TSTMRKT
TSTMRKT (Pronounced “Test Market”) is a comedic performance art stunt that explores time, space, and cheap theatrics with an amalgamation of theater, film collage, and audio Hijinx. Since 2002, TSTMRKT has been bringing its unique show to theaters, warehouses, and junkyards across the country. Directed, written, and performed by playwright Ernest Hemmings (Eccentric, The Proletariat, Tinfoil Haberdashery), TSTMRKT rips through a rapid paced hour of imaginative scenes that bleed into each other and keep the audience on their toes.
Demographic/Audience
The target demographic for TSTMRKT is "everyone." The accessibility of the content and the palpable tension the show creates makes it virtually impossible for anyone to not fall in love with TSTMRKT. The age range of audience members at TSTMRKT performances is 8 to 75. The majority (62%) of attendees fall into the "25 - 45" category with a decidedly Female (60%) bent.
Sample Media 1
TSTMRKT has received critical praise and positive notices from various print publications throughout the United States. Here are a few links to articles from previous performances:
" ...littered with offbeat humor—goofy, unexpected, dark and cynical." CLICK HERE
"Embodying everything from a twitchy cop to Death playing Hungry Hungry Hippos, Breon Jenay and Ernest Hemmings mined comedy gold." CLICK HERE
"..Hemmings has been one of the steadiest (read: persistent and creative) figures on the Vegas theater scene since he arrived 17 years ago from Cleveland." CLICK HERE
"The separate sketches of previous versions have evolved into one continuous presentation, with auditory effects still replacing sets and props for scene-setting and other traditional theatrical functions." CLICK HERE
"Have you ever been in a situation where you expected an audience to react a certain way, and you were shocked by how they actually did react?" CLICK HERE
"Experimental Las Vegas theater company TSTMRKT did not originally schedule an Erie stop during its 2013 tour, but the subject of pepperoni balls came up." CLICK HERE
"Always hilarious and astounding, and never common or ordinary, TSTMRKT is real and raw and truly a one of a kind experience..." CLICK HERE
"...high-risk and, in some way, a “thinking” production that engages and challenges audiences in unexpected (and sometimes slightly uncomfortable) ways. " CLICK HERE
Tech Requirements
The beauty of TSTMRKT's minimalist design can be found in the sparse technical requirements needed to make the show work. Here is a complete list of specifications TSTMRKT requires:
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CONTACT
Tour Manager: Tsvetlina Stefanova
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General Info: Ernest Hemmings
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