Acclaimed site specific revival of award winning psychosexual thriller by Erik Champney continues.
January 17 – March 3 at Baker Falls
"Exciting, scary, and twisted... This play is ripe for HBO. Loved it."
-- Jade Fernandez, Showtones
"Equal parts deep literate drama, witty contemporary humor, and base raw sexuality. The brilliant story line kept the audience totally engaged with its sinister twisted plot. "
-- Mia Moreta, Outer-Stage
"Leaves a mark on you from the onset...This show is absolutely a work of art."
-- Justin Cheang, Arts Independent
Baker Falls and Knitting Factory present a site-specific revival of DEAD BRAINS, a psychosexual thriller written and directed by Erik Champney. Performances begin January 17 at the Feverdream Lounge at Baker Falls in the East Village. DEAD BRAINS was the winner of The Kennedy Center’s National AIDS Fund/CFDA-Vogue Initiative Award for Playwriting and went on to acclaimed productions in San Francisco and Seattle before opening Off-Off Broadway in 2018.
In DEAD BRAINS, Henry and Philly have gotten a little caught up in the fantasy. No truth. No regret. No boundaries. Artist and muse, they are idols in their own minds. Enter Corey – vulnerable and real. Now a decision must be made about his role in their game. It’s time to change the rules. Again and again and again.
DEAD BRAINS runs January 17,18, 19 at 8pm; January 28 - February 18, Sundays at 7:30pm; February 25 at 7pm and March 3 at 7pm. Feverdream Lounge at Baker Falls is located at 101 Ave A, between 6th & 7th Street in the East Village. Running time is 70 minutes. Please be advised DEAD BRAINS contains moments of intense sexuality and violence. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at bakerfalls.com.
According to playwright/director Erik Champney, the Feverdream Lounge has "a powerfully eccentric vibe, similar to performance spaces at The McKittrick Hotel. Fashioned with ornate wallpaper and antique furniture, the room is gothic, Victorian, weird, and wonderful. It is the perfect setting for this play that is sexy, violent, manipulative, and doesn't shy away from openly discussing abuse or criticizing social politics. I've learned throughout the years of this play's life that its themes remain profoundly prescient."
This new immersive production of DEAD BRAINS marks the return of live theater to the venue once known as the Pyramid Club, where the likes of Diane Paulus, John Kelly, Lypsinka, Ann Magnuson, John Jesurun, and Blacklips once presented cutting edge new work. According to Feverdream Lounge owner Nick Bodor, "We here at Baker Falls hoped to attract this kind of performance as we return to a community space vs merely a rock venue. We want to embrace the history of 101 Ave A... from Nirvana to RuPaul which shows the variety of creative works as well as the clientele all getting along in one safe space. We are a cafe during the day, have a great happy hour and are looking to do more late-night programming and DJs in 2024. We are very excited to be working with Erik and his wonderful team to bring DEAD BRAINS to Downtown NYC. Remember: Downtown is a State of Mind."
DEAD BRAINS stars Charity Schubert, Jon Pratt, and Dylan Goodwin.
Erik Champney’s professional career began at the age of 15 when he was commissioned to write a play by Isobel Rosenbloom for renowned children’s theatre Peter Pan Players. Since then, his work has been produced, developed, and celebrated across the US and beyond. Throughout the decade of 2011-2021, he wrote 18 plays and received 42 productions, workshops, and readings. In 2021, Erik wrote and directed his first film, Tuesday, which has gone on to become an Official Selection of more than a dozen film festivals around the world. It is now streaming on WeShort, a partner of Sundance Film Festival and sponsored in part by Versace. His second film, The Screens, based on his acclaimed stage play (published by Left Coast Publishing), won Best Short Film at Italy’s Ferrara Film Festival and Outstanding Performance by an Actor at the Boston Film Festival. Erik has enjoyed collaborations with remarkable people, including Alan Cumming, Christy Altomare, Garrett Clayton, Stephanie Styles, Misha Osherovich, Susannah Perkins, Marrick Smith, David Pittu, Mao Sun, Erich Bergen, Jeremy Tiang, and Sawyer Spielberg. In his formative years, Erik was a member of Young Playwrights Inc., where he studied under Stephen Sondheim, John Weidman, and Wendy Wasserstein. Other notable influences have been Jim Sheridan, B. Mark Seabrooks, Leigh Silverman, and Craig Lucas. He received a B.A. in both Theatre and English from Centenary College of Louisiana followed by a M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.