This June, Yoshiko Chuma and The School of Hard Knocks return to La MaMa with the world premiere of Shockwave Delay, an unscripted docudrama consisting of 20 chapters, or scenes, that overlap within the frame of two and half hours. Each performance features a rotating cast of artists and no two performances will be the same. Performances are June 1–4 (Thursday–Saturday at 7pm, Sunday at 2pm) and June 7–11 (Wednesday–Saturday at 7pm, Sunday at 2pm) at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre, 66 East 4th Street, in Manhattan. Following the performance on Sunday, June 11, there will be a special auction of archival items from the last 40 years of The School of Hard Knocks. 

For more than 40 years, maverick choreographer and instigator Yoshiko Chuma has been constantly creating, activating spaces and collaborations involving dance, music, film, text, painting, sculpture, and other media with her ever-growing ensemble, the School of Hard Knocks. Shockwave Delay is a celebration of Chuma’s ongoing secret journey. Its shape is as elusive and diverse as the situations the company performs in.

Chuma’s original and decidedly unclassifiable work, described as “a mixture of play and seriousness, anarchy and reflection” (Dance Magazine), tries to capture the contemporary world in all its complexity. In Shockwave Delay, musicians, dancers, and designers interact, but not always directly. Time functions as the primary organizing force. Chuma describes the work as “a time-controlled performance, just like our lives.” Incidents of sound, text, and action stand parallel with one another and at times seamlessly—or disruptively—overlap or dissolve. A metaphor for endless continuous cycles of life that fluctuate between utopia and war. Shockwave Delay looks at two axes in life. One is considered as a grand issue, the other is an immediate issue. It asks: “What is the boundary between them? Does art have power?”

Concept design, installation, and direction by Yoshiko Chuma. Each performance will feature a new group of artists who are veteran members of the School of Hard Knocks, along with special guests. 

Dance artists: Agnê Auželyte, Ursula Eagly, Claire Fleury, Mizuho Kappa, Stephanie Maher, Miriam Parker,Emily Pope, Owen Prum, Ryuji Yamaguchi, and Yoshiko Chuma.

Musicians: Robert Black, Jason Kao Hwang, Christopher McIntyre, Dane Terry, and Aliya Ultan

Actors: Jim Fletcher, Eileen Myles, and Kate Valk.

Visual artists: Tim Clifford, Claire Fleury, Elizabeth Kresch. Jake Margolin & Nick Vaughan, Van Wifvat, andKelly Bugden.

Photographers: Hugh Burckhardt and Julie Lemberger. 

During the run of Shockwave Delay, 40 stellar artists and longtime collaborators of the School of Hard Knocks will be announced as part of Chuma’s “Final Exam: Graduation.” 

Tickets for Shockwave Delay are $40 (general), $35 (students/seniors). The first 10 tickets are $10 (limit two per person). Ticket prices are inclusive of all fees. Tickets are available at https://www.lamama.org/shows/shock-wave-delay-2023.