Third Law (work-in-process)

Join us for a work-in-process showing of Third Law by 2022/23 BRIClab Performing Arts residents What Will The Neighbors Say? with Sam Hood Adrain, Pablo Calderón-Santiago, James Clements, and Coral Cohen.

Third Law is a metaphysical theatrical exploration, combining live performance with technology to grant the audience power over the destiny of the subjects they see on stage and screen. Designed to interrogate audience agency, gaze and experience, Third Law aims to unpack the relationship between creator and observer by disrupting the traditional role of the audience.

**Tickets are currently sold out for the 6:30PM Performance, however, a small number of tickets may be available on the day of. If you’re interested in attending, there’ll be a standby line starting at 6:00 pm. We will release any available tickets at 6:25pm****

Tickets are currently sold out for the 8:30PM Performance, however, a small number of tickets may be available on the day of. If you’re interested in attending, there’ll be a standby line starting at 8:00 pm. We will release any available tickets at 8:25pm**

Directed by
Coral Cohen

Devised & Performed by
Shani Bekt
Sam Hood Adrain
Megan Mariko Boggs
Pablo Calderón-Santiago
James Clements
Melannie Vásquez Lara

Lighting Design by
Jacqueline Scaletta

Sound & Video Design by
Cosette Pin

Set Design by
Jessica Cancino

Stage Managed by
Herbert Welch

Source Text by
Nelson Diaz-Marcano
Ayla Sullivan
Arun Welandawe-Prematilleke

Audience Advocate
Thalia Romina

Project Mentor
Karina Popp

Full Third Law Program

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

WHAT WILL THE NEIGHBORS SAY?
fights for a more empathetic world by presenting risky, provocative theatre that provokes conversations and facilitates greater understanding. Championing our community’s capacity to explore ambiguous and nuanced themes, we create morally complex genre-bending work that challenges our audiences before, during and after a presentation. Armed with the understanding that meaningful conversations require varied perspectives, we build Neighborhoods across borders to facilitate new connections throughout our communities. Since the company was founded, WWTNS? has premiered nine original plays in five cities in four countries on two continents, and presented a further nineteen. The company has launched our education and community arts departments, and created jobs for over one hunred artists – 75% of them femme/GNB identifying and 50% of them BIPOC. The Neighbors have received support from the NEA, the Brooklyn Arts Council, Bel Geddes, Creative Development Fund and A.R.T/New York, amongst others. www.wwtns.org

Sam Hood Adrain, Deviser/Performer
James Clements, Deviser/Performer
Pablo Calderón-Santiago, Deviser/Performer

Sam Hood Adrain (he/him) DEVISER/PERFORMER is an actor, director, and producer based in New York City. As a theatre artist, Hood Adrain has worked on stage and off at companies across the country including Trinity Repertory Company, Infinity Theatre Company, Dramatist Guild Foundation, Missoula Children’s Theatre, Ithaca Shakespeare Company, HERE, IRT, MITU580, The Flea, Theatre Row, Strongbox Theater, and Audible to name a few. He is the recipient of the 2021 BroadwayWorld Best Director of a Regional Production for his direction of The 39 Steps at Strongbox Theater. He is a published playwright whose works have been called “heartbreaking ….complex…and thought-provoking” (Theatre is Easy), have been presented in NYC at HERE, The Nuyorican Poéts Cafe and IRT Theatre, toured to Providence and Toronto and produced as a radio play by the Cleveland Radio Players. Recent TV credits include “Search Party” and “Law & Order.” Sam is proudly a Co-Artistic Director of WWTNS? BFA NYU: Tisch School of the Arts, Experimental Theatre Wing. www.samhoodadrain.com.

Photo credit: Hany Osman

James Clements (he/him) DEVISER/PERFORMER is a Scottish writer, performer, theatermaker and arts educator based between New York and Scotland. Clements has performed at venues including La Mama E.T.C., HERE and MITU580, and has been on the creative team for projects at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Lincoln Centre LCT3 and the 92nd Street Y. His source-based experimental plays include “The Diana Tapes” (2016), “Four Sisters” (2017), “Beauty Freak” (2018), “MEDEA/BRITNEY” (2019), “Ellis Island” (2021) and “Brothers in Arms” (2022). These plays have been described by critics as “magnifying” (TimeOut), “intricate” (BroadwayWorld), “compelling” (The Guardian), “affecting” (Playbill) and “intellectual” (Theatre is Easy), and have been performed in cities across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. He has taught at CUNY Queens College and the Wuhan Institute of Design and Science and is an Affiliated Instructor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He is Co-Founding Artistic Director of What Will the Neighbours Say? and an Artist-in-Residence with the Brooklyn Arts Council and Culture Lab. His work has been recognised by the Queens Council for the Arts, DCLA, NYFA, A.R.T./NY and Creatives Rebuild New York, amoungst others. www.james-clements.com.

Pablo Calderón-Santiago (he/him) DEVISER/PERFORMER is a multimedia artist from San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 2015 he received a BA in film production with minors in acting and photography from Emerson College. Pablo started his creative life as an actor in the Puerto Rican theater collective Jovenes del ‘98 as well as appearances on tv and film commercials. He’s currently the artist-in-residence for Brooklyn-based theatre company What Will the Neighbors Say? With both organizations Pablo has been actively involved in devising and performing multimedia, documentary based work, often engaging with present political themes. Pablo’s work with WWTNS? been covered in Harper’s Bazaar, the Daily Mail, and Time Out. In addition, Pablo has directed two short films and a music video; works as a lighting designer on fine art, editorial, and commercial photoshoots; and conducts research and translation for feature-length documentaries.

Coral Cohen (she/her) is a director, producer, and performance deviser born and raised in Los Angeles and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work spans multiple forms, mediums and subjects, but is largely defined by an emphasis on creative collaboration and deep engagement with the people and subjects she approaches. Her devised work focuses on interrogating cultural history through personal storytelling. Coral’s collaborative process encourages all the artists that she works with to take ownership and agency of the work itself. In 2019, Coral produced, devised, and co-wrote “Between the Threads,” an original ensemble theatre performance about Jewish women in America exploring their relationship to their Judaism at HERE Arts Center. In 2020, Coral devised and directed “In the Kitchen,” an interactive audio play and paired recipe box exploring Arab Jewish culture passed down through food (produced by Experimental Bitch Presents). Excerpts of “In the Kitchen” were part of an installation work entitled “I mean, how do you define safety?” at the Jewish Museum of Maryland as part of their show, “A Fence Around the Torah: Safety and Unsafety in Jewish Life.” Most recently, Coral wrote and directed a short film, “Wresting Place,” slated to premiere in 2023. Assistant Directing credits include: Fefu and her Friends (Theatre for a New Audience, dir. Lileana Blain-Cruz); My Heart is in the East (La MaMa E.T.C, dir. Jen Wineman); S 16 Luna Nera (La MaMa E.T.C, Gian Marco Lo Forte). She is part of the SDCF Observership class 2015/16 and 2017/18 and a member of the inaugural Director’s Track at the legendary SITI Company Summer Training Intensive in 2018. BA-Theatre Arts/Directing, Pace University.