Empty Room

Duality Apéritif: Two Tao Set Pieces to Play Between One Acts.

Meditative radio-mimes of absence and presence. Stage directions toward a question of our own suffering. Agents in the crowd. A decaying tape. Written by S.T. Brant, and performed by Paige Taylor & Spike Pulice. Recorded on-site at the Meadowlark Garage in Anaheim, CA. 

Read the full piece: emptyroomradio.com/duality-aperitif-brant

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EMPTY ROOM

SPRING 2022

@emptyroomradio

"Today, you feel relieved. Your life is simplified. Twelve zodiac signs was too many to keep track of. Why should distant planets guide your life when benevolent corporations are right here on Earth?" Transcripts of daily BATK horoscope podcasts. A work of radio fiction by Marcella Haddad. 

Voiced by Tamla Quipse. Directed by Jarid McCarthy.

Read the full story: emptyroomradio.com/good-morning-today-haddad

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EMPTY ROOM

SPRING 2022

@emptyroomradio

SIDE B: Kai Rosales, Joseph Pharr, and Matthew Katterhagen. 

Jarid sits down with the cast and playwright of HIGH-RISE (2021) to continue discussing the art and aftermath of J.G. Ballard, their own artistic practices, and recent experiences of the still-reeling theater industry. Mythic afterimages of social decline, the fate of the billionaires, a new musical, an evolutionary Ouroboros, a woman on the shore, and the sound of birdsong over video-chat.

Featuring a performance of Shakespeare's 102nd sonnet by Joseph and Kai. Passages read from the 1975 novel. 

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This episode is part two of the first installation of Empty Salon, a radio-gala series to complement and complicate our regular programming.

Follow Empty Room on Twitter or Instagram @emptyroomradio for updates on the project and upcoming episodes of the salon.

You can listen to our production of HIGH-RISE by Matthew Katterhagen on any podcast platform.

SIDE A: Matthew Katterhagen, Ramon Suzara, and Molly Renze.

Jarid sits down with the cast and playwright of HIGH-RISE (2021) to discuss the art and aftermath of J.G. Ballard, their own artistic practices, and recent experiences of the still-reeling theater industry. Reflections of rectilinear windows and sleek lobbies, recollections of plague summers, questions of the limits of a community, a feeling of being left behind by the future, and clownish gestures towards something better.

Featuring a reading of Ramon's poem "these quiet hours" and a clip of Molly in Anne Carson's ANTIGONICK. Passages read from the 1975 novel.

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This episode is part one of the first installation of Empty Salon, a radio-gala series to complement and complicate our regular programming.

Follow Empty Room on Twitter or Instagram @emptyroomradio for updates on the project and upcoming episodes of the salon.

HIGH-RISE by Matthew Katterhagen, adapted from J.G. Ballard's 1975 speculative thriller. Directed and edited by Jarid McCarthy. 

Debut production of Empty Room.  

Dr. Robert Laing, a medical instructor drowning his recent divorce in monotony and routine, finds his daily rituals shattered when his apartment block rapidly decays around him. As his fellow residents war for their place, floor-by-floor, Laing is forced to set his sights on the penthouse: to confront Anthony Royal, the man on top. 

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THE RESIDENTS:  

Ramon Suzara as Dr. Robert Laing 

Kai Rosales as Richard Wilder 

Molly Renze as Katherine Tisch 

Joseph Pharr as Anthony Royal  

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Additional recordings by Matthew Kulisch and Jarid McCarthy.  

Muzak sampled from Nick Perito and Leyland Kirby (The Caretaker).   

Performed in June 2021.  

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View a video transcription of this play on the Empty Room VIMEO channel: https://vimeo.com/emptyroomradio/high-rise 

Broadcasting October 25th, 2021.

HIGH-RISE, a radio-play. After J.G. Ballard's 1975 novel. 

Debut production of Empty Room. 

An adaptation of J.G. Ballard's 1975 novel.