Theatre for a New Audience and Rattlestick Theater present a Co-Production of the World Premiere of
We Are Your Robots
November 7th - December 8th
Continuing with Rattlestick’s mission to make theater affordable for all audiences, Rattlestick and Theatre for a New Audience are offering $45 tickets if you use the code RATTLE when purchasing your tickets.
The season opens in Fall 2024 with the world premiere of a new musical, We Are Your Robots, by Obie-winning playwright Ethan Lipton (No Place to Go, Tumacho) and directed by two-time Tony nominee Leigh Silverman. Co-produced with Theatre for a New Audience at Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn, We Are Your Robots features text and songs by Lipton, and music by his bandmates of 20 years: Eben Levy on guitar, Vito Dieterle on saxophone, and Ian Riggs on bass. The quartet play robots who’ve come to the theater to answer the question, “What do humans want from their machines?” With witty songs that are “twisted, dark and sophisticated both lyrically and musically, yet schleppy, sweet and sad all at once” (NPR), We Are Your Robots looks at brain mapping, consciousness, violence, surveillance, and the problem better known as being human.
“We Are Your Robots” was originally commissioned by: Media Art Xploration, Inc. with
support from the Ensemble Studio Theater / Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science and
Technology Project. “We Are Your Robots” was developed, in part, with assistance from the Orchard Project
(www.orchardproject.com), Ari Edelson, Artistic Director. "We Are Your Robots" is a Creative Capital Awardee 2023.
We Are Your Robots will be performed at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn 11217
Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra is a quartet featuring Eben Levy (guitar), Ian Riggs (bass), Vito Dieterle (sax), and Ethan Lipton (vocals) that has been making music for 20 years. Ethan writes the songs, and the band arranges them as a quartet. Eben and Ian also contribute underscoring. Theatrical productions include the band musicals NO PLACE TO GO (Obie Award) and THE OUTER SPACE (Lortel nom.), both produced by the Public in Joe’s Pub and directed by Leigh Silverman, and IN PRAISE OF THE UNLIVED LIFE, for Live From the NYPL. The band has released five studio albums, including this year’s DID YOU DO THE THING WE TALKED ABOUT?, and appeared on THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL. In addition to playing all over NYC, the band has performed concerts at venues including SF Jazz, Celebrate Brooklyn, MASS MoCA, Pitchfork Paris, Théâtre de la Ville, the Gate (London), the Troubadour (LA), and most recently at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall accompanied by a 15-piece orchestra and a choir. More info at www.ethanlipton.com
Ethan Lipton’s produced plays include Tumacho; Red-Handed Otter; Luther; Goodbye April, Hello May; 100 Aspects of the Moon, and Meat. His musicals No Place to Go (Obie Award) and The Outer Space (Lortel nom.) were developed with his band, Ethan Lipton and his Orchestra, and produced by The Public in Joe’s Pub. The band has released five studio albums and played venues including SF Jazz, Lincoln Center, Celebrate Brooklyn, MASS MoCa, Pitchfork Paris, Theatre de la Ville, the Gate (London), the Pavilion (Dublin), and the Troubadour in LA. Ethan won the 2023 Kleban Prize for librettists and is a Creative Capital Grantee. He’s been a Guggenheim Fellow, an Alpert Prize Fellow at MacDowell, a Clubbed Thumb Associate, part of the Public’s EWG, a Space on Ryder Farm resident and the Playwrights Realm’s inaugural Page One Fellow. www.ethanlipton.com
Vito Dieterle (Saxophone, Composition and Arrangements) has played throughout New York and regularly leads his own quartet at venues such as the Roxy Hotel, Saint Tuesday, and Midnight Blue (performance schedule on IG @viterle). Vito has played Little Branch weekly since 2005 and curates that venue’s music program, as well as the music programs of festivals in NYC and around the country. Other duties for Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra include melodica, flute, organ, backup vocals, and conjuror of frittata.
Eben Levy (Guitar, Composition and Arrangements) is a founding member of the cult 90’s funk band Chucklehead, which still reanimates here and there. Eben has composed and produced music for numerous film, television, and stage productions. Departments with Ethan Lipton & his Orchestra include backup vocals, beats, engineering, and minister of gear.
Ian M. Riggs (Double Bass, Composition and Arrangements) has been making music in NYC and the DC area for over two decades. Ian has subbed on Broadway for MEAN GIRLS and PARAMOUR (Cirque du Soleil), and toured with Burning Spear (Hollywood Bowl) and the Lonesome Trio (Bonnaroo). Positions with Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra include backup vocals, keyboard, acoustic guitar, and chairman of the chords.
Leigh Silverman With Ethan Lipton: Tumacho (Clubbed Thumb) and with his Orchestra: No Place to Go and The Outer Space (Public). Broadway: Yellow Face (upcoming); Suffs (Tony nom); Grand Horizons; The Lifespan of a Fact; Violet (Tony nom), Chinglish; Well. Recent: Harry Clarke (West End, BRT,Vineyard/Audible); Suffs (Public); Merry Me (NYTW); The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (Shed, CTG); Soft Power (CTG/Curran, Public); Hurricane Diane (NYTW). Encores: Violet; The Wild Party; Sutton Foster’s streaming concert, Bring Me To Light. Audible: Yellow Face; Harry Clarke; Dykes to Watch Out For. 2011 Obie Award; 2019 Obie for Sustained Excellence.
Ticketing Information
Previews run through
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November 7th - November 20th
Opening Night
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November 21st
Performances run through
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November 22nd - December 8th
We Are Your Robots will be performed at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn 11217
