IMS Digital Program

Lovefool Digital Program

 
 

created and performed by Michael John Ciszewski
directed by Noah Simes


SOMETHING TO REMEMBER

I believe it a Queer superpower to manifest our own narratives, from coming out to healing ourselves to making chosen family and beyond. This show is about the second of those. At five years of sobriety, it is my privilege to make shimmering light of some of my darkest nights of the soul—and ones I may not even quite remember. Ultimately, I have to laugh… and in doing so, I hope I can be as easy as possible about such big scary things as addiction, sexuality, and living in a body. I hope to poke fun at how miserably us human beings f*ck up as we get to know ourselves and each other, because, well… WHAT COULD BE FUNNIER?! I hope you’ll join me and that together we can manifest the silliest and shiniest narratives of our own.


Photo by @iAmZekeD

Please be advised that IF MEMORY SERVES irreverently references alcoholism, body image, and depression; and contains strong language.


★★★★ “Hilarious… an hour culminating in catharsis and revelation!” - Binge Fringe Magazine


★★★★ “Unique and funny… brilliantly paced!” - A Youngish Perspective

produced by brian dudley

additional producing by jen beck

additional writing by brian dudley and noah simes
sound design by michael john ciszewski
show photography by @iamZekeD


thank you for serving:

maya brownstein, patrick varner, steven maier, sarah oakes muirhead, christian santilli, kelsie hogue, spencer whale, stefani germanotta, tyler prendergast, margaret clark, joa & tim mahoney, sarah gazdowicz, peter staley, charli xcx, kyle cherry, cam cronin, jack ferguson, jake murphy, amie ledermann, sam lawson, jess elgene, lexee leach, toby wainwright, holly stars, brett epstein, erin reynolds, sarah alice shull, jen beck, gianna milici, michael john hughes, peppa and co, bonnie dudley, and sophie ciszewski, r.n. 



IF MEMORY SERVES TEAM

  • (Creator, Performer, Big Gay Silly)

    Michael John Ciszewski (he/him) is a queer actor, writer, and performance artist born, raised, and returned to New York City after launching his career in Boston and London.

    Ciszewski’s work as a solo performer is rooted in queer experience and healing, gleefully journeying across genres as sundry as solo theatre, stand-up, storytelling, and ritual. His debut solo show Everyone is Dying and So Am I premiered in July 2019 and has enjoyed sold-out performances in Boston and at New York City’s United Solo Theatre Festival—spotlighting the best in international solo performance—where it was subsequently nominated for the festival’s audience award. His second solo project The Sun is Sleeping, a full-length original film composed in isolation, was screened in virtual theatrical events from late 2020 into 2021 and attended by over 200 people across 5 time zones, with all proceeds compensating a company of collaborators from across the United States. The full project is now available to stream online.

    Michael is a member of the staff of ArtsEmerson at Emerson College’s Office of the Arts. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and is a proud graduate of Boston University’s B.F.A. Theatre Arts program. Find him at xomichaeljohn.com—or @xomichaeljohn, wherever social media happens.

  • (Producer, Additional Writing, Manic Pixie Nightmare Boy)

    Brian Dudley (he/him) is a creative educator and theatre artist, specializing in student success, youth development, and theatre education.

    In his work as an academic and student success advisor at The New School and Boston University College of Fine Arts, Brian has supported the development of early career artists into dynamic and versatile creatives. Brian has served in leadership roles with the Boston University Summer Theatre Institute, where he was co-Program Head and taught devised theatre, and the Massachusetts Youth Leadership Foundation, where he currently sits on the Board of Directors and leads the flagship youth leadership program MassSTAR. He has also facilitated or directed educational theatre with Arlington Children's Theatre, the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, and others.

    Brian holds an M.Ed in Arts, Community, and Education with a specialization in Theatre Studies from Lesley University, and a B.F.A in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College.

    @brianmdudley

  • (Director, Additional Writing, Voice of Reason)

    Noah Simes (he/him) is a director, performer, and theatrical polymath from Boston, now based in New York City. Noah has collaborated with a number of Boston-based institutions and artists, but is maybe best known as the homme fatale Peter Nureyev in the hit queer sci-fi audio drama The Penumbra Podcast.

Noah Simes

Photo by Henrik Zym

JOIN US AT UPCOMING PERFORMANCES:

NEW YORK CITY

The PIT • November 15, 2024 8:30pm • Buy Tickets


LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

If Memory Serves was created on the ancestral and unceded lands of the Munsee-Lenape peoples. We honor the generations of stewards across these communities, and we pay our respects to the many diverse Indigenous peoples still connected to these lands. We recognize that land acknowledgements are a small but important step towards building cultures of respect, truth, and accountability in our communities, and that work is deep and nuanced. We encourage audiences to consider donating (time, resources, or funds) to an organization supporting Indigenous people in their areas or direct mutual aid, when possible.

Photo by @iAmZekeD