as•sem•bly |ə-sěm'blē| (noun)
1. a group of people gathered in one place for a common purpose.
2. a public facility to meet for open discussion.
3. the action of fitting together component parts of a machine or
other object.
4. a collective of artists dedicated to realizing a new American theater.
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CLEMENTINE
AND THE CYBER DUCKS
Production Timeline
2009 - The Ontological-Hysteric Theater (World Premiere)
In the wake of the 2008 economic crisis that sent the world reeling, The Assembly speculates on the pleasures and perils of swindling, stealing and dreaming big. Clementine and the Cyber Ducks, set in a theatrical mashup of California's 1849 Gold Rush and the1990s dot.com bubble, is a dark comedic riff on the classic folk song.
Clementine moves West with her father to strike it rich. As she gets sucked into a series of increasingly precarious schemes and scams, the world transforms into an irrationally exuberant American Dream-scape full of shotgun-wielding sisters, angry miners, and a steampunk chorus of deviant ducks.
Welcome to California!
Creative Team
Directed by Jess Chayes
Text by Krista Knight
Scenic Design by Nic Benacerraf
Assistant Scenic Design by Ethan Gould
Lighting Design by Greg Malen
Sound Design by Asa Wember
Costume Design by Justine Lacy
Dramaturgy by Stephen Aubrey
Cast: Edward Bauer (Brian), Ben Beckley (Clive), Siobhan Doherty (Duck), Cara Francis (Regina), Patrick Long (Duck), Emily Louise Perkins (Clementine), Jeff Seal (Duck)
"Playwright Krista Knight, director Jess Chayes, and the Assembly theater ensemble have complete faith in every aspect of their wacked-out concept—their comedy stems from the organic merger of the bizarre elements on stage, not self-conscious jokes about the anachronism of it all.”
– Eli Epstein-Deutsch, The Village Voice