Comedic performance art, socially relavent theater, audio hijinx, and film collage
TSTMRKT
COVID TV Launched
All of the performances were canceled due to The Black Plague Part II. It does kind of suck, but we're not blind to the fact that many people have worse things to worry about right now, myself included. I've been using this time to create new material for TSTMRKT so when we are up and running again, you'll have a completely new show including a new cut-n-paste "Nothing." To create all of the new film loops, I have to dump a lot of the film that is lingering around in my hard drive so I can free up enough space to make this stuff. While I was organizing and deleting, I stumbled upon a "grip" of TSTMRKT ephemera and got lost in the sauce of nostalgia.
"Would anyone else enjoy this?"
I cobbled together the more interesting bits, like someone trying to form a taco out of the remains of other tacos that fell apart, and came up with "Covid TV." We have 6 episodes that are each 15 minutes long. I'm doing more, but I'm still working on other things, raising a child, and tending to my chickens. It's cray cray over here. You can binge all of the episodes from our website's "Media Section." The first episode is below this lengthy paragraph that I hope you read slowly enough that the episode has an opportunity to load on your device.
Don't tell anyone this but...I love you.
DALLAS COMEDY FESTIVAL MARCH 26
TSTMRKT will perform in a ONE NIGHT STAND situation with Anne Zander (Juicebox) at the Dallas Comedy House on March 26th. This performance is part of the Dallas Comedy Festival and tickets are available from the festival's website here. This will be our first time in the Lone Star State and we're hoping to win some hearts and minds in the 12 hours we'll be there. Don't forget to come and say "hi," and tell us where we can score some weed. That would be super baller of you.
TSTMRKT performing at Notoriety Live
TSTMRKT will perform in an extended run at Notoriety Live (located inside the Neonopolis) in Downtown Las Vegas, NV. After a string of sold out shows, the group is moving into the posh, 200-seat venue beginning February 21st and will perform Friday and Saturday evenings at 9PM. As always, early arrivals will be treated to the infamous "Nothing" show which has been retooled to make full use of the digital turbo sound system installed at the venue. Unlike past performances, TSTMRKT will work with all three screens during their live performance! This is NOT to be missed. Tickets go on sale Monday, February 3rd from admit.vip and the Notoriety box office.
ACCIDENTAL TOUR 2020
TSTMRKT will be touring as a full trio while they make their way to the SF Sketchfest. Tickets are available now for Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and (of course) San Francisco.
LAS VEGAS : JANUARY 17 : 705 INCUBATOR
LOS ANGELES : JANUARY 23RD : THEATRE ASYLUM
SAN FRANCISCO : JANUARY 24TH : GATEWAY THEATER
(SF SKETCHFEST 2020)
TSTMRKT Test Market
TSTMRKT in association with Bad Moon Booking presents a live performance featuring all three formats of TSTMRKT: M+M, M+F, and our favorite M+F+M. This special, One Night Only, presentation is to celebrate (read "promote") the release of TSTMRKT's "Home Entertainment System." Tickets will be available from this website at a discounted rate (15.00) for a limited time. You'll also be able to pre-order your very own copy of "Home Entertainment System" which will be released July 12th...which happens to be the same day of the performance. It's almost like it was planned that way or something! These kids are adorable.
An all new "Nothing" show will be performed 30 minutes prior to the start of TSTMRKT's performance, so get there early! The venue has a full restaurant and bar so you can totally turn this into a date night if you play your cards right.
TSTMRKT presents The Home Entertainment System
The new project entitled "The Home Entertainment System" will bring the imaginative world of TSTMRKT into your living room in stereophonic sound! This is not just another "comedy album." This is a fully functioning work of art that happens come with a vinyl pressed recording. Las Vegas visual artists Brent Holmes and Joseph Shaul have contributed to the inner gatefold and exterior of the album, and a15 page 12" X 12" Instruction Manual has been created by TSTMRKT founder Ernest Hemmings. The recording is a "Movie of the Mind" taking the listener on a journey through an ever-expanding world that cobbles together new and classic TSTMRKT content with a layered soundscape. Each album comes with a digital key that will unlock the "HES" page on this website. The project will only be released on vinyl and there are only 200 copies available.
"We're in the midst of mixing and mastering the album right now, and only a few days away from sending it to press."
The album will be released on July 12th with a corresponding performance by TSTMRKT.
TICKET available HERE: TICKETS
Home Entertainment System available
"The Proletariat" opens at PACA on March 7th
If you live in Pennsylvania, we're really sorry. The good news is that you will be able to see "The Proletariat" by Ernest Hemmings (the creator of TSTMRKT). This incredibly dark comedy is best described by the reviewer in Las Vegas Review Journal: "Ernest Hemmings’ original play about the evils of the corporate world is at times devastatingly funny, cleanly written and rich in surprises. Simple premise: A ruthless, devious sales boss and his seemingly easygoing assistant are having a meeting with a staff member. They are apparently about to fire her for not meeting quotas, frequent absences and a nasty attitude (translation: she doesn’t like them). But it winds up she’s become just as skilled as they in big-business doublespeak. Termination won’t be the piece of cake they thought."
Tickets for the production are available now from the PACA website: HERE . The run is limited to just Fridays and Saturdays.
Debate Night Begins Again
"Never discuss politics and religion in bars." Why? A bar seems to be the perfect setting for both. What better place to sort out topics of interest than a bar. Specifically ReBar in Downtown Las Vegas. We're bringing our Bar League Forensics back after our Summer hiatus. Debate dates and topics are available now on the DEBATE NIGHT link. Or you can just click HERE. We will also be looking for a team to represent ReBar in a city wide tournament being held in 2019. Stay Tuned!
The Proletariat In Pennsylvania?
The critically acclaimed theatrical hit from TSTMRKT founder and author, Ernest Hemmings, is currently in pre-production at the Performance Artist Collective Alliance in Erie, PA. The cast will feature Aaron Pacy and is being directed by Kelly Pryke. If you had the opportunity to see the sold out run in Las Vegas, you'll understand why we're packing our bags and heading out to see the opening night of this office fire! Have no clue what we're talking about? Check out these incredibly kind words HERE and HERE.
ONE NIGHT ONLY at Cornish Pasty Theater AUGUST 31ST 8PM
W/ special guest: NOTHING
TSTMRKT will perform in a "ONE NIGHT ONLY" situation at the hidden performance arena at Cornish Pasty in the heart of the burgeoning Las Vegas Arts District. This is a "command performance" of their show from the sold out stand at Majestic Theater, Even after expanding the audience several times we still had sad people trying to watch from the lobby, so TSTMRKT will bring the noise with their suitcase full content, and a brand new "Nothing" show to entertain the early arrivals. This venue has plenty of space, but don't miss your chance! Tickets are available NOW through the THIS website. We made a small run of the "Owner's Manual" to give away to the first 10 entrants. There are a limited amount, and once this print is gone...it's gone.
TICKETS HERE! Or HERE!
REVIEW JOURNAL LOVE
Totally didn't expect to get love from a Sheldon Adelson rag, but our fearless leader was given a lot of ink from the only (ONLY) major newspaper in Las Vegas, The Review Journal. He talks about his methods of creating, what it means to be a performance artist in the city that never naps, and disco music. It's a well written and thorough piece! Check it out HERE
NPR/Desert Companion Interview with Our Rambling, Incoherent Founder
We were just as surprised as anyone that Ernest Hemmings was asked questions by a legitimate magazine as anyone else. But here it is! He totally sounds as if he's a 12-year-old describing his favorite Pokemon character and, to be fair, he definitely sounds like that. So they did an amazing job of capturing the spirit of the person who has raised eyebrows and lowered expectations over the years. Here's a link to the article.
TSTMRKT touring again?
Maybe? After all of the traveling in 2017 we decided to take a bit of a break and work on separate projects: Breon Jenay is slated to star in the Majestic Theater's production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and Ernest Hemmings is currently writing a commissioned play for PACA in Pennsylvania. But, not to worry! We have a lot of new content for the next offering of TSTMRKT, and will likely be touring the show April 2018. So few people saw the new material that we premiered at the Hollywood Fringe Festival that we will recycle a few of those pieces and add the new material that is being developed for a content-heavy performance to beat all prior attempts at impressing strangers with cheap theatrics. Tour dates will be announced this October so stay tuned!