Playground Lessons
Donation protected
THE PROJECT
We live in a tumultuous time: every headline, tweet, and Facebook post invites conversation that, while sometimes helpful, usually only serves to reaffirm our preexisting views. Labels are thrown around—some worn with pride, some without—further dividing us into different categories and pitting us against one another.
The LGBTQ+ community stands within a grey area amidst the chaos. They exist as the product of labels, putting names to identities that, for so many years, they were unable to express. But now, in a time where we feel the need to categorize everything, the queer community is fighting a different battle: to dismantle those categories altogether. After all, at our core, every one of us is nothing more than a tiny body on a slightly-less-tiny rock hurtling through space, looking for love, connection, and acceptance.
But there are always questions. As a group of queer artists in a time of severe cultural division, we long for self-expression in the face of societal pressures to be "normal." But how far can we take that expression without alienating the very people we need to lift us up? Is simply being a queer person in 2017 an act of rebellion—and if it is, how can we do that while remaining unified with everyone else around us?
At its core, this can all be condensed into a single question...can you see yourself in me?
Playground Lessons is a show about all of this and more, using a series of physical, movement-based vignettes as a method of exploration. It's fun, sexy, a little wild—but most of all, unafraid to push the limits of what we can do onstage.
THE BEST PART?
We will be donating proceeds from the show to two incredible organizations, Live Out Loud and The Trevor Project. These organizations both support members of the LGBTQIA+ community and aim to unify and strengthen them, which is exactly what we want to do with our show.
Find out more about these incredible organizations by visiting the links below:
http://www.thetrevorproject.org
https://www.liveoutloud.info
In order to raise money for these organizations...WE NEED YOUR HELP! The cost of rehearsal and performance space, props, costumes and promotional fees are unfortunately not cheap, especially as young artists in New York City. We are putting our hearts into creating something that we feel is important right now, and with your help, look forward to sharing it with you this December.
WHO ARE WE?
Abi Lieff (Director/Producer)
Abi Lieff is a Brooklyn based actor, writer and physical performer from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She was a competitive dancer until college, where she there expanded her love of movement through other physical performance techniques. She graduated NYU in May of 2017, and is currently training under Julia Crockett and Nathan Flower to become a specialist of the Williamson technique.
Mackian Bauman (Director)
Mackian Bauman is a physical artist from the sun-drenched SoCal. In 2012, he enrolled in NYU where he found his love for devising and the moving body. As an actor, you would have seen him last in “Adonis Memories,” an immersive production set at The Adonis, the famed 70’s gay porn theater. Currently, he is a member of the movement company Julia Crockett & Group and is training to become a specialist of the Williamson Technique.
We are endlessly grateful for any and all support! This project would not be possible without the love and passion found in community, so from ours to yours, we thank you and we love you.
We live in a tumultuous time: every headline, tweet, and Facebook post invites conversation that, while sometimes helpful, usually only serves to reaffirm our preexisting views. Labels are thrown around—some worn with pride, some without—further dividing us into different categories and pitting us against one another.
The LGBTQ+ community stands within a grey area amidst the chaos. They exist as the product of labels, putting names to identities that, for so many years, they were unable to express. But now, in a time where we feel the need to categorize everything, the queer community is fighting a different battle: to dismantle those categories altogether. After all, at our core, every one of us is nothing more than a tiny body on a slightly-less-tiny rock hurtling through space, looking for love, connection, and acceptance.
But there are always questions. As a group of queer artists in a time of severe cultural division, we long for self-expression in the face of societal pressures to be "normal." But how far can we take that expression without alienating the very people we need to lift us up? Is simply being a queer person in 2017 an act of rebellion—and if it is, how can we do that while remaining unified with everyone else around us?
At its core, this can all be condensed into a single question...can you see yourself in me?
Playground Lessons is a show about all of this and more, using a series of physical, movement-based vignettes as a method of exploration. It's fun, sexy, a little wild—but most of all, unafraid to push the limits of what we can do onstage.
THE BEST PART?
We will be donating proceeds from the show to two incredible organizations, Live Out Loud and The Trevor Project. These organizations both support members of the LGBTQIA+ community and aim to unify and strengthen them, which is exactly what we want to do with our show.
Find out more about these incredible organizations by visiting the links below:
http://www.thetrevorproject.org
https://www.liveoutloud.info
In order to raise money for these organizations...WE NEED YOUR HELP! The cost of rehearsal and performance space, props, costumes and promotional fees are unfortunately not cheap, especially as young artists in New York City. We are putting our hearts into creating something that we feel is important right now, and with your help, look forward to sharing it with you this December.
WHO ARE WE?
Abi Lieff (Director/Producer)
Abi Lieff is a Brooklyn based actor, writer and physical performer from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She was a competitive dancer until college, where she there expanded her love of movement through other physical performance techniques. She graduated NYU in May of 2017, and is currently training under Julia Crockett and Nathan Flower to become a specialist of the Williamson technique.
Mackian Bauman (Director)
Mackian Bauman is a physical artist from the sun-drenched SoCal. In 2012, he enrolled in NYU where he found his love for devising and the moving body. As an actor, you would have seen him last in “Adonis Memories,” an immersive production set at The Adonis, the famed 70’s gay porn theater. Currently, he is a member of the movement company Julia Crockett & Group and is training to become a specialist of the Williamson Technique.
We are endlessly grateful for any and all support! This project would not be possible without the love and passion found in community, so from ours to yours, we thank you and we love you.
Organizer and beneficiary
Abi Lieff
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY
Rachel Millhauser
Beneficiary