Nature Theater of Oklahoma: radical theater from garbage to ballet

The off-off Broadway company Nature Theater of Oklahoma, directed by Pavol Liska and Kelly Copper, performed "Persuit of Happiness" at Triennale Milano on May 8-9, 2018, as part of the Fog festival. The piece, a western about the search for happiness, was created with Slovenian collective EnKnapGroup and features a Mexican bartender, cowboys, and a trip to Baghdad. In an interview, Liska and Copper discussed their radical methods: for "No Dice," a four-hour marathon, actors recited text from recorded phone calls via earpieces while directors gave real-time hand signals. "Life and Times" was an eight-episode epic based on actress Kristin Worral's life story. The duo had quit theater for five years, making experimental films inspired by Jack Smith and Andy Warhol, before returning with a version of Chekhov's "The Seagull" rehearsed on a bench in their apartment with a rubber chicken. They emphasize working with limitations and avoiding fiction. Their next project is a ballet in Düsseldorf, Germany, where they often find more audience than in New York.