'Disposable Men,' at HERE Arts Centre

HERE Arts Center & the Gertrude Stein Repertory Theatre�s Digital Performance Institute present James Scruggs� Disposable Men, at the HERE Arts Center from the 6 Jun - 2 Jul 2005.

In a multi-media environment, Disposable Men pairs old-fashioned storytelling with innovative new technology in a solo work that demonstrates the role of the popular media in classifying African American men as �disposable.�

With a dose of sharp wit, James Scruggs gives life to a variety of characters and circumstances: from a waiter at a theme restaurant that features customized lynchings to a modern-day minstrel who performs at kids� parties and more. Scruggs�s vantage point reveals a fate shared by Hollywood monsters and African American men in that both are often feared, killed and ultimately disposed of � sometimes in the most imaginative ways.

In development since May of 2000, segments of Disposable Men have been shown at the AM Foundation in DUMBO, Brooklyn Arts Exchange and at the 2004 CULTUREMART Festival at HERE, where James Scruggs is a resident artist.

Creator/performer James Scruggs has designed video for Division 13�s version of 'Ionesco�s Journeys Among the Dea'd and Kristin Marting�s 'Orpheus' (both at HERE). He was also one of seven writers selected for the Naked Angels Writers� Lab, where his ten-minute play 'Thuggish' was performed (February 2003).

The MediaBeam robotic video projector is a state-of-art piece of technology that transports roving images from the screen to the stage. The MediaBeam robotic projector opens an entire space as a possible projection surface, allowing artists to utilize video and animation in myriad ways, even creating the illusion of media interacting with the physical world. Hal Eagar, Technology Director for Disposable Men, has been a trailblazing innovator in live performance technology and digital media since 1995.

Disposable Men is directed by HERE's Co-founder and Executive Director Kristin Marting.