New Beast Theater Works
Theater: Here Are Lions
With a ghostly narrator, an orchestral score, three clowns (one of whom sings arias) and a variety of storytelling conceits, New Beast looks back on 20th century America in their third semi-opera Here Are Lions. Through the lens of a small Chicago family struggling with Alzheimer’s, post-traumatic stress disorder, and ghosthood, New Beast investigates our willful national amnesia of war and social change.
The Company:
New Beast Theatre Works creates dynamic and boldly new theatrical experiences aiming to explore innovative methods of storytelling. The company has produced two semi-operas, Light Waves & Their Uses (Spring 2011) and One Thing & Everything Else (Spring 2010), a semi-opera named Best New Theatrical Form by the Chicago Reader. In Summer 2011, New Beast collaborated with Vintage Theatre Collective to create Oedipus Rex Play, a meta-theatrical retelling of Oedipus.
The Artists:
David Amaral (director and co-creator) is the founder of New Beast Theatre Works, and has directed the company’s previous productions. He has worked extensively with The Building Stage (Dustbowl Gothic, Moby-Dick, Noir, Master Builder, The Franklin Expedition) and wrote and directed Oedipus Rex Play for Vintage Theatre Co.
Joshua Dumas (composer and co-creator) is an artist and composer. He is a New Beast company member, he participates in Vintage Theater Collective, and he co-founded the Summer is for Fireflies. He recently worked on the Plagiarist’s I Am Saying This Right Now, scored Jerzy Rose’s feature film Some Girls Never Learn and is finishing work on a dance film, Mirrors Are Just Water Specified. www.quieterrors.com