An Interview with MinuteZero – Talking Company, PJs and Quarantine Games

Welcome 2020 Sokoloff Arts Fellowship Company, MinuteZero! 

Thanks for taking time out of your binge streaming to chat! Please introduce yourself.

Hello! We are MinuteZero. A theater production company that specializes in immersive, personalized, and site specific live art. 

Does talking at four walls in PJs count?

Sure!

Thanks, I feel productive. Under normal circumstances, day in day out, what do you do? 

We make experiential theater for live events, and we make kooky/weird/ridiculous theater for ourselves! We experiment with the role of the audience in everything we do, and we strive to push people out of their norms, their comfort zones, and their assumptions and expectations when seeing theater. 

What do you love about the project you are bringing to Town Stages?

It’s ours! We’re excited to build this thing with our team and the artists we love the most. We often work with other clients, which is fun and challenging in a different way, but requires us to support another person’s vision. This is an opportunity to art direct our own work! We’re also feeling really excited by our concept for this particular project. Without saying too much too soon, the show we’re building is rooted in bringing PLAY and joy to adults, in ways and in places they may not have expected it. It’s nostalgic in a way– the feeling of “Oh, I haven’t done this in years!” We want to help people find their inner kid, to feel uninhibited, mischievous, curious– in a totally safe space. 

What is making you laugh these days?

MEMES. Thank god for funny people on the internet. Each other– we’ve been clocking some good digital family time. And good memories– of hugs!

What is a favorite saying of yours?

“Shaky hand.” Which has an alternative/accompanying hand gesture. It means “…meh.” 

What’s the first thing that you plan to do once the quarantine is over?

REAL LIFE FACETIME. With people’s actual faces. Cuddle puddles. In a bar? Remember bars?

Oh, the good old days. If MinuteZero was a drink, what would it be?

A manhattan served very cold in a 75-year-old vintage coupe with a choose your own adventure garnish table on the side.

That might be my new quarantine game… *Grabs radish* Besides adventurous garnishing, how have you been creative during this time?

We’ve been cooking! The kitchen has become such a creative place for each of us. Spending time to make an actual recipe and enjoying every part of the process is something we all did so rarely before this started. It’s super soothing and rewarding to sit down and eat a dinner you’ve actually worked hard to make. 

Salty or sweet?

Salty. 

Coffee or tea? 

Coffee.

Do you have any artistic superstitions or rituals? 

Where to begin?! We light candles, we howl at the moon, we (consensually) kidnap our friends, we throw elaborate parties in the woods, we have seances, we try to read each other’s minds (and actually we do not suck at it!), we circle each other three times, we grab imaginary gremlins off each other’s backs, we talk about the colors of our soul skins, we build “waterfalls” to clear out bad energy, we give hugs that border on too long, and we knight each other with champagne sabers. …Just us? 

Cat or dog? 

Dog.

If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be? 

Teleportation. And speaking every language. In the world. And out of the world. 

Do you have a favorite family tradition? 

Every year during the holidays we host a party very affectionately called HOLIGAY. There are themed invitations, a traditional/seasonal spiked hot cider, and guest performances: by a gender fluid Santa and the “Holigoons,” who steal our presents (and then give them back). We’re going into our 7th Annual Holigay and it’s our favorite party of the year. Sometimes (when we’ve all been on the road for gigs) it’s the first time we’ve been in the same room in a while, and it’s super super special and great. 

How can we learn more about Minute Zero? 

Insta handle is @minutezeronyc and you can email us at hello@minutezeronyc.com. Our website is: www.minutezeronyc.com/

Great chatting with you…Wow, that Teleportation thing is REAL!

______________________________________________________________________________

Town Stages is an event space in Tribeca advancing equity for arts, hospitality, civic and social justice workers. We build Places of Assembly in New York City that transform the face of leadership on our stages and screens – one story, one song, one endeavor at a time.

Click here to learn more about the space or to book a tour.