​Jess Chayes / theater director & artistic leader

The Dark Heart of Meteorology

 

The Flea Theater, July 2008.

Philadelphia Fringe Festival, September 2009.

UNDER St. Marks, October 2009

So-fi Festival, June 2019

Torn Page, February 2020

 

A barely-multimedia presentation–part lecture/slideshow, part happening–about natural disasters, large and small. Amid concerns about global warming and an uncertain future, Franklin Elijah White is traveling across the country on an increasingly quixotic and personal journey. Aided only by a slide projector and assorted meteorological equipment, he has a simple message: The weather is going to kill us all. Every single one of us.

The Dark Heart of Meteorology was developed in association with the ‘Pataphysics Workshop (Flea Theater), Backyart, and Sticky at the Bowery Poetry Club.

 

Created by Stephen Aubrey, Jess Chayes & Richard Lovejoy
Directed by Jess Chayes
Text by Stephen Aubrey
Scenic Design Nick Benaceraf
Lighting design Stacey Boggs
Video Design Alex Koch & Daniel Brodie (2009), Simon Harding (2019)
Sound Design Asa Wember
Dramaturgy Edward Bauer

 

Co-Produced by Horse Trade Theater Group

Cast: Richard Lovejoy (Franklin Elijah White)
with: Audrey Crabtree (Sarah)

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“Chayes’s direction of Meteorology is astute, nimbly intertwining life lessons with levity. With such talent onboard, there do not appear to be many storms that this company cannot weather.”
– Doug Strassler, Show Business Weekly on THE DARK HEART OF METEOROLOGY

 

“The Dark Heart of Meteorology, the debut show for the young company The Assembly at Horse Trade Theater Group, is a delight, featuring a tour de force performance by the fine indie theater actor Richard Lovejoy… [Stephen] Aubrey's script is tight and smart and insightful and often hilarious, and Jess Chayes's deft direction serves it well.”
– Martin Denton, nytheatre.com on THE DARK HEART OF METEOROLOGY