February 11, 2013 | Theatre,

American Utopias: Mike’s Next Thing

 

Mike Daisey does best with an empty stage. Save for a table, legal pad and glass of water, Daisey has managed to build a prolific career delivering over a dozen monologues that touch on issues ranging from life in the theatre to American politics and even, most recently, Ayn Rand. His popular and controversial monologues include 21 Dog Years, the twenty-four hour-long monologue All the Hours in the Day and last year’s high-profile The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.

It’s best to prepare for Mike’s next thing– the exciting and stimulating American Utopias which will launch ArtsEmerson’s TNT Festival this week– by getting to know the man himself. Trying to explain Mike Daisey’s career in a few paragraphs is a daunting challenge, so I figured, why diminish his essence when he’s already explained himself so eloquently? Without further ado, an unofficial and entirely false introduction from Mike Daisey:

After gaining popularity bolstered by support from The Public Theater in New York, Mike unleashed a monologue that redefined the term “meta-theatrical.” Here’s a clip, full of thoughtful recommendations and insights from 2008’s How Theater Failed America:

If you’re a theatre person who can’t stop laughing, feel free to take a break here and calm down.

Moving forward, Mike developed an eye for international stories that weren’t being talked about. As manifested in The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, Daisey’s work can take the tone of the political while keeping the hysterical social commentary. Consider this segment of 2009’s The Last Cargo Cult:

Last year, Daisey’s career skyrocketed with his extended run at The Public Theater of The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, which illumined the troublesome background of America’s favorite brand of Apple products:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iebnHvxKqlY

Now, Mike has set his sights on the next (and even bigger) thing: American Utopias, which analyzes the construct of the “American dream” through the fantastical construction of Disney World, a series of wild nights at the Burning Man Festival, and the political alignment of the Occupy movement at Zucotti Park. Daisey promises to deliver two hours of his signature unscripted monologue, which will inevitably maintain his titillating intellectual zing, gut-busting humor and substantial social challenge.

American Utopias will launch The Next Thing (TNT) Festival on the Paramount Mainstage on February 15 & 16 at 8PM. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

For more information about Mike Daisey, visit his personal blog and website here.

Daniel Jones is a Dramaturgy and Outreach Assistant at ArtsEmerson. He is the Creative Producer-in-Training for Mike Daisey’s American Utopias. In May, he will graduate from Emerson College with a BA in Theatre Studies: Dramaturgy and Writing, Literature, & Publishing.