Utopian Hotline - Boston

A MITU COLLABORATION

UTOPIAN

HOTLINE. MAY 1-18, 2025 Museum of Science Boston Charles Hayden Planetarium

U T O P I A N HOTLINE.

A TELEPHONE HOTLINE. A VINYL RECORD. A PERFORMANCE. conceived and developed by Theater Mitu produced in association with OCTOPUS THEATRICALS directed by Rubén Polendo developed at MITU580 in partnership with SETI Institute Arizona State University’s Interplanetary Initiative Brooklyn Independent Middle School created by STIVO ARNOCZY, Kayla Asbell, Denis Butkus, Cinthia Chen, Alex Hawthorn, Scott Jumawan-Spahr, Michael Littig, Dima Mikhayel Matta, Justin Nestor, Rubén Polendo, Monica Sanborn, Corey Sullivan, Isabella Uzcátegui, Ada Westfall production associates Camryn Cottuli & Jeremy Kadetsky performed by Kayla Asbell, DENIS BUTKUS, MICHAEL LITTIG, Monica Sanborn

songs “Nothing There to See” written by Kayla Asbell “Arrow of Time,” “Evening Dreams of Space Flight,” “The Last Perfect Day on Earth” composed by Alex Hawthorn “Radiate,” “Together Alone” written by Ada Westfall “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” written by Roy Turk and Lou Handman

this project was made possible with support from public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the city council The New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature The National Endowment for the Arts The New England Foundation for the Arts The MAP Fund The Foundation for Contemporary Art Café Royal Cultural Foundation The Howard Gilman Foundation The New York Community Trust our generous individual supporters

theater mitu would like to thank Bill Diamond, Dr. Laurence Doyle, Dr. Frank Drake, Amahl Drake, dr. Nadia Drake, Dr. Madhulika “Lika” Guhathakurta, Dr. Dava Newman, Dr. Jill Tarter, Dr. Seth Shostak, Dr. Tom Esposito, Dr. Bettina Forget, and the staff of The SETI Institute and SETI’s Artist In Residence Program Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Dr. Lance Gharavi, Dr. Catherine “Cady” Coleman, and the staff of ASU’s Interplanetary Initiative Ariel Ekblaw, Xin Liu, Sands Fish, Joe Davis, and MIT Media Lab’s Space Exploration Initiative Kelsey Jones, Gabriela Tejedor, Kelindah Schuster and the seventh- grade class of Brooklyn Independent Middle School Dhairya Dand, Kate Greene, Kevin Riordan, Caroline Gart, Jave Jumawan-Spahr, the uzcátegui matos family, Almendra & Tiago Fonseca, Joe McGowan, Tom Monday, Florence Holdeman, Lexa Willams, Dani LeBlanc, James Monroe, and the staff of The Museum of Science Boston, Aiden Appleby, Ronee Penoi, Susan CHINSEN, REBECCA FRANK OESER, and the Staff of ArtsEmerson, BRYAN HUNT, Taneisha Duggan, Mara Isaacs, and everyone at Octopus Theatricals.

a very special thanks to everyone who left messages on the hotline

about theater mitu Driven by a commitment to innovation, Theater Mitu expands the definition of theater through methodical experimentation with the form. Founded in 1997, we are an artist-led organization that frames artmaking as a mode of research and inquiry. We share knowledge, spark dialogue, and strengthen our community through cultivating radical ways of reimagining our world. Mitu embodies this by way of our productions and exhibitions, trans-global research initiatives, artist support opportunities, education programs galvanizing the next generation of artists, and the curated programming of MITU580, our venue in Brookly, N.Y. Mitu’s founding Artistic Director Rubén Polendo, and Co-Artistic Director Justin Nestor, lead an interdisciplinary group of company members in building bridges across ideas, cultures, and communities. Mitu’s work has been presented at theaters, museums, contemporary arts centers, and non-traditional venues throughout the United States, South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.

MITU580 is a space where transdisciplinary arts practice is interrogated, incubated, and produced. This 2,400-square foot multi-use art space is home to our core artistic programs: New Work (world premieres and tours of the company's productions and exhibitions); The Hybrid Arts Lab (a fellowship focused on supporting women, trans, and non-binary artists of color working in technology and performance); Expansion Works (presenting artists whose work intersects new media, visual art, music, film, and performance); and Artists-At-Home (a technical residency program that also offers subsidized space and equipment rentals for artists integrating technology into their work).

Theater Mitu WAS AWARDED AN OBIE for sustained excellence and innovation and WAS nominated For BEST technology design from the Lucille Lortel Awards. Founding Artistic Director Rubén Polendo was recently honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship for his work with Mitu. THE COMPANY HAS been funded by The Howard Gilman Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Nancy Friday Foundation, The Emma Shaefer Charitable Trust, The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, The Trust for Mutual Understanding, the National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. UTOPIAN HOTLINE was made possible with additional support from The New England Foundation for the Arts National Theater Project, AND THE MAP FUND, as well as the Café Royal Cultural Foundation, The Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and the U.S. Department of State.

about OCTOPUS THEATRICALS OCTOPUS THEATRICALS (Producer) Founded by Tony® and grammy® winning producer mara isaacs, octopus theatricals collaborates with artists and organizations to foster an expansive range of compelling theatrical works for local and global audiences. Current projects include: gypsy starring audra mcdonald (lead producer, Broadway); hadestown by anaïs mitchell (lead producer, Broadway, West End, national tour; 8 tony awards including best musical; grammy award, best musical theater album); Goddess conceived and directed by saheem ali, music and lyrics by Michael thurber (the public Theater NYC); Patrick page’s all the Devils are here (Lucile Lortel, outer critics and drama desk awards, off-Broadway, Us tour); Bhangra nation by rehana lew mirza, mike lew, and sam Willmott; kunene and the king by john kani; (. . .iphigenia), a new opera by Wayne shorter and Esperanza Spalding; in the same tongue created by choreographer Dianne McIntyre with music by Diedre murray; bill Irwin’s on Beckett; and so we walked by Delanna studi; theater for one (in person and virtual) and many more. Octopustheatricals.com

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