Immense Joy/ H.o.t.S

The Tank, New York City

Immense Joy — the hour of the star

January 27-29, 2022 at 7pm

January 30, 2022 at 3pm

February 3-5, 2022 at 7pm

February 6, 2022 at 3pm

Anna Kohler: director, writer, performer

John Hagan, Natalia deCampos, Fabio Tavares: performers.

Caleb Hammond: associate director.

Max Dimartino: video design.

Ben Williams: audio design.

Caroline Pastore: production and stage management.

Josh Higgason: additional video design

“It’s with such immense joy, it’s such an hallelujah! Hallelujah I shout! An hallelujah that fuses with the darkest human howl of the pain of separation, but is a shout of diabolical happiness because no one holds me back anymore!”

“Immense Joy” is a new and original work conceived, created and performed by Anna Kohler, in collaboration with performers Natalia de Campos, John Hagan and Fabio Tavares and Associate Director Caleb Hammond . It is based on the writing of Brazilian author and femme fatale Clarice Lispector, a woman whose deep understanding of human nature and ahead-of-our-times writing is filled with both intense, quirky humor and profound sadness. Her honesty and passion as a person and writer truly resonates with the current state of the world. It is vital that we hear her stories right NOW. Just like she questions herself via her characters, we find ourselves questioning where and who we are in this world. And we find ourselves expressed in Clarise’s stories, because her characters remind us of ourselves, most powerfully the poor typist living and dying in Rio de Janeiro, protagonist of her very last story, “The Hour of the Star.”

Her masterful writing style is challenging to stage but provides the company with limitless colors with which to “paint”. The strength of Clarise’s imagery and her ability to profoundly look into the hearts of people, particularly those who have been victimized by life, brings up the question: aren’t we all, whether we’re in South or North America, or anywhere else in the world for that matter, victims of our social position in life? Isn’t the “American dream” that you can get rich if you just work hard enough, by now an illusion?

*Please note that this performance will be presented at the Tank's in-person performance space at 312 W 36th St. All attendees and artists will be required to display proof of full covid vaccination before being admitted to the space, either by showing a vaccination record (vaccination card) at least two weeks out from the final dose of an approved vaccine, or by using New York's free Excelsior Pass service, available here. Patrons will also be required to wear masks while indoors at all times and for the time being, no food or beverage will be permitted to be consumed at the theater.