This cartoon is one of those pre-internet memes that was circulating back when we first started producing theatre. We all met in a 1980 university production of Jean Genet's The Balcony. That same year Ronald Reagan was first elected President, but we were mostly unconcerned with politics back then; it was rarely part of the conversation.

Today, the country has changed, but it was also partially an age thing. Only the young and the naive would think they could form an enduring theatre company with nothing more than a sense of camaraderie and a shared enthusiasm for a playwright. The following year we mounted our first show, christening ourselves "Thieves Theatre" in honor of Genet, and producing his play Deathwatch at Illinois State Penitentiary.

We think we loved this cartoon because it simultaneously mocked and celebrated the bravado of our enterprise. But resurrecting this image today feels somehow more ominous; gone is our sense of lightheartedness. Our country has changed. We have changed. Through our long life in theatre, we have matured into the conviction that the performer's body is the primary site of political intervention. The personal IS political.

For Project Ritual Cabaret 2025, we are soliciting original proposals that explore the nature of "resistance" and "defiance"... how they facilitate transformation -- on the personal, societal and human level. We ask you to creatively engage with the current (inter)national cultural and political provocations. Art as dissent... from quiet, persistent acts of survival to thunderous, transformative rebellion.

This call goes out to performance artists, actors, musicians, (butoh) dancers, puppeteers, performers from the variety arts, and beyond... to present an original performance, a Last Great Act of Defiance, between 5 and 15 minutes in length. Both individual and ensemble proposals are welcome.

DOWNLOAD SUBMISSION FORM HERE

Past Ritual Cabaret performers should contact Nick and Gabriele directly.

Deadline: February 1

Notification: February 8

FESTIVAL ORIGIN AND GUIDING PRINCIPLE

CONEY ISLAND RITUAL CABARET is informed by dancer/choreographer Tatsumi Hijikata who co-originated butoh in 1960s Japan in an effort to defy and subvert authority, including conventional notions of dance, thereby seeking transformation -- on the personal, societal and human level. Hijikata embraced the zeitgeist of Tokyo's underground and the Europe-influenced avant-garde arts scene comprised of neo-Dadaism, Fluxus, German Expressionism, Surrealism, and Existentialism. During the day, he trained his dancers by inventing body rituals towards a revolutionary dance form. At night the group then experimented with bringing their exploration into the competitive marketplace of cabaret and burlesque. Inspired by this historical reference, in 2016 ICL founded a butoh, theatre and performing arts festival at Coney Island USA. After three years of directing ensemble workshops and performances for the Festival, Mexico-based Diego Piñón (Body Ritual Movement) coined the term Ritual Cabaret for work that seeks to marry ritualistic physical theatre with cabaret, burlesque and sideshow on the CIUSA stage. The challenge is to deconstruct and reinvent your art form, whatever it might be. If the goal is TRANSFORMATION -- of the self, of society, of humanity -- what will it take to bring this about? Is it possible to invent a new genre? What is Ritual Cabaret to you?