drawing upon nearly twenty years of work, Bayani, pieces together the story of the latest and most robust wave of migrants to come from the Philippines and contemplates what this identity has become in America and what it will become in the future.
Evan Johnson in DON'T FEEL: The Death of Dahmer
Directed by Ben Randle | Developed with Eric Wilcox
February 22nd, 24th, 26th & March 4th, 12th
DON'T FEEL: The Death Of Dahmer takes place within Jeffrey Dahmer's final moments of brain activity, a unique setting that confronts the viewer with a multitude of questions: What happened to the soul of "born-again" Jeffrey Dahmer once his fellow inmate (nicknamed “Christ”) struck him dead? Should we place Jeffrey Dahmer in the queer continuum? Is abnormal sexuality a choice? Who is to blame for compulsive behavior?...Johnson plays a plethora of characters both real and imagined, creating a disturbing world in which Dahmer, as a troubled queer man, wrestles with his mortality and the fate of his soul.
Dazié Grego-Sykes in I AM A MAN
February 23rd, 25th, 26th & March 1st, 10th
An exploration of gender expectations and masculinity. This original work is Grego-Sykes's protest response to the recent slaying of Jorge Steven Mercado. Maleness exists regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. I AM A MAN maintains a core identity based in manhood while bending the ideologies around what it actually means to be a man.
